Grace and Peace,
Its so funny. I’m on day 3 of the deeper life fast and I’m reading my word and praying for a word. I’m expecting the word to come through the bible or a still small voice in the wind or an angel on a cloud with some stone tablets. It came through an 12oz. bottle of Whelch’s Grape juice.
As delicious as the drink is, it didn’t induce a vision or send me into rapture. It made me feel guilty. I felt an unease at the thought of quenching my thirst with the unadulterated Blood of Christ. Because isn’t that what grape juice is? It may seem so, because every first sunday we eat the crackers as flesh and drink grape juice to signify the blood of Christ during communion. And even though it’s a symbol of rememberance, how many of us have felt that guilt when we drink welch’s outside of church? Christ didn’t institute communion as a from of culinary bondage!
This is an example of one of the ways we as Christians try to do the job of the Holy Spirit. John 16:8 says “When [the Holy Spirit] comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgement…”. That is HIS job among other things. So the Holy Ghost enters the lives of those who trust and believe in Christ! Hallelujah! Thank God for that. He doesn’t come just so that you can speak in tounges or run around your church, although that may be part of your relationship w/ him. He really cames to renew the connection between man and God. Here’s a neat little equation for all the visual learners/math geeks:
God+Man = Eden
Eden = Happy
God+Man = Happy
Man+Sin = Man-God
Man-God = Unhappy
Christ > Sin
Man+Christ = Man-Sin
(Christ=Holy Spirit=God)
Man+Christ = Man+Holy Spirit = Man+God = Happy!
And if that just confused you remember, the Spirit of God is here to bring us back to God, which is why he alerts us when something we are doing offends our Father. Don’t allow anyone to play Holy Ghost and convict you when they aren’t sinless. And don’t allow yourself to ignore a helpful voice of warning from a brother or sister or the conviction of the Holy Ghost himself. He will lead you into all truth, keeping you safe from false conviction. So go and eat Premium, Ritz and all manner of cracker in shameless peace. Drink Grape juice guiltlessly. Go and Sin no more.
