“You stiff-necked Christians! Must you forever resist the Holy Spirit?" Acts 7:51 abridged for the church.

"One of the most telling blows which the enemy ever struck at the life of the Church was to create in her a fear of the Holy Spirit.

No one who mingles with Christians in these times

will deny that such a fear exists.

Few there are who without restraint will open their whole heart to the blessed Comforter.

He has been and is so widely misunderstood that the very mention of His name in some circles is enough to frighten many people into resistance. The source of this unreasoning fear may easily by traced, but it would be fruitless labor to do it here. Sufficient to say that the fear is groundless.”-A. W. Tozer,

Martyn Lloyd-Jones said it this way:

“Got it all? Well, if you have ‘got it all’ I simply ask in the name of God, why are you as you are?

If you have got it all, why are you so unlike the New Testament Christians?

Got it all! Got it at your conversion! Well, where is it, I ask?”

If the teachings of Calvin, or of more recent teachers such as John MacArthur, John Piper, J. Vernon McGee, or other influential voices within Reformed theology, have caused you to “resist the Holy Spirit” for whatever reason, I urge you to reconsider.

We must be careful not to let our theological convictions become barriers to the very work of God we long to see accomplished in our lives.

We may disagree about the nature, purpose, or continuation of certain spiritual gifts, yet still remain humble and receptive to the Spirit's transforming presence.

Paul's exhortation remains worthy of our attention: “Quench not the Spirit” (1 Thessalonians 5:19).

Whatever your theological convictions, do not let fear of excess, suspicion of others, or loyalty to a particular system of doctrine cause you to withdraw from the Spirit's sanctifying work.

Let your heart remain open to all that He desires to accomplish in you, always testing what you hear against Scripture and seeking to glorify Jesus Christ.

The question is not simply what we believe about the Holy Spirit, but whether we are willing to yield ourselves to His work within us.

The following satire would be humorous if it weren't so true. The masses of struggling  destructive lost and downcast are common on the streets of Portland Oregon . This quote describes so many I minister to in the jail and missions.  

"PACIFIC NORTHWEST APPARENTLY HOME TO NEW GENERATION: "GEN WHY"

Every little town in the Pacific Northwest apparently has at least one member of a previously unidentified generation known as "Gen Why."

She's 40, dresses like she's 21, parties like it's 2006, and has been "getting her shit together" since George W. Bush was president.

You know the one.

Leopard-print leggings tighter than a banjo string, a crop top fighting for its life, eyelashes like two dead tarantulas, and enough makeup to seal a double-wide. She applies it with a nine-inch paint roller from Bi-Mart and uses a putty knife for touch-ups.

Her eyebrows are drawn on so high they qualify as overhead utilities.

She's got five kids, four baby daddies, and a boyfriend-of-the-month club with more turnover than Dollar General. The current winner is 24, has "LOYALTY" tattooed on his neck, and hasn't worked since somebody stole his tools in 2019.

Naturally, she doesn't have a meth problem. She just smokes a little, sells enough to support the habit she doesn't have, and has been cleaning the same bathroom since the Fourth of July.

"I can quit whenever I want."

Nobody asked, Tiffany.

Despite being unemployed, she's busier than a one-armed roofer. Between Facebook fights, court dates, and driving her boyfriend to probation, she barely has time to post about fake friends, jealous bitches, and how blessed she is.

Her profile says "INDEPENDENT QUEEN - DON'T NEED NO MAN," although her mother pays the phone bill, her ex pays the electricity, and she's borrowing $40 from a guy she met behind Chevron.

Every Friday she's cutting toxic people out of her life. By Sunday, they're all back in her living room smoking cigarettes, fighting over a missing vape, and planning an eyelash business.

She's accepting deposits.

You can usually hear "Gen Why" coming three blocks away, blasting Eminem and screaming at somebody on speakerphone about loyalty.

At press time, she'd posted "NEW CHAPTER. NO MORE DRAMA."

Nine minutes later, police responded to a disturbance involving two ex-boyfriends, a missing catalytic converter, and somebody screaming, "YOU DON'T KNOW MY FUCKING STORY!"

