The End is Here

So here it is; exactly a year later…the end…the letter Z.

We often use the letter Z to represent sleep. Gonna catch some Z’z. Zzz….snore…zzz. The word I’m closing this series out with is anything but a sleepy zzz. You might even say the final word is a zinger.

If the apostle Paul were alive in this generation, I’m convinced he’d be a blogger. God stirred his heart to write letters to the churches to teach, train, and encourage them. Isn’t that what most Christian bloggers do? Paul may have used papyrus to spread the good news then, but I’m sure his zealous spirit would be thrilled to get his message out via the world wide web.

  

I imagine his blog design might consist of a map of the world (as he knew it), or perhaps a pair of worn out sandals would adorn his header. Maybe a wrecked ship or a snake in the fire lashing out at him would be a possible backdrop. Perhaps broken chains but most defiantly there would be the cross of Christ somewhere in his design.

Sometimes in his zeal, Paul could come off a bit pushy. A lot of people who are zealous about a cause appear that way, but when you’ve been zapped by the Holy Spirit, you simply don’t want to zig-zag around avoiding the call God has for you.

  

I remember when my husband was a brand new Christian, he was full of zeal. He devoured the Word and would stop in the street if he saw someone he knew from his past to tell them about his salvation experience. At first I found his zealot behavior embarrassing, but then I became ashamed at my lack of zest for Jesus because I had been conditioned to accept my faith as the norm. I zoned out in church and became a Christian zombie; saved but with zero enthusiasm.

When I read Paul’s “blog” in 2 Corinthians 7:11, it pretty much sums up my husband’s salvation experience:

“For observe this very thing that you sorrowed in a godly manner: What diligence it produced in you, what clearing of yourselves. What indignation, what fear, what vehement desire, what zeal, what indication! In all things you proved yourselves to be clear in this matter.”

1 Thessalonians 4:16b about sums up my enthusiasm at that time :-(  "...and the dead in Christ will rise first."

Recently my husband’s sister and niece have come to know the saving grace of Jesus and have the same zeal he had over thirty years ago. Again, I find myself smiling and thinking…stir up the ambers, Girl…get it together!

In this most awesome Z scripture we see how God feels about us: 

"Thus says the LORD of hosts: I am zealous for Zion (His people/church/bride) with great zeal; with great fervor I am zealous for her.” Zechariah 8:2

Wouldn’t it seem that we should be equally zealous for Him as He is for us…with great fervor?

Let’s zip it up…

In one year, twenty-six words have been studied, researched, and processed to help us understand the Christian terms we often hear and say. I hope we all feel a new passionate fervor… dare I say…a fresh zeal for our Lord.

“Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.”  ~Paul (Romans 12:11)

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iBlog

 iBlog…

One year ago today I sat frustrated with the fact that my blog was severely neglected. I had just had surgery of the female nature and a friend came to sit with me while Les was away. Even though this woman had been in church off and on most of her life, certain Christian terms befuddled her. We tossed a few around and tagged them with ridiculous definitions. I laughed (while holding a pillow to my tummy) but that night, inspiration hit me.

I wondered: Why do I blog? What do I want to accomplish when I blog? Who cares if I blog?

I tackled the challenge to write about confusing Christian words or terms and titled it Christianese A-Z. Although I didn’t finish in the ridiculously planned 10 weeks…I mean seriously??? I DID just have major surgery, AND I was on some heavy drugs at the time, SO it clearly affected my reasoning.

The “A” Christianese word was posted on Oct 21, 2010. 

(I looked it up today on a whim)

I decided my “Z” word will be posted on Oct 21, 2011. 

(Profound, huh?)

So it took a little bit more than 10 weeks, but hey, I’ll finish it and that’s what matters most. 

iBlog…

So...now what?

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Oh Lord, give me a sign!

Many times, as we travel the road called life, we wish that God would just give us a sign. You know…the flashy neon light type that sticks out more than any other? Something obvious so we don’t have to work so hard or guess which way to go.

