THE GOD OF LOVE - LOVE LIFT YOU UP WHERE YOU BELONG
WEEK FOUR: THE GIFT THAT KEEPS GIVING – Jesus comes to make a home in your heart
“we know how dearly God loves us, because He has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with His love.” (Romans 5:5)
What an extravagant gift of love, The Lord God almighty makes a home in your heart. He fills your heart with His Holy Spirit. And he opens the eyes of his people to see his love from within. From within he strengthens and enlightens. From within he inspires and comforts. From within he sanctifies and makes you Holy, marking the believer for entry into the eternal kingdom, into His home.
Mi Casa Su Casa - Please, treat my home as if it were your own; help yourself while you stay here. Literally translated as "my house (is) your house." When we are baptized into Christ, we become sons and daughters of God. And we become recipients of his blessings. And God’s home becomes our home. And though we were once enemies of God, cut off from his presence, we become friends with God, no longer imprisoned in the hell of death. No longer cast out, we are welcomed home and receive God’s blessing. And even now, before we make the journey to our celestial home, we are given this Holy Spirit gift to reside within us so that we will know God’s love for us and BECOME God’s love for one another.
GOD RESIDES AND WE ABIDE
The Holy Spirit indeed guides us from within, He inspires us to be the hands and feet of God here and now, becoming a blessing for all of God’s children. One way I’ve found to share God’s blessing is to help those who cannot share a home in this life. Through the ministry of the Angel Tree Christmas organization.
Angel Tree Christmas™ equips churches and other organizations to restore and strengthen relationships between incarcerated parents and their children and families. Every Christmas, Angel Tree mobilizes local churches and organizations to minister to hundreds of thousands of children by delivering a gift, the Gospel message, and a personal message of love on behalf of their mom or dad behind bars. This program gives the incarcerated parent the opportunity to share their love with their families, children and loved ones. And it’s an opportunity for the Holy Spirit to flow from one heart into another, even though a prison stands in between those hearts. That’s the power of the Spirit, walls, chains, prison bars cannot restrain Him.
One such child of God is Tatianna. Tatianna was left in her grandmother's care when her mother was incarcerated. And she would pray at Christmas and New Year's,” I just want my mama here”. And through the Angel Tree program God’s Holy Spirit brought them closer to each other and to Himself, and Tatianna’s feelings of abandonment melted away. God’s Spirit helps to heal a broken heart and make a home for her mama from within Tatianna’s heart even though she is far away and seemingly completely locked away.
Another such story is Joe. After causing a deadly car wreck, Joe went to prison and left two young daughters behind. Angel Tree helped set his family on a new path. Now, he is the director of Angel Tree Sports Clinic, bringing hope to thousands of prisoners’ kids each year. The Holy Spirit living within the hearts of many believers inspires giving and builds avenues for home building from within many hearts separated by prison walls.
In this same way the Holy Spirit made a home for a King from within a virgin’s womb and made a bed in a manger (animal food trough) for that King; God’s Spirit reached across every barrier and connected people and places no matter the difficulties, no matter the shame and ugliness of the situation, not matter the manner, reasons, and convictions, God’s Spirit overcame all these things to build his home among the people. God isn’t incumbered by the laws of men, He’s not limited or intimidated by the fears, and pretenses of a social order. God chose average everyday people to do extraordinary things that would ultimately build homes in His Son’s eternal kingdom for all who love God. And now we too can cross over the barriers of darkness to bring the light of GOD’S love into the hearts of the incarcerated people and the families they are separated from. Now, we too can become the hands and feet of God by our love offerings. We can honor the love God has shared with us and spread that love to all of God’s Children. We experience that love when we receive the Holy Spirit (v.5) And we can share that love when the Angel Tree gifts are received by the children and loved ones of the incarcerated. Not to mention the incarcerated themselves and even the prison staff who see firsthand the results of this love in action.
PREPARE THE WAY – Bring your gift offerings, be the gift giver
Get involved today, follow this link to become a love giver: https://www.prisonfellowship.org/.../angel-tree-christmas/
https://www.facebook.com/PFMinistries
https://twitter.com/prisonfellowshp
Conclusion:
The Holy Spirit is a Spirit of love. It is the gracious work of the blessed Spirit to be spread abroad and build up the love of God in the hearts of all the saints. ALL the saints no matter their situations. And He blesses some to become a blessing for many. Like a sweet-smelling ointment, or as rain watering a sown seed, it is making a fruitful harvest through the shedding of love from one heart to another.