Unfortunately, everybody in town does.

DISCLAIMER: Satire. Gen Why is fictional, but every small town has at least one. Some have enough to start a bowling league."  The Coostucky Chronicle

 Pearl of great price Mt. 13:45-46

Who Is the Merchant, and What Is the Pearl?

“There are scholars who disagree, I’ll share the interpretation I think is most applicable.

I believe the merchant represents the sincere seeker—the person who hungers and thirsts for truth, righteousness, and a deeper understanding of God.

The pearls represent the spiritual truths he discovers along the way, each contains elements of truth, while the “pearl of great price” represents Christ Himself, the incomparable worth of God's kingdom, which surpasses everything else he might possess.

I believe God has graced every culture and generation with individuals who possess uncommon spiritual insight, enabling them to perceive truths others may overlook.

These men and women may arise from any nation, tradition, or walk of life.

Their insight is not a trophy of human achievement,

but a gift of grace intended for the common good.

Perhaps these are among the pearls God places along humanity’s path—glimpses of divine truth intended to awaken our hunger for something greater than ourselves.

We should not assume that every pearl of wisdom contains the fullness of divine truth, Christ alone possesses all truth.

For the merchant in Jesus’ parable, the discovery of one pearl of extraordinary value changed everything. Having found it, he was willing to sell all he possessed to obtain it.

Not every messenger possesses equal understanding.

When we encounter truth, we should examine its worth, embrace what is good, and allow it to transform our hearts and lives.

For the true seeker, spiritual discovery is not merely an intellectual exercise;it calls for a response.

Like the merchant who gives everything to obtain the pearl of great price, we must be willing to surrender whatever stands in the way of God's kingdom.

The light God gives us is not a license to demonize or condemn those who see differently, rather, we should approach others with humility and discernment, recognizing that we, too, see and understand only in part, and remain dependent upon His grace.

And we have a responsibility to

love more deeply,

discern more wisely,

and serve more faithfully.

We can hold firmly to our convictions while remaining open to the possibility that God has allowed others, in different cultures and traditions, to perceive aspects of truth that we ourselves have overlooked.

If the light we have received is truly from God,

it should lead us toward the character of Christ,

who was full of grace and truth.

The more clearly we see His light,

the more faithfully we should reflect it to the world—

not as a weapon with which to wound others,

but as a light by which they, too, may find their way toward God.”

 

 "I have nothing to say to you, but what I have already said: simply obey the Holy Spirit, without listening to your own reason or fancy. 

No doubt you recognize you have a terrible bias to dissipation, the wasteful spending and squandering of resources, a lifestyle of unrestrained pleasure-seeking and a state of self-satisfaction and pride that is completely unjustified, unearned, and based on an illusion of achievement; you love to be praised, and you praise yourself; you find in your reason and natural courage, a strength which nourishes pride. 

Nothing but honest, quiet reflection can destroy this vain life, and moderate your insupportable lively, high-spirited, energetic, restlessness. 

“Let your thirst for understanding seek less, and let your heart give itself up more. Everything that seems to satisfy your intellect only puffs it up: you imagine you are nourishing your zeal, when in fact you are nourishing your pride. 

The point is not to know a great deal, but to know how to become more lowly, a child in the hands of God, of whom  I beg, not only to make you lowly, but to make you as nothing.” Fenelon.

When I worked on a Hotline, God opened up an online connection with a young woman some years back. 

Her life was a continual horror from 2 years old till I met her when she was 22. 

After we had been communicating for some time I asked her if I could have permission to share some of her story, 

She wanted me to. The communication was done by texting online. 

I decided to leave her testimony in her own writing, sadly, she had little education and it takes some work to understand her. 

I did add some punctuation. 

“Thank you so much for everything you have done. 

you can tell my store to other to help them it ok

 i am sure my store can help other or i hope so.