On the road, signs are easy to recognize by shape and color. We have become so accustomed to this fact that our brains automatically process the instructions as we zoom by.

When you approach a stop sign, what do you do? (stop, duh). But beyond stopping, there are some automatic instructions ingrained in drivers that should be processed at the first glance of the red octagon shape: Come to a complete stop. (no rolling through) First come first go or when in doubt, cars on the right have the right-of- way.

 

When you see the yellow diamond shape sign with two arrows joining into one, you know traffic is merging into the same lane. Manners and common sense tell drivers to allow space and/or adjust speed to give in to the inevitable. All of us must work together to go with the flow of traffic.

What about the upside-down red triangle; the YIELD sign? In some countries, they call it “Give Way”. Much to the chagrin of some drivers, it is NOT the same as stop or merge. If you stop at a yield sign and there is no traffic coming to “yield to” you might find yourself rear-ended by someone who also is looking left and seeing a clear road. If you try to force your way by merging into the flow of traffic instead of waiting for it to be clear, besides the blaring of horns, angry looks, and possible *gestures*…you could cause an accident.

The act of yielding in traffic is a skill. A distracted driver could be dangerous. I wouldn't recommend adjusting the radio or talking on your phone at this time. You prepare yourself to look to your left as you approach the sign. Read the traffic, make the decision to continue on without hesitation, or give way to the cars already on the main thoroughfare, allowing them to go on ahead of you.

Using this concept, let’s address the Christianese phrase “Yield to the Holy Spirit”.

One of the characteristics scripture tells us about the Holy Spirit is the ability to guide us. 

John 16:13 says:

“But when he, the Spirit of Truth comes, he will guide you into all truth…”

In essence, like the dove that descended upon Jesus at His baptism, the Holy Spirit is our sign from God.  If we are aware of the Spirit of Truth’s character, we will recognize the signs we are to follow and obey.

How do we recognize the signs? When we prepared to take our driver’s license test, we studied the manual. We learned to identify the road signs and process them easily. Just like a driver understanding the red octagon, yellow diamond arrows, and yes…even the red upside-down triangle, we can learn to recognize a sign from God.

Study His manual and become familiar with His signs. Set down your distractions (phone, computers, tv, etc). Read the traffic around you, making the decision to continue on if it looks clear... or give way to the one who is on the road ahead of you, designated to be your guide.

Yield to the Holy Spirit…

“…because all who are led by the Spirit of God are the sons of God.” Romans 8:14

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X-tra, x-tra!! Read all about it!!

I can taste the end of this Christianese series and I’m not about to let this obnoxious letter keep me from excelling in my endeavors to exemplify common Christian words that make us scratch our heads and say…excuse me?  

I wasn’t too surprised when the results of an online Bible dictionary search for words that begin with the letter X didn’t turn up anything. Well, not in the English version, anyway.  My mind began to think of words that sound like they start with “X”. You know, hooked on fonix style? I came up with Xtol, Xalt, Xodus, Xemplify, Xhale…

With a nudge from a friend, (Yes, I'm listening!) I settled on a word Christians cringe at: Xmas. 

For years we’ve heard Christians complain that the secular commercialism is trying to remove Christ from Christmas and for years we let our ignorance ride that wave of “separation” from the “world”; boycotting the purchase of cards/decorations that say Happy Holidays or Merry Xmas, snubbing our noses at businesses that decorate their windows using Xmas, etc.

Ignorance isn’t a bad word. Being ignorant also isn’t awful.  Both simply mean one is unaware or uninformed, but being an ignoramus…that’s just plain dumb by choice and I’m sorry, but ignorance isn’t always bliss.

I’ve heard the quote by Steve Droke:

“Knowledge is power, but enthusiasm pulls the switch” 

Sometimes I think Christians need to quit being so uptight about things they don’t deem as upright. So, let me enthusiastically pull your switch, remove a little bliss, and infuse a wee bit of knowledge so we can avoid ignoramus status.

