"And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit."
Ephesians 5:18. NKJV
God spoke to me this morning as I was walking our dog. He quite simply said, 'You're like a rubber ball.' He went on to describe how a rubber football, gets filled with air, but with all the kicking around it receives, gradually it loses it's capacity to perform well. The air has been emitted and it needs blowing back up. God went on to say that we're all like that rubber ball - spiritually. We become filled with God's Spirit but because of the knocks and kicks we receive in life, we need to ensure that we're topped up on a regular basis with the Holy Spirit. Otherwise, we become flat.
In today's verse, the footnotes in the Spirit Filled Life Bible read, 'The tense of the Greek for, 'be filled,' makes clear that such a Spirit filled condition does not stop with a single experience, but is maintained by continually being filled as commanded here.'
To be continually filled with the Holy Spirit, we have to be in the right place. What I mean by this is, we need to be open to God wherever we are and at whatever time of day or night. If we fail to do this, we risk being flat at some stage. Gradually, all that we have taken in by bible study and walking with God, gets used up and we become spiritually flat. To overcome this, we need to continually, day by day, fill our lives with God's Word and presence.
Remember, a rubber ball gets kicked. In a game of football it is kicked away by a defender or kicked in the direction of the opposing goal. As Christians, every now and again, we get kicked. We may be kicked out of a job through redundancy. We may also be kicked out of our home if we don't pay the mortgage or rent. We may also be kicked out of places where we're not welcome and where we don't fit in. The kicks hurt and do a lot of damage. We can end up spiritually crushed. But rubber balls also bounce; they bounce back. They don't remain still, they keep on bouncing until they have no bounce left.
You may have been kicked around in one way or another. You may be feeling flat and crushed with all of your air forced out of your body. Don't stay down. Pick up your bible, sing a praise song, pray and get re-filled with the Spirit, email me and I'll pray for you, then bounce back into the game. Like that rubber ball, when you're kicked, bounce back; score that goal no matter who tries to kick you out of the way.
Be filled with the Spirit, every day; in fact at all times. You've a goal to score, no matter who kicks you, bounce your way into that goal because, you're a winner. And winner's score goals.
Copyriight 2020 Grahame Howard
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