 

i am so thankful you was online that night and you have helped me so much you have no clue.

i hope you can help others just like me. 

everyday a new day. 

i will type my full story so you can share with other. 

my name lanna i am 22 my story begins i had a mom and a dad and 2 sister and a brother.

 

my parents split up when i was like 10 maybe younger i will never forget that night.

 

it was storming really bad my dad my uncle my brother and just one of my sister and our two friends and my cousin and my mom. we was all at the house watching beauty and the beast. 

my dad and cousin was in bedroom she was like 13. 

i was sitting in my mom lap and she ask me get up. 

i watched her get up go to bedroom and then she walked out she told us get dressed we leaving. 

we went to naborhouse. 

i was scared i had no iead what was going on. 

when i got there mom made me and my sister go to room. i looked out i seen my dad in hand cuff in back of police car. 

i was sad i was daddy liittle girl. 

i went with my mom and cousin to hospital. that when i found out my dad and cousin been having sex. 

we went to a safe house me mom and sister and brother. after 30 days we went to stay at my grandmother house where my step grand father stayed to.

i rember mom took my sister to dentist she left me and my brother i wanted to go outside and play he would not let me and he would drag me to bathroom and try lock me in there he hit me. 

when mom came home i told her and we moved out we got our own place.

 i was happy i made friends. 

mom had a boyfirend name ben i did not like him he made me stay outside i was not allowed to get nothing to drink my friend would give me something. 

so one day i walked to my mom work which was right up the street. i told mom what ben was doing and she kicked him out. 

so she met a guy named emad i loved him he was so nice funny smart he help mom me the hole family. 

we moved in a house he help us get but he never stayed with us so mom meet a guy named Chris which come find out he was a sex offender and she new he was ok  

my sister, she was like 17 and was dating a guy who was like 20 something,

 he was cool i like him a lot she would give me adult chatline number for me call keep me busy so she could do whatever why mom was at work. 

mom got mad her and told her she could not see him and so mom and her got in a fight and she called the law they took mom and her boyfriend to jail

 he went cause he was a sex offender he was around me and SAM. so we were not aloud to see him. 

i was in foster care at 12 and the first home i went to i did not feel right i hated cause of my foster dad nobody would listen to me 

i try everything to get moved out i showed out at school. 

i got in trouble at home

it was Christmas time and my foster sister had a band program me my brother and the other little girl was left alone with him and when i went to ask for food he told me no not until i did something with him and he touched me,

i told mom what he did to me and she called my case worker me and my little brother we moved back with mom. 

everything was so good. i was like 12 getting ready turn 13. 

i was talking to other men and sneak out house to have sex 

my mom was never around she was away at work. 

i was talking to this man who name mike 

he was 55 

she new about him she never said, no lanna you cant do that, so when we got kicked out he help us we were together everyday all day he was my boyfrend we slept in same bed 

i told mom i might been pragent she never said anything. so when people got to see us they reported use they pic of and i told them she new about us 

she denied it they took me and my brother away.

  

went to foster care where i stayed until i turned 18 

 i would run away and be with pimp and i got beat and raped by a pimp who would not let me sleep 

i had walk day and night in summer time until i called cops they took him away.  

i was dating a guy who was super nice everyone in company liked him. one day i ran away went back to street where i was pulled at gun point and stuff. i ened up getting mairryed i had devroce him

i was wrong i started having dreams and stuff getting real depressed not haven a mom to talk to or friends. 

i as think about sudice. long time i remaber i saw this viedo on facebook i saved a long time ago i rember i saved 

i wen to it, that were i stared talking to a really nice guy name Fred he preyed for me he found a church for me to go to all he new was  the state i was in, and found a church right up street from me 

how he new where to look idk. 

a couple day later me and my mom stared talking, 

we have not talked since i was like 17 i haven seen her and we talk everyday now i been happy 

everyday a sturgle for me.

We continued to chat and she made progress in faith and in life. At some point we lost touch……

My sons and I were discussing the care Jesus had about the scraps left over after He fed the multitude. My middle son brought it up saying - 

 “It always strikes me as odd that gathering the leftovers after feeding the multitudes is mentioned so prominently. It's like Jesus doesn't want it to be mis-handled.

