“And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Espesians 5:18-30
I could sit here and tell you that I’m really good at gratitude. That I love worship and I’m constantly doing it. But that’d be a lie. You’re looking at a person who continually struggles with discontentment.
Thanksgiving is around the corner.. and I am reminded that for me, I hate the cliche ways of thinking about gratitude. Listing what I’m thankful for rarely pierces my thankless heart. It rarely lasts for me.
So, here is something that has truly made the difference for me. A realization that one aspect of being filled with the Holy Spirit means we worship and are thankful. That a SPIRIT filled life means we are hyper-aware of Gods love for us which leads us to sing psalms to one another, thank God, and commune with each other in thanksgiving.
Ephesians 5:18-30 says,
“And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Metaphorically, a life without worship is an empty life.
Worship fills us with the Spirit-and the Spirit fills us as we worship
To be filled with the Spirit means we are led to worship, and to be led to worship means we are filled with the Spirit. Gosh, that is so convicting to me.
Another thing that convicts me is that this verse in Ephesians describes an event that is done with others. Worshipping as a body of believers.
I believe that upon conversion we are filled with the Holy Spirit, but I also believe that we can have a continual filling of the Spirit through reading the Word, operating within our giftings, preaching the Word, praying, giving, singing songs, thanks, and worship.
So, today if you are empty, joyless, exhausted, and distracted let’s lift our hands in worship-to remind ourselves that we are desperate for more and more of His Spirit. #chasingsacred
![I have seen post after post about Christians speaking in love. But, what about Christian’s listening?
[share and save to encourage others]
I still remember my counselor asking me if I listen just to listen or if I listen with a preconceived idea of the right answer?
To be completely honest, I have found myself to do the latter. Before she said that, I rarely listened with a blank mind and heart. Instead, I listened and interjected to lead someone to a conclusion. (Yikes! I hope it’s not just me that has done this)
So, let’s start by doing what this passage instructs us to do and let’s listen to the Word of God with a soft heart and an open mind. Are you seeing the text plainly?
“18 Therefore consider carefully how you listen.” (Luke 8:18)
This phrase jumped out at me. Consider how you listen. We have just been told the parable of the Sower where we hear how the Word of God (the seed) lands on 4 different types of soil.
For a moment, I want you to imagine yourself as each of the types of soil.
The Word is first snatched up by the devil (maybe this is distraction, time-management, or anything else that steals your time away from spending time in Gods presence)
Secondly, you receive the Word with joy but times of testing come and you no-longer ascribe to it.
Thirdly, life gets in the way-business pursuits, lifestyle, money, or pleasures take the place of time spent in his Word.
Lastly, you receive the Word of God-and you hear and understand. One translation says, “15 But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.” HEAR the Word.
You produce a crop because you retain the information.
The hearing of the Word of God is so important. Are you going to the Word to HEAR what God has to say or are you studying it to back-up what you want to say? Let us learn in 2021 to be believers that speak truth in love, but also LISTEN to hear! #chasingsacred](https://www.chasingsacred.com/wp-content/plugins/instagram-feed/img/placeholder.png)