Be careful about condemning the works of God

Scripture: Mark 3:28-30 Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme: But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation: Because they said, He hath an unclean spirit.

Observation: This is a scripture which has puzzled many Bible readers. Why would you receive eternal condemnation for speaking against the Holy Spirit, but not for speaking against Jesus? To understand this, you must understand who Jesus was on earth. Jesus was fully God, but also fully Man. He stepped down from his throne to come to earth as a baby. That didn't change who he was, but it did change his position. Before Jesus did miracles, he was first baptized with the Holy Spirit (as should we all be). He was, and always will be God, but when he was baptized with the Holy Spirit he was endued with heavenly power on earth from the Holy Spirit. So, Jesus operated in the position of Man... under the covenant of Adam, but he operated in the power of the Holy Ghost while still being fully God. Thus, it was the power of the Holy Ghost who cast out the devils in Mark chapter 3, and so when the Pharisee accused Jesus of casting out devils by Satan, they were calling the spirit by which Jesus did the miracles Satan. The Pharisees called the Holy Spirit Satan. That was the unpardonable sin.

Application: We need to be very careful about condemning the ministry of others. It could be us who is wrong, not them. How many times have you looked back on things you did years earlier and thought about how wrong you were? Is it possible that you could be wrong now when you condemn someone else's ministry. Ultimately people who operate in the occult will be exposed by their fruit. Prayer is a better course of action than condemnation of the ministry of others.

Prayer: Dear Father, Give me a humble heart. Let me think less of myself than others. Help me to always walk in humility. Help me to speak softly but to carry a big stick. You are my power and my authority dear Jesus, let me never forget that. Amen!

Baptized by the Holy Spirit

Scripture- Matthew 3:16 And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:

Observation - Much has been written about this passage over the centuries. In fact, the day I read this scripture in my daily bible reading, it was the subject of both of the radio programs I listened to that day while driving in to work! Our God is the author if coincidence. The bible teaches us that baptism is symbolic of the death of our selves, and the rebirth of our new selves. Our old selves are selfish, and sinful. Our new selves are spiritual and filled with the very spirit of God himself. Today when we think of something being symbolic, it has a connotation of being not real. That is not the original meaning of the word, and not the correct meaning when referring to things such as baptism being symbolic. Merriam-Webster defines symbol as "a visible sign of something invisible". For example, the stop sign is the symbol of the traffic law that says we need to stop. If there were not traffic law, the red octagon would mean nothing to most of us. However, if there were a traffic law but no red octagon at the intersection we would not stop! In some sense, the symbol is more real than the invisible thing it represents. So it is with Baptism, although it is symbolic... it is very real. A divine transaction takes place when with a pure heart we follow Christ's command and example of repentance, baptism and infilling of the Holy Spirit of God almighty.

Application: The Bible says we must be born again. Life without Jesus is no life at all. Don't wait another day to devote your self to your God, and follow his command to be baptized in the Holy Spirit.

Prayer: Dear Jesus, show us the way we should go. Help us to follow you with all of our mind, all of our heart, and all of our soul. Give us this day. We commit ourselves to you, to love you and serve you all of the days of our life.