Samuel D. High
sdhigh@aristotle.net
-----Original Message-----
From: Apostle Tom <pressingon@hotmail.com>
Sent: Sun, 16 Dec 2007 04:57:59 -0600
To: <pressingon@hotmail.com>
Subject: Morning Manna (Dec. 17); BP: Lk. 1:11-56; RBTTY: Rev. 8; Amos 7-9
December 17 “Holy Ghost Joy”
“For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. And he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb. . .For, lo, as soon as the voice of your salutation sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.”
Luke 1:15, 44
Spirit-inspiration will lead to our soul’s invigoration.
Much of what we label the “normal” Christian life is really abnormal and a sad substitute for the real thing. Watchman Nee addressed this subject in one of his books and pointed out how we settle for less than God’s best in our walk of faith.
Today’s Manna is both intriguing and instructional—for it reminds us of what can happen when the “God of the impossible” is at work in our lives. Although we shouldn’t use others’ experience as a litmus test for our own, the fact that the Lord works in miraculous ways in their lives should remind us that He can do the same in ours.
Most likely, Zecharias and Elizabeth had never experienced anything like this before. Their understanding of the Holy Spirit was limited at best, for it was only after Jesus’ resurrection, ascension and the Day of Pentecost that believers began to experience Him in a personal way.
Gabriel’s prediction of how God would use John was certainly a powerful one (vv.13-17). Although doubt and unbelief were what led to Zecharias’ being struck dumb for nine months (vv.18-20), we can also conclude that he was dumbfounded over how his new son would be “filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb.” No doubt it was much easier for him to grapple with the purpose of John’s life than it was his being in-filled by the Spirit.
Likewise, it’s amazing that
Think about it, Pilgrim: When a professional tennis or golf player wins a big match, does he simply stand there and quietly say, “Oh, that’s great!” or does he fling his racquet/club into the air, thrust his fist upward and “leap for joy”? Or, if someone inherits a lot of money or hits the jackpot on a t.v. game show, does he quietly clap his hands and politely say “Beautiful”? No, he “leaps for joy!”
Why, then, are we, as followers of a Resurrected Lord, so afraid of “anointed animation”? Glory!! The world is going to the “dry wells” of drugs, worldly entertainment, etc., for excitement, but always finding it short-lived. May the Holy Spirit help us, like John, to be so “filled with the Spirit” that we, too, “leap for joy” when we realize what the Lord has done for us—even in the midst of difficulty (Lk. 6:22-23).
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