What does “X” really mean? Like in the mathematic world, X has “multiple” meanings:

• a signature of an uneducated person
• a strike in baseball
• a kiss at the end of a letter
• an omission of information
• the Roman numeral for the number 10
• x marks the spot
• sign by the x

In the Greek alphabet, the letter chi is represented by the symbol “X”.  We know the New Testament was written in Greek. In Greek the word, Xριστός = Christ, and is transliterated to mean: The Anointed One. Xmas is simply the abbreviated version of Christmas.

I’m not sure when Xmas officially appeared but my research tells me that the abbreviation became widely accepted in the fifteenth century; dating back to the inventor of the printing press, Johannes Gutenberg. 

The tedious work of typesetting by hand indeed justified the use of common abbreviations and the X=Christ version also appeared in words like Xian and Xianity but was pronounced using the word Christ. Just think of how much space and time was saved when printing pamphlets and books. Sort of like our modern day texting.

So there ya have it. Feel free to txt away MRRY XMAS! and know you are no longer an uptight ignoramus. I’m happy to have pulled your switch!

"...a Savior has been born to you. He is Χριστός του Κυρίου." Luke 2:11

L8R G8R. UR AWESO & I <3 U all!
M <3

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Word, Glorious Word!

Word...

Urban dictionary defines this as a greeting: Word…wassup? Yet it also can be used as an affirmation: Word…tha’s right, Bro.

Christians refer to the word “word” a lot.

In the beginning was the WORD, and the WORD was with God, and the WORD was God. John 1:1

I don’t know about the rest of you, but this verse always confused me. I was taught that Jesus is the Word referred to in this verse, and simply accepted it as such. Blind faith? Perhaps…but I also tend to think in my formable faith years it was never really explained.

Maybe some theology is simply too deep for the formable faith-filled follower to fathom. But, au contraire, (that’s fancy French) I will give it a good non-college try.

Some of you may have read somewhere…oh let’s say in the book of Revelations, that Jesus is called the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end.  We know Alpha and Omega are the first and last letters in the Greek alphabet, equivalent to our A and Z. (Nod and smile.)

I want to point out to you an interesting tidbit; the Hebrew equivalent is the Aleph and Tav. From the beginning…the VERY beginning, God revealed Himself to be the Aleph and Tav. We all know Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”  In the Hebrew language Genesis 1:1 looks like this:

See those two grey characters? Those are the letters Aleph and Tav. So in essence Genesis 1:1 says: In the beginning God AZ created the heavens and the earth.

I’m not a theologian, per se (that’s Latin), so give me the freedom to be less formal and a bit unorthodox.

Our alphabet has 26 letters. As a wordsmith, I know there are oodles of words that can be made with 26 letters. (I happen to like the word oodles.) Grant it, the Greek alphabet only has 24 letters and the Hebrew 22. But think of it…the entire Bible, 66 books, is full of words made with 22-26 different letter characters.

The Bible is the WORD of God. The words in there are God’s words. Everything from Genesis to Revelation is God’s words. Isn’t it interesting that according to the Hebrew language, God is called the Aleph and Tav, and in the book of Revelation Jesus “reveals” that He is the Alpha and Omega?  

The Old Testament: God’s words spoken to His people. 

The New Testament: God’s word living among His people…ergo, Jesus is the Living Word. 

In the beginning the word was…and is…to the end.

Word...

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Some Sweet Day

Victory, Victory, hear our cry. V-I-C-T-O-R-Y!

I seem to remember cheerleaders chanting this at every game in more than one losing season of football. How difficult it must have been to smile and cheer on a team that clearly only cried about the lack of victory in the locker room at the end of the night.

These days, if a team isn’t winning it is considered the coach’s fault, and after a couple losing seasons he’s sent packing. But what if the team players were constantly late for practice or participated in activities that hindered their full potential? Is that the coach’s fault?

Victory takes effort and practice; it doesn’t happen by osmosis or on accident.

