Diminishing The Darkness By Lifting Up the Marvelous
Light Of Jesus Christ
From
The Editor
-- by Tim Greenwood |
January 2009 |
Are you tired of not being able to tell if you are on
the right path? Do you repeatedly
stumble and fall due to the surrounding darkness? Then it’s time to “lift up the light”.
If you are carrying a lantern down at your side, all you
can see in the dark is your own feet.
You can’t tell where you are or what’s up ahead on the path. But if you lift that lantern up high, it
illuminates the whole area, so that you can see where you are and more
importantly where you are going.
No, I’m not talking about a physical light or
lantern. Jesus, in John 12:46 said, “I
am come as a light into the world, that whosoever believes on me should not
abide in darkness.” Jesus is the Living Word!
Psalm 119:105 says, “Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my
path.”
Father God is so awesome! He doesn’t want His kids left in the
dark—NEVER! So he sent a light. And Jesus left that light
behind for
us. But it’s up to us to keep the lamp
lit and lifted high.
Psalm 119:130 says, “The unfolding of your words
gives light; it gives understanding to the simple.”
Does something negative, perhaps fear, keep trying
to come back into your life? Then lift
up the light and light up your path.
Well, do a study on fear in the Bible.
Write down the scriptures and memorize one or two so you can speak them
aloud when fear tries to come upon you.
If you keep the lamp lit and lifted high, no darkness will overtake you.
Darkness cannot stay when there is light. Jesus is the light of the world, and He
abides within you. The more we become
like Him, the more we become the light of the world!
Our vision at TGM is to diminish the darkness by
lifting up the marvelous light of Jesus Christ individually and as an
organization. And to spread that light
by encouraging, strengthening, equipping, teaching and training others to
become a collective light that will fill the world!
We want to thank each of you that have prayed for us
and invested your time and finances in TGM this past year. This year we invite the rest of you,
individuals, companies, organizations and churches to hook up with us and help
us complete this vision by donating a specific amount each month to help TGM
accomplish this vision. No amount is
too small and no amount is too large!
Visit us online at www.tgm.org and
remember... God loves you and we love you!
Window
On The Word
-- by Marcia Greenwood
Baptism in the Holy Spirit
|
|
One
of our readers recently wrote asking the following simple but sincere question:
“Does a person need to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit in order to
receive healing?”
The
short answer to that question is, “No.”
Jesus IS our healer and as 1 Peter 2:24 says – He took those stripes on
His body for our healing. We were
healed! Now, we do need to believe and receive by faith what Jesus has already
done for us. But, I felt lead to
elaborate on the baptism in Holy Spirit and to share that with you here.
Jesus
told His followers, in John 16:12-14, “I have much more to say to you, more
than you can now understand. But when
He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on His own; He will speak
only what He hears, and He will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to me by taking from
what is mine and making it known to you.”
In
the book of Acts 1:5, after His resurrection from the dead, Jesus spent 40 days
with His disciples and told them: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the
gift my Father has promised, which you heard me speak about. For John (the Baptist) baptized with water,
but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
The
Holy Spirit is our comforter, guide, helper, encourager, and teacher. He is the
one who gently convicts us of our sins and helps us change. He is our free gift – to be received just by
asking the Father and receiving His gift.
We do not have to work for the infilling of the Holy Spirit – we just
need to receive Him by faith and God’s grace.
The
Holy Spirit helps us to pray – Romans 8:26. He also makes God’s Word plain
to us so we can receive all things from God - 1 Corinthians 2:6-16.
It
pleases the Father to give us all things.
Acts 1:8 says that you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you;
and you will be my witnesses to all the ends of the earth. That is a promise for us also!
Now,
some people believe that when they were water baptized they received the Holy
Spirit in all His fullness. Water
baptism was a symbol of your death, burial and resurrection. We went down into
the water, sins and all, and came up a new person, cleaned through and
through. We came up living for Jesus
Christ – desiring to please God the Father.
Read Romans 6:1-14.
Receiving
the fullness or the infilling of the Holy Spirit is actually a two-step
process. Let’s read a few scriptures to
explain. Acts 8:14-17 – Peter and John
prayed for the Samarians to receive the Holy Spirit. Why? Because the Holy
Spirit had not yet come upon any of them, they had simply been (water) baptized
in the name of the Lord Jesus.
Acts
10:44-48 – As Peter was speaking to a group of Gentiles the Holy Spirit was
poured out on them. They began speaking
in tongues and praising God. THEN they
were water baptized in the name of Jesus.
So they received the Holy Spirit first, and then were water baptized.
Acts
19:1:7 – Paul was speaking to twelve men in Ephesus. They had been water baptized, but had never even heard of the
Holy Spirit. So Paul placed his hands
on them and they received the Holy Spirit.
God
our Father will NEVER withhold anything from us, especially when we are acting
in faith; faith pleases God. John 16:23
- Ask for anything in Jesus’ name and the Father will grant your request, so
your joy may be complete. Why? John 17:23 – Our Father loves us – JUST AS
MUCH – as He does Jesus. WOW! Think about that!
Luke
11:13 explains that a natural father will not give his children a snake when he
or she asks for a fish, or a scorpion when he or she asks for an egg. SO HOW MUCH MORE WILL YOUR FATHER IN HEAVEN
GIVE THE HOLY SPRIT TO THOSE WHO ASK HIM.
If
you do not know if you have the infilling of the Holy Spirit and/or
desire this
wonderful gift from God then ask God to fill you with His Sprit.
You will be glad you did. This baptism really changed Tim’s and
my
life!
We wish you a wonderful New Year 2009 filled
with all the blessings of God in abundance.
|
Want to live free from
discouragement and depression?
Get Marcia's New CD Series
A NEW 4 CD Series on
sale Now
Available from the TGM Product Catalog
|
Make
a credit card donation with PayPal
It is fast, free and secure!
|
PO Box
1904
(626) 574-5016
Arcadia, CA 91077 www.tgm.org
wotw@tgm.org
Co-Editors
Tim Greenwood & Marcia Greenwood
Circulation over 17,500 copies
Windows on the Word is published
monthly for
the edification and
pleasure of the partners and friends of
Tim Greenwood Ministries (TGM).
If this newsletter, website, or other
media
published by TGM has been a
blessing to you,
please consider becoming
a regular monthly financial partner with TGM .
Through your financial support, you can share in the rewards for making
these and other outreaches of TGM possible.
Every gift large or small is deeply appreciated and is vitally
important.
Tim Greenwood Ministries is a 501(c)(3), tax
exempt, California
Religious Organization.
All contributions, less the value of any products received, are
tax-deductible as allowed by law.
(Upon receipt of sufficient funds for a specific project, support
will be used for an equally important outreach.)
All
rights
reserved. Used by permission.
This article may be reproduced for
teaching purposes but not for commercial resale.
The Windows On The Word - PO Box 1904,
Arcadia, CA 91077 USA
An outreach of Tim Greenwood Ministries
|
www.windowsontheword.org
|
|
|