“Skip the Stress – 1”

God gives us an entirely different (and refreshing) way to live out our relationship with him.

I’ve put this into a short 5-part series for you, simply called: “Skip the Stress.”

    — what to do with all those commands you see…    — who is the Holy Spirit and what he does for us…    — how God changes our lives and frees us…    — what it means to live by faith…    — how to be honest about sin, yet remain free from guilt

 

Skip the Stress – 2

 

Every mouth-watering recipe holds at least one secret ingredient.

Asiago cheese. Or Basil. Or a port wine. Or bittersweet chocolate.

 

Am I making you hungry? Sorry.

 

It’s that one ingredient that makes it all work. That one item that forces you to drive to the grocery store, even while you’re already cooking.

 

Jesus told the disciples that there was something they needed, before they could tell others about him. Without this, they would not have any power to persuade others about him.

 

And, this would be crucial to their on-going relationship with himself. A rather important ingredient, wouldn’t you say?

 

Jesus said the Holy Spirit would come live inside of them.

 

Before Jesus’ crucifixion, he told his disciples, “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever…the Spirit of truth…he dwells with you and will be in you.”

 

Jesus went on to say, “…the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” (John 14)

 

You’ll see throughout the Bible it mentions and talks about the “Holy Spirit, or the Spirit of God” The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity.

 

By this the Bible means ;The Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit , the three together > one God.

 

As humans, limited by time and space, we’re not really going to be able to figure out or understand that three is yet only one. I’m ok with that. What’s important is that this is what God has revealed about Mimself.

 

But here’s what I really want you to know. We are not living separately from God. God lives within us, and changes our lives, from the inside out. He changes our hearts, our attitudes towards people.

 

 

You’ll see how the Holy Spirit inside of us gives us power to live the life God desires for us.

 

The secret ingredient.(See the lesson on the Holy Spirit called the Christian’s secret)

 

Skip the Stress – 4

 

Everyone would like to have an approach to life that works. Always.In every situation.

 

I mean, wouldn’t it be nice to know that you can handle anything that life throws at you? Not because you’re capable.But because of what you *know*.

 

That’s what I’m hoping to give you today. Knowing this will not make your life problem-free. Life can be chaotic and stressful.

 

But you will know how to deal with it.

 

A lady friend of mine gave me this testimony:

 

“I was dealing with one of the most difficult circumstances in my life.

At four months of pregnancy I was warned by my doctor that there were problems. At nine months, I delivered a girl, still born. Ok, that’s not to make you feel bad.

Here’s why I’m telling you.

I knew by then how to trust God in my life, (what I’m about to give you). Because of that, though I experienced sadness, I had a peace throughout the pregnancy and after. I never struggled with anger, turmoil, or resentment.

It wasn’t because I was being stoic. Or in denial.

It’s because I had developed a habit by then, of taking God at his word. This advice is worth its weight in gold.”Take God by His word

 

Skip the Stress – 5

 

I grew up in a particular church background that capitalized on guilt. It was their specialty.

 

In fact, I have a true story for you that you’ll never forget.

 

Picture scrawny second-graders. Sitting quietly at their desks that are twice their size. Feet dangling off the floor.

 

The teacher wants to make sure these second-graders don’t waste any paper. They are instructed to write on both sides. And in the margins. Even the very top margin.

 

“Thou shalt not waste.” She said, and she was dead serious about this.

 

To drive home her point, the teacher actually said, “The paper you waste, is the paper God will use to burn you in hell.”

 

I told you they were experts at guilt. (Yes, I agree. Today, there would be a law suit.)

 

Well, let me ask you:

What kind of commands put YOU under the pile?

What happens when you do, say, or think something that you know doesn’t please God?

Do you carry that guilt?

Do you beat yourself up?

 

One of the most important truths for us to catch is this: Jesus died for all of our sins.

He was tortured, whipped, nailed to a cross and died in our place, paying for all our sins.

 

Sometimes we have a hard time accepting it, because we think “That’s not fair.” You’re right. No, it’s not! But it is true.