After my years of being a horrible rotten sinner, I accepted Christ as my savior at the ripe old age of nine. I have to admit, I didn’t feel a huge victory dance necessary. As a matter of fact, I didn’t even tell anyone. But as the years passed and I hit the playing field called life, things did become a battle. It took practice to win each fight. The opposition pushed against me and sometimes battles were lost.

But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:57 (NLT)

When things get rough in a game, the coach calls a time out to talk to his team and tells the players to “take a knee”. This is a time to regroup and listen to the coach’s battle plan. Because of things learned at practice, he can give quick instructions and the team will know exactly what to do.

When things get rough on life’s playing field, and I feel victory slipping, I know it is time to take a knee and listen to my coach. If I’ve been paying attention and practicing, I’ll hear Him tell me the new battle plan and I’ll know exactly what to do to win the victory.

When my time has come, there will be no crying in the locker room about the lack of victory…

and some sweet day I'll sing up there, the song of VICTORY.

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Endeavor...Then They'll Know

Close your eyes and imagine with me for a minute. Are they closed? Well, I guess if they were closed you couldn’t read… so read, then close your eyes.

Go back in time to the 70’s. See the man in a floral printed shirt, with longish hair, and a guitar leading his youth group in songs around a campfire on a summer evening?

I can almost smell the campfire smoke as we sing Kum-ba-yah, my Lord…Kum-ba-yah. Or perhaps you remember this one:

 It only takes a spark to get a fire going.

And soon all those around,

Can warm up to its glowing.

That’s how it is with God’s love,

Once you’ve experienced it.

You spread His love, to everyone,

You want to pass it on.

 But this is the campfire song memory that “sparked” this Christianese post:

 We are one in The Spirit,  

We are one in The Lord. 

We are one in the Spirit,

We are on in the Lord.

                                       And we pray that all unity may one day be restored.

    And they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our Love, 

                                             Yes, they'll know we are Christians by our love.

Do you see the one little word that seems to never quite find its rightful place in the church? I’ll give you a hint. This post is the letter U.

Unity, it is seriously lacking among the churches. I’m sure we’ve all heard the phrase in regards to church people: “If that’s what Christians are like, I want nothing to do with church.”

I’ve been around the block a few times and I’ve seen my share of congregations that are full of conflict, discord, dissension, friction, faction…I’m always baffled at how easy the word “love” is thrown out and then quickly retracted within the walls of the church building by selfish actions of hate. (Which would be the opposite of love, yes?)

On the night Jesus sat with his disciples for the Passover meal, he tucked into the conversation bits and pieces of final instructions.

In John 13, Jesus washes the feet of his disciples and teaches them about serving. He shares a meal in the intimate company of his chosen twelve (while John laid his head on Jesus’ chest. That’s intimate friendship.) and points out that one of them will betray him (gasp). He begins to prepare them for what was about to come to pass and says:

 “…A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”    John 13:34-35

Then Jesus points out to Peter, who swears he would “lay down his life” for Jesus, and clues him in about his upcoming denial.

In short Jesus was saying: Love one another, be my disciples, yet I know one of you will betray me and another will deny me.

Destined for failure? No. Jesus is fully aware of the nature of human hearts. He knew that love and unity is a daily choice, just as it is a daily choice to be a Christ follower.

Waaaaay back in the Garden of Eden God gave Adam and Eve the freedom of choice and the nekked little lovebirds set an historical moment and showed the flaw of every human that would follow them by choosing wrong. And God, in His loving forgiveness, has constantly given his created-likeness the opportunity to choose right.

Unity among believers is a choice. When a church body chooses to not protect the unity by not loving one another…the world has no interest in their message of “God so loved...” and eternity is at stake for the lives we fail to represent a true view of love and unity.

“…with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”    Ephesians 4:2-3

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No Trespassing

Onward I march through the Christianese series and present you with the letter T.


In William Tyndale’s early printed version of the New Testament, he interpreted a line in the Lord’s Prayer to say: “Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.”  I grew up saying “forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors”. I’ve struggled over the years when visiting other traditional mainstream churches, or attending community services, where the word Trespass was used in place of debt.