I said – “Picking up the leftovers always reminds me of the Gentile woman that sought healing for her daughter, and she was more than happy to have crumbs that fell under the table. 

There are times I feel like it's all I have to offer, crumbs. 

I get in situations that are way over my head, and yet, 

Amazingly, I see a crumb nourish some poor trembling soul. 

It happened last night at the jail, when a girl of 25, 

with problems that completely overwhelm her, 

so much so she has NEVER shared anything about her past, 

it is just too painful.

 But last night, she lingered and was the last to leave the meeting, 

she stopped to chat with me for a minute. 

She knows I care about her; I have lavished the affection of Christ on her whenever I have the opportunity. 

And last night, for the first time, she shared some of her struggles and bits of her past. 

It may not seem like much, but to me it was like seeing Lazarus coming out of the tomb, still bound hand and foot with death robes, but he was upright!

This photo isn't her, but it looks a lot like her.

Little Heart and Big Water Bottles

A brief encounter at the Crisis Shelter

“I saw her with a water bottle that was half her size, 

she could barely hold it and take swigs, 

as it jostled in her little hands. 

Its size seemed intentional, like someone prepared for a long and thirsty journey.

We caught each other’s eyes.

Her mother was standing with another child in her arms, surrounded by a gaggle of other siblings. 

They were weaving in and around her as they all stood waiting for the evening details at the Crisis Shelter to fall into place.

There was a look in the mother’s face that I’ve seen many times, an overwhelmed, but determined stability, 

as she tries to hold life all together. 

The world is careening out of any sort of calm and safe orbit 

and they are being thrown into unfamiliar places and faces. 

It’s a managed terror, 

a courageous caution, 

mixed with fragile determination. 

A strong and fierce countenance, 

with slightly trembling lips.

I approach the mama Deer and her little Fawns gently, purposefully with distracting playfulness with the little water girl. 

Jokes and light banter to break the tension and the awkward energy in the moment.

I have learned the easiest way to gently approach a nervous and protective heart of a mother is kindness to her kids. 

Engaging her children is a gift of distraction from all the unknown, it’s a relief to the anxiety of first entries and skittish hearts and minds.

The little girl asks me if I can “Touch the roof.”

I do so.

She says “Do it again.”

I do so.

“How old are you?” she asks.

I tell her.

“What is your name?”

Do you live here?

Her list of questions is Homeric:

I am being analyzed by a little heart and mind, sized up, examined and lightly touched from a distance. 

I’m reminded of the Deer that I live among, curious, but so quick to leap away in the blink of an eye at the slightest twitch of danger.

I want to stay; she wants me to stay…

but the night has structure and steps and our meeting ends, 

but her face lingers in my mind and heart as I pray her name.

“Lord, bless this young girl and her siblings with peace tonight, a safe and warm bed, full tummies, fresh and clean clothes. 

Uphold them through all the loving and helpful people present to serve them. 

Hold Mom’s heart in your hands,

allow her to rest from all that hunts and haunts her. 

Meet them in the grace and goodness of all the care and counsel that is available under the roof of the UGM Shelter for Women and Children.” In Jesus name, amen.”

Pastor Eric

 ""If when reading my Bible, I find that the Epistles are gaining a commanding influence upon my mind, I must at once set out to explore the prophets.

If I find some special phase of truth powerfully attracting me, I must not shun it, but neither must I neglect the other aspects of truth.

“The Lord has yet more truth to break from out His Word!” said John Robinson; and I must earnestly seek to find it.

Now, Mr. Goodman is a splendid fellow;

but he fell in love with one lonely little truth,

and now he never thinks, reads, or preaches of any other.

It would be his salvation, and the salvation of his people,

if he would venture forth to climb the peaks that hold no attraction for him.

He would discover, when at last he stood upon their sunlit summits,

that they too are part of God’s great and glorious world."

This is such a practical and important truth, especially for new Christians or for those who have heard little beyond what their pastor or denomination teaches.