the river of the Holy Spirit...

I love the powerful way Michael Timmis defines "love" by using the fruit of the Spirit…

“The way I define love is by using the fruit of the Spirit, which starts with love. I believe that … 

. joy is love rejoicing, 

. peace is love at rest, 

. patience is love waiting, 

. kindness is love interacting, 

. goodness is love initiating, 

. faithfulness is love keeping its word, 

. gentleness is love empathizing, and 

. self-control is love resisting temptation.”

Heavenly Father, give us a heart that longs to yield to the empowering presence of Your Holy Spirit in the innermost part of us, taking authority over our soul—the seat of our emotions, and our body—our fleshly desires and appetites. May we be so overcome by Your love, so overwhelmed by Your grace, that the fruit of Your Spirit is revealed in our  daily lives. May we experience joy which is love rejoicing, peace which is love at rest, patience which is love waiting, kindness which is love interacting, goodness which is love initiating, faithfulness which is love keeping its word, gentleness which is love empathizing, and self-control which  is love resisting temptation. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.

God has refreshed my faith with a visual image of the Holy Spirit flowing like a river through me, through my family, and through my church. What if the Holy Spirit is like a river, constantly available and flowing?

As John 7:38 states, “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’”

What if our job is just to jump in the river? When the Holy Spirit is in us and we are in the Holy Spirit, how do we connect and live in the flow of the Holy Spirit at the present moment? I ask myself, “How’s your spiritual life going? Am I growing more or less irritable these days? Am I more or less easily discouraged these days?  In what ways do I demonstrate the “L-effect”—taking what I have received from God vertically, and extending it horizontally to people in my everyday life?”

I experience the River of the Holy Spirit flowing through me as I pray God’s Word…

Thy will be done—Matthew 6:10
Not my will, but Thine, be done—Luke 22:42
The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.—Psalm 23:1
Each morning, and throughout the day, when I pray, I picture Jesus, my Shepherd, in the green pasture of the 23^rd Psalm. I take whatever concern I have, or person for whom I am interceding by the hand. I walk out to the meadow, the green pasture, and I place my concern, or the hand of the person for whom I am interceding, in Jesus’ hand…knowing that He is sovereign, He loves me, and He loves the person for whom I am interceding more than I do. He has a plan, a hope, and a future for each of us. I walk away, thanking God for how the river of His Holy Spirit is flowing through me and how He is at work in my life and in the lives of those for whom I am interceding. I experience His peace. Praying as Catherine Marshall prayed, “Lord Jesus, I trust You, You know what You’re doing, I relinquish my will to Yours.”

In prayer, I ask God to reveal to me the spiritual mile markers in my life…broken places, hurts, disappointments, accomplishments, and joyful times. The river of the Holy Spirit helps me see that God had been there all along and His grace is sufficient. I have learned that the Hebrew concept of time is like a person rowing a boat. We see where we have been, we back into the future. I can clearly see that God has been there with me all along. I am not stuck in the past. Flowing with the River of the Holy Spirit, I am rowing into the future, moving forward, proactive, with my focus, my mindset, on God, who is sovereign. He sees the end from the beginning. Morning after morning in my quiet time, I bring myself back to the Cross of Christ. As I bow before Him, I experience anew His mercy and grace, as I sense His blood dripping over the Crown of Thorns pressed into His brow, onto my heart, covering all my sin—past, present, and future. I get up from my knees wearing His Robe of Righteousness as I face the day ahead…rowing into the future.

“My determined purpose is that I may know Him, that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His person more strongly and more clearly.”—Philippians 3:10

Lord Jesus, without You, I can do nothing. May the River of Your Holy Spirit so flood my soul--the seat of my emotions, and my body--my fleshly desires and appetites, that only You remain and I remain in You. My determined purpose is that I may know You, that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with You, recognizing, perceiving, and understanding the wonders of Your Person more clearly and more strongly. I am resting in Who You are and who You say I am—blessed, accepted, adopted, chosen, redeemed, forgiven and loved with an everlasting love and underneath are Your everlasting Arms. In Jesus' name I pray, amen.

Look Up—meditate on John 7:38 …pray to see what it reveals about the character of God.

Look In—as you meditate on John 7:38 …pray to see how you might apply it to your life. Be propelled to ask galvanizing questions about your discoveries: "Because God is_________, I will_____________."

Look Out—as you meditate on John 7:38...pray to see how you might apply it to your relationship with others. Let the nature of God impact on every relationship, for your good, and for His glory.