The Holy Spirit in the Earth
There are those, today, who say that Christianity is the problem and not the answer. They blame it for wars because many wars are over religion and Christianity is a major contender in world religion. However true Christianity is not a religion at all, but a relationship with our creator. In true Christianity there is a change in one’s spirit and that one becomes very charitable, but at the same time, that one despises sin because it is harmful.
This paper gives an example of the true Holy Spirit influence.
In Judges 19 there is a terrible atrocity recorded. It seems that an upright man, a Levite had married his concubine and she was untrue to him and went back to her father’s house in Bethlehem in Judah.
Four months later, the Levite decides to go get his wife. The father-in-law keeps persuading him to eat, drink and be merry and put off the trip home. The fifth day was turning out the same way, but toward evening, the Levite decided to end the delays and get going. By the time he and his concubine had traveled to Jebus, it was getting dark. The Levite decided not to stay in a place of strangers, (the Jebusites lived there) and he traveled a little further to Gibeah, a Benjamite city. No one invited him into their house so he sat on the street. Finally a man came and begged him to go home with him because it wasn't safe in the street. As he and his host ate and drank, a group of Benjamite men beat on his door and demanded that he send the guest out so they could have sex with him. The good man of the house offers his virgin daughter and the concubine instead. The men outside refused the offer and demanded the guest.
The guest, a godly man, I would assume since he was headed for the house of the Lord, shoved his concubine out to them. They have abusive sex with her all night and finally leave her on the doorpost almost dead.
When the Levite got up in the morning, he made preparations to leave and went outside and said to his wife, "Up, and let us be going." He received no answer, for she was dead. He put her body on the beast of burden, and when he got home, he cut her up in twelve pieces and sent a part of her with a massage to each of the tribes of Israel.
Israel was outraged and they went to war with the Benjamites because they would not stand against their brothers who offended. But after they killed off most of the Benjamites, they had compassion and devised a plan to get the remaining Benjamites, wives lest the tribe become extinct. They had vowed not to give their daughters to them, so they devised a plan to have a dance and arranged for the Benjamite men to snatch young girls to be their wives.
Think about this: The one good man offered his poor virgin to these animals. Today a good man would fight to the finish before he would allow his daughter to be treated like that.
The godly Levite shoved his wife out to them. A godly man, today, would fight to the finish before he allowed his wife to be treated like that.
Did this godly man at least wait up until the wickedness ended so he could rescue the woman? No. He went to bed and slept and woke and took care of his needs and then went out to leave. He didn’t even go out to see if she was okay in the morning. When he went out, he saw her lying there, and he does nothing for her. When he was ready to go, he said, "Let’s go." That’s as cold-hearted as you can get.
Then Israel did the right thing in dealing harshly with those who performed or condoned such behavior. And it was good to have compassion for the few remaining of the tribe. But, to arrange for young girls to be snatched and forced to be brides to a different tribe and to a people who had been slain for depravity? No! Most people, today, would not treat females as if they were mere property.
This story got me to thinking about how much men have improved since then. Today, most people would fight to the death to stop what happened and to protect their loved ones. They wouldn’t even have to be godly to do that. The only people who wouldn’t fight to stop it would be the most base, cowardly or wicked kind of people.
We’re civilized. We hear of barbaric acts and think that society is at it’s worst, but we (society) have come a long way. Who is responsible for this? This vast improvement is because Jesus came and not only preached love and caring, but he showed it to the max. I believe this great improvement in mankind is due to the presence of the Holy Spirit in the earth. And I believe that it’s also because many people think that what Jesus did does cover their sin and they are grateful, and since they have received mercy, they show more mercy. The Good News of God’s love and grace motivate people to try to behave better. Also, grace, available to all, was introduced in the New Testament, and men are enjoying grace and learning to be graceful.
Think of how barbaric it would be here if God hadn’t done what he did over 2000 years ago.
Think about what was happening in America back in the days of slavery. It was barbaric. But God got a few people’s attention and worked with them to persuade the many. And today, most people find that kind of treatment, of any person or people, to be atrocious.
So, mankind has come a long way, just having the influence of the Holy Spirit here, even though most people don’t allow him to have full sway in their lives.
© Sylvia Huffnagle
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Spirits
GOD is the good Spirit, and He lives forever and reigns supreme. But there are evil spirits. They come in and influence our thoughts and actions when we disobey the good Spirit. We were created by love (God is love); we were created in love; we were created to be loved, and we were created to love others. This comes about when we become a habitation of God. (Ephesians 2:2) God, being charity, himself, desires to express himself and share himself. Goodness, such as love, joy, peace, knowledge, wisdom, understanding, patience, gentleness, kindness, generosity, self-sacrifice, etc. are incomplete without being shared. This Spirit cannot do good while suppressed. God seeks expression.
But so do evil spirits seek expression. Herein lies the problem. God is a gentleman and only lives where he is welcome. But the devil and his cohorts are pushy, lawless, bullies, liars, and deceivers. They try to take over. They gain power through our emotions, our lack of knowledge, and in our desires. They tell us what we want to hear. They convince us to do what we want to do. They cause us to make harmful choices. Every time we make a decision to disobey God, we have made a decision that will do harm.
There is salvation and deliverance for man. It is found in Jesus Christ. Why him? While on earth , Jesus made sure he was always a habitation for God's Spirit. He submitted to God's will and way at all times and was, therefore, protected from evil (harm) and from doing evil. After he passed all his tests and trials, he was in a position to do something about ours. He took our place in death in order to give us life. He died for us when he had no death coming. He did it because God asked him to. God promised to raise him back to life if he would do this. He believed God. This was what Adam and Eve didn't do. Jesus countered their mistakes. Their choices relinquished the kingdom to Satan. (God said to Adam, have dominion over the earth.) Jesus took back the kingdom from Satan. Through his choices, he had dominion over his feelings, thoughts and actions. He obeyed God. He ruled. He is the second Adam.
God offers us a second chance to live. This is done by receiving Jesus as your Savior (appropriating what he did to defeat the devil, to pay the price for our sin, and restore us to spiritual life) and by making him Lord in your life. He has proven himself trustworthy and able to make all the right choices. He is the only one who can save you from evil because he is the only one who overcame evil and he can do it for you. Adam and Eve messed up by submitting to the liar. Jesus overcame by submitting to the Father. You can overcome by receiving Jesus into your heart and submitting to him.
© Sylvia Huffnagle
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