In my mind, trespass was what we did as a kid when we cut across a neighbor’s property to go to the corner store for candy and Orange Crush sodas. I’ll never forget the time we crossed the empty pasture on the way to the store, but on the way home…the field was no longer empty.

My brothers were well ahead of me and the neighbor girl. When we were somewhere around the middle of the five acres, I heard my brother whistle. I looked up and he was waving frantically for us to hurry.

All of a sudden I heard a noise I’d never forget; the sound of a bull’s snort followed immediately by the thundering of his hooves on the ground growing louder by the second. It vibrated my innards and I almost peed my pants. I never ran so fast in my life. My brothers stood on the bottom barbed wire and stretched the top one up as high as they could. I dove through the opening and somersaulted into the scotch broom on the other side.

That’s what I call needing my trespasses forgiven, but I couldn’t figure out what that had to do with debt/debtor. Wasn’t that when you borrowed money for a car and someone forgave you of your need to pay it off? Wouldn’t that be nice?

After much deliberation...and a few years of maturity, it seems that both words (debt/trespass) are used as synonyms for the word “sin”. Now that I can wrap my mind around.

I’m sure I’m not alone when I look back into my past and see times when people have trespassed all over me. Their footprints have left permanent marks on my heart…in my memories. There have even been times I thought they “owed” me something like paying off a debt for their harmful sin against me.  I could even take care of things legally for their trespassing, but what would that really accomplish?

I know if I want to be forgiven of my sin, I need to forgive those who have sinned against me, whether they ask for it or not.

 Forgive me of my trespasses…

                Of the things I have done that sinned against others.

As I forgive those who trespassed against me…

                Of the things people have done that is sin against me personally.

Next time I see a "No Trespassing" sign, I will remember I forgave... and let it go.

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Sweet Harmony

Life has a way of knocking the wind out of you and derailing even the best of intentions. As if this ADD middle-aged mess of a being needed anything to help distract her in life. I laugh at the goal I had about finishing the Christianese A-Z series before the first of the year.  I know, I can hear you all laughing with me (not at me). Well, fasten your seatbelts, buckaroos, ‘cause I’m about to hit the road and try to wrap up this series...eventually. 

♥ ♥ ♥

I love to sing. I love to listen to others sing. I love beautiful harmonies. I love to watch the TV shows where singers are “discovered”. Okay, maybe I’m overusing the word love, but I’m sure you get the picture.

A few weeks ago, we attended the spring concert at Northwest University. The music ranged from jazz to classical and I loved it all. (there’s that love word again) I sat with my eyes closed listening to the tight harmonies of acapella ballads, lost in the emotion, beauty, and talent of it all. Each section singing their individual parts, yet all joined together in the same song.

That’s what I want you to envision when I cover the “S” word(s): Three parts, all singing the same song. My life song.

Saved- Melody

"...if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." Romans 8:9

Saved is the melody of my life song.  The Melody is the basic element of music. String a series of notes together and you have a melody line. The melody is the main thing.

Being saved is the most basic element in the Christian faith. Spiritually speaking, the word saved is the main thing. To establish this melody line, one must take the step of faith to accept, believe, and confess Jesus Christ as your Savior.

Sanctified- Harmony

"Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." Thessalonians 5:23

When another note is simultaneously added to the melody, the sweet harmonic progression in the chord makes me smile. Harmony adds fullness and depth to a melody. It gives the feel of direction.

Sanctification is the progression in your spiritual chord. It’s the process of moving closer to God, of separating oneself from the “things of the world” that pull you away from God.

In High school I sang alto/harmony. Plunking my parts at home on the piano to practice was soooo boring without the melody. A harmony line of music when played alone is dull and nothing. A person trying to live sanctified (separate from the world) without a true melody experience of being saved is involved in religion not Christianity. How dull and empty is that? Sanctification is fullness and depth in a close relationship with God.

Salvation is a gift from God to us. Sanctification is our gift to God.

