Luke 11:13 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?
A reader submitted a question, "How can I get my second wind?"
I believe a lesson can be learned after the disciples of Yeshua (Jesus) returned after a successful outreach. The Lord took them and set them apart in a desert place, away from the cares of this world -- and in this time of separation they were refreshed. [Mark 6:30-31] Oftentimes, a second wind can only come by setting time aside to seek it!
Early in the 1800's, Evangelist Charles Finney wrote about how God gave him mighty infillings of the Holy Spirit. He said, "[These infillings] went through me, as it seemed, body and soul. I immediately found myself endued with such power from on high that a few words dropped here and there to individuals were the means of their immediate conversion. My words seemed to fasten like barbed arrows in the souls of men. They cut like a sword. They broke the heart like a hammer. Multitudes can attest to this...Sometimes I would find myself in a great measure empty of this power. I would go and visit, and find that I made no saving impression. I would exhort and pray with the same results. I would they set apart a day for private fasting and prayer...after humbling myself and crying out for help, the power would return upon me with all its freshness. This has been the experience of my life."
Charles Finney set apart time to pray and fast for a "fresh anointing" from time to time!
In the late 1800's, evangelist D.L Moody stated, "I believe firmly that the moment our hearts are emptied of pride and selfishness and ambition and everything that is contrary to God's law, the Holy Spirit will fill every corner of our hearts. But if we are full of pride and conceit and ambition and the world, there is no room for the Spirit of God. We must be emptied before we can be filled."
Do you want a second wind? Then let's get right with the Lord today. Let's set aside some time to get before Him and empty ourselves of the world's influences and our selfish ways that we might be filled with His power and anointing! Let's seek his face -- in doing so, we'll find our refreshment!
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]In his book, Pilgrim’s Progress, John Bunyan has written one of the most beautiful allegories about the journey we all travel as a believers. The book describes the hero, Christian, and his journey from the City of Destruction to his heavenly destination, the Celestial City. Now there’s one part of Pilgrim’s Progress that I want to focus on today — walking through the Swamp of Despondency!
While many around the world are apathetic and lack understanding about the times in which we live, we as believers should realize these are merely signs of the times and have a sense of urgency to be about the Lord’s business.
In Ancient Greece, mythology and history were hard to distinguish. Tales of gods and demigods abounded. The chief god of Mount Olympus was Zeus. It is told that Zeus became enamored with the princess Europa and decided to seduce and ravish her. Zeus shape-shifted, transforming himself into a tame white bull. Europa, the daughter of King Agenor of Sidon, was picking flowers, when she saw the bull, and then climbed on his back. Zeus carried her away. The Romans later recounted the tale which became known as the “seduction of Europa”, (with the Roman “Jupiter” replacing Zeus).
Some time ago, an old mule fell into an abandoned well which was no longer in use. The farmer who owned him tried and tried to pull the mule up out of the well — however after many attempts he realized he was not going to be able to rescue his mule. So the farmer decided to solve two problems simultaneously— by burying the mule in the well. Tragic as it was, he would, bury the mule alive, and in the process, prevent future accidents of this kind by filling up the well hole.
Growing up, one of my favorite Saturday activities was watching ABC Sports. I can still remember the opening line — “The thrill of victory or the agony of defeat!” One of the greatest prophets of the Bible, Elijah, experienced his share of victories — but he also knew that sudden feeling of defeat.
When a Michigan man entered the hospital for tests one day, he never would have guessed what the doctors would find. A routine chest x-ray revealed that the man’s heart was on the wrong side of his chest! Because of a rare reversed-organ condition, his heart was in the wrong place. This is a strange story indeed, although I think some of us suffer from this condition in a spiritual way.
There is a fascinating true story about the Apostle John narrated by the early church “Father”, Eusebius, well worth reading.