“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
![Has a post on social media ever made you immediately frustrated? Maybe you even started to think ill of the author of the post. You feel your chest tighten and wonder, how could they have said that? You are so mad you want to click the unfollow button.
[save for reference for when you’re offended]
An offense can happen when someone sins against us, or even if someone just rubs us the wrong way! Often, it comes out of a “right versus wrong” mentality. We get offended and harbor bitterness. Wounds and resentment create rifts and divisions and we find ourselves clutching our anger tightly in our fists to prove we are right.
It’s okay to feel upset when you are offended or sad, but we can’t let bitterness take root. Instead, we must be quick to forgive. As believers, holding a grudge inhibits our ability to reconcile. And when we avoid reconciliation, we miss out on what God wants to do in and through us.
Typically for me, offense stems from pride or self-righteousness. I have received some pretty offensive comments over time, and my feelings do get hurt. But as Christians, we need to be able to “overlook an offense” just like it says in Proverbs.
This passage says it is “one’s glory to overlook an offense.” #chasingsacred (read the rest of the article on @hosannarevival)](https://www.chasingsacred.com/wp-content/plugins/instagram-feed/img/placeholder.png)