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Gary or Jill Getchell at zebraministries@gmail.com


Zebra Ministries

Welcome to the herd!

And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. Hebrews 10:24-25

Friday, June 23, 2017

Good morning Zebras,

I love you and I enjoyed the questions on my post about the “Holy Spirit” walking poles.

Linda wrote: “I have never heard of them. Where did you get them?”

That’s a question I get a lot, lots of people have never heard of using walking poles to aid in walking.  Just like lots of people haven’t heard about the Holy Spirit as a personality that lives inside of us, whose presence can be felt and who empowers us to live the life that honors God.

When Paul asked the men in Ephesus if they had received the Holy Spirt when they believed they responded, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”  But they didn’t have to ask how to get Him because as soon as Paul saw the need, he took care of it.

Acts 19:4–6: Paul said, “John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus.”  On hearing this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus.  When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied.

A few days later Jo asked if one walking stick would work.  Honestly, I don’t know.  When the doctor recommended them he suggested two, but they were expensive so I tried buying just one.  But it didn’t really work for me, it made me feel lopsided, in order to get the results I wanted, which was to take pressure off my hips and knees, I had to break down and buy two. 

And although Jo’s question was about walking sticks, God used it to remind me that if I want my life to have the results I’m praying for, I need to follow His instructions to the letter.

God says we are to die to our old self and live only for Him and we say, “How about half?” “I’ll keep the best parts of my old life and give up the rest.”  But partial obedience is what got Saul rejected as king.  The story is recorded in 1 Samuel 15: 1-35.

1 Samuel 15:1–3: Samuel said to Saul, “I am the one the Lord sent to anoint you king over his people Israel; so, listen now to the message from the Lord.  This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘I will punish the Amalekites for what they did to Israel when they waylaid them as they came up from Egypt.  Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy everything that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys.’”

Saul had very clear instruction from Samuel to destroy everything but he didn’t.

1 Samuel 15:9: But Saul and the army spared Agag and the best of the sheep and cattle, the fat calves and lambs—everything that was good.  These they were unwilling to destroy completely, but everything that was despised and weak they totally destroyed.

And because of that he lost the kingdom.

1 Samuel 15:27–28: As Samuel turned to leave, Saul caught hold of the hem of his robe, and it tore.  Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to one of your neighbors—to one better than you.

So, thanks Jo for asking the question, God used you to remind us all that nowhere in the Bible is half-hearted obedience to Jesus Christ ever considered enough.

Love,

Jill

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