Set Free- Countermelody

"What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death.  But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 6:21-23

Countermelody is not a song played on the counter…just in case you were wondering.  A countermelody is a song within a song. It weaves around among the melody, blending with harmony notes or in unison, and sometimes off on it’s own melody. I love the freedom of a good countermelody.

My daughter-in-law sang a duet with me a couple years ago that was a huge hit. We sang the old hymn Mansion Over the Hilltop. When she was growing up, she remembered her large family singing this song at gatherings and the lower harmony vocals would break out into a countermelody on the chorus. I’d never heard it before, but she did an awesome job and it was a blast to sing it with her.

Being set free happens when you are saved. But even though your sins are forgiven, sometimes there are things from your sinful past that cling to you. Maybe they are habits or addictions that are unhealthy or ungodly.  Perhaps attitudes, depression, or bitterness tag along after you’re saved and you feel the Holy Spirit prompting and showing you how to let them go…in a sanctification step closer to God. When you finally yield these chains of sinful bondage, you burst into a countermelody that flows right along with the song of your life in Christ... your life-song.

Saved, Sanctified, and Set Free ♥ ♥ ♥
                                   a wonderful trio that sings my Life Song.
Wanna sing along?

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I've Been Redeemed

I’ve been trying to wrap my brain around a common Christian word we all “seem” to understand, but perhaps we don’t fully grasp it. Christ is our redeemer sent from heaven. We are redeemed, and in Christ we have redemption.  About the only way I can explain the true meaning of redeemed is perhaps through a little make-believe story.                                                       
                                                                       

**********

I left my Father’s home that day with my chin held high and the valuables of my entire life packed up neatly in a box. I was on my own and proud of it. The first step to my independence was to hit the pawn shop. I sat my box down and tried not to shiver at the beady-eyed glare from the man behind the counter.

“Pawn it or sell it?” He laid his hand on my box and grunted.

“Pawn it…for awhile,” My voice was a bit shaky.

The stench of filthy man assaulted my senses as he pawed through my precious box. I cringed and reminded myself I was only pawning, not selling it all. This was temporary. I would be given some cash to go do with as I please and later I could come back and purchase my life-box back.

The man sneered and stated his offer. The *cha-ching* sound of the register caused my heart to race, but just like that I scooted out the door with the value of my life exchanged into cash. I was grown up and I could do as I choose. I felt free and ready to live. I looked back and saw his grubby hands digging through my life-box and for a split second wondered if I truly was free.

But no matter, I’d create a different life-box for now, and someday I’ll simply go purchase my original box back.

The days passed into weeks and months before I really began to miss my life-box. Loneliness encased my heart and the other life-box I created now seemed empty, yet heavier and burdensome. I knew the expiration time was near for me to purchase my true life-box from the pawn shop. If I couldn’t come up with the cash before the deadline it would be gone forever and the grimy owner could do as he pleased with my possessions.  In essence, if I didn’t redeem my box, I truly had sold it to the slimy pawn shop owner.

This thought began to weigh heavy on my heart so one day I returned to try to redeem my life-box. The beady-eyed man squinted at me and named his price. The interest rate added to the original amount was astronomical. I was stunned. It was like he didn’t really want me to buy it back. He wanted to keep my life-box forever.

For days I tried to find a way to raise the needed cash, but I just couldn’t do it. Finally I knew what had to be done. I went back to my Father’s house and humbly ask for the needed amount to redeem my life-box. He didn’t even seem angry. It’s like He knew I’d eventually come back and ask for help.

 

I’m no longer in debt to the pawn shop owner. My redemption came from my Father when He sent His Redeemer to pay for my life-box. I truly am redeemed of the debt I couldn’t pay. I don’t feel the desire to be out from under my Father’s care and promise I’ll never pawn my life for even the shortest season. I’m eternally grateful to the Redeemer for doing as Father asked and paying for my life-box.

In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace. Ephesians1:7 

So tell me…have you left your life-box in the hands of the pawn shop owner or has the Redeemer purchased it back for you so that you can live with your Father forever?

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Q it Up!

How many of you play the alphabet game when you travel with kids? If you do, then you know what I mean when you all get bottled up in search of Dairy Queen. Not because you’re craving a Blizzard, but because you all need the “Q” to move on. And it always seems no matter how sharp your eyes are or how large the lead you created at the beginning of the game, everyone always gets caught up in search of Q.

So here I am facing a big fat Q. But then I experienced something recently and I knew what the Q word should be. Quench.

I have three quick ways I’ll discuss that qualify quench as my Q word for this Christianese series in which I will quote scripture to support my quest. Warning: I may choose to be a bit quirky and if you have qualms to this behavior, I suggest you quietly move on so as not to squish the joy out of my brilliant quick wit.

When I worked as a youth minster, the students would come in jabbering nonstop about their day/week: sometimes negative, sometimes positive. To keep them from dwelling on the bad stuff in their lives, we had my version of “testimony time” geared for teens. I don’t remember exactly what we called it, but basically it was: Good, Grrrumble, Great. Share something Good, then you can Grrrumble, then end with something Great. That’s how I’ll address quench in spiritual terms.

Quench means to put out or extinguish. Here are some things that can be quenched in our spiritual lives:

Fiery darts: Good

Ephesians 6:16- Above all, taking the shield of faith, with which you shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

Here we have the portion of scripture that talks about the armor of God, specifically the shield of faith. When the enemy spits fiery darts our way, we can stop them with the shield of faith. Doesn’t that sound easy?

Simply stated, we will have times of battle in our spiritual lives. The Bible doesn’t say put on the armor of God then turn and run away. This lesson teaches us to daily clothe ourselves in a manner in which we can walk forward and defeat the enemy along the way. Notice that people don’t strap their shield onto their backsides? Retreating will only land those fiery darts in our big ol' bums. What an easy target!

I don’t know about you, but I’d rather it be the shield of faith that does the quenching, not the cheeks of fear.

Holy Spirit: Grrrumble

1 Thessalonians 5:19-- 22 Do not quench the Spirit; do not despise prophetic utterances. But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; abstain from every form of evil. 

Remember the definition of quench? (To put out or extinguish.)

The Holy Spirit is often referred to as a fire or flame, something that can be put out or extinguished. There have been many times where I’ve experienced the Holy Spirit’s presence spark in my heart and then felt like a big bucket of water was poured on the flickering flame. Often it’s when spiritual leadership is caught up in the “schedule” and not the Spirit.

I understand the need to be orderly and on time/task but I also understand the need to let the Spirit of God spark and ignite something in individuals that could spread among His people. You know…revival fire?

Another thing that I believe can quench the Spirit is our behavior. To put it short and to the point: When Christians behave in a manner that is clearly unChristlike then step into church, maybe perhaps in a position of leadership, the Spirit of God is doused quickly. If sitting in church feels cold, dead, and boring…more than likely the Holy Spirit has been drowned.

Thirst: Great

John 4:14 But whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

 

Have you ever been so dry and thirsty the back of your throat sticks together? You can’t get your lips to close over your dry teeth? Maybe you have a hard time blinking? And then you finally get to drink refreshing cold water…ahhhh.

Transfer that analogy to spiritual context… You haven’t been in the Word like you should be. You haven’t been to church, or participated in worship that is genuine and free. Maybe you attend one of those churches that quench the Spirit and it adds to your thirst.

And then it happens. You attend a conference, or read an awesome spiritual book that points you back to His Word. Or you shut the blinds, lock the door, and crank up worship music and just sit and absorb it. Ahhhh.

If only we could realize that it’s us that quit drinking, not Jesus shutting down the drinking fountain.

In conclusion: (I feel like I just preached a three point sermon)

Don’t quench the Spirit, drink up the Living Water, and move forward in faith with your shield attached to the proper body part to extinguish the fiery darts that are sure to be spit your way.

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