Even though God’s Spirit confirms to us that we are His children, we often act as if we live in the afterglow of His presence. We behave as if His miracles were primarily for a time that has passed. It often seems like we are just going through the motions as we wait for Christ’s return. Are we that different from many of the early disciples who, while waiting for Jesus to set up His kingdom on earth, failed to experience the intimacy of His presence?
Jesus told His disciples that it was better for them if He went away. He said if He went away (back to the Father) the Holy Spirit would come to be with us forever. Jesus was limited during His time on earth and could only be at one place at one time. The Spirit of truth would not be limited. He could be with all believers at the same time and be uniquely intimate with each one.
It seems that we are tempted to assign importance to a particular story or miracle in Scripture as if its importance comes in part because of its rarity. But the scriptures tell us that the miracles recorded are just a few accounts of God’s Spirit working in the lives of His people. They are not rare circumstances. They are simply the ones that God chose to be recorded to encourage us in our faith.
God’s influence is not limited to the relatively few miracles we find in the accounts of Jesus and His time on earth. The impact of God’s presence did not diminish at the conclusion of Jesus’ earthly ministry or when the Apostles ceased their work. He remains the same God today. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
Every encounter with God is miraculous. So let us not limit God and refuse to see His miraculous work in the lives of His people today. We are the very temple of God through His Spirit that dwells in us. Every breath we take, and every beat of our heart is an opportunity for us to experience the miraculous intimacy of our Father.
NASU Jn 16:7,12-13: “But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. … “I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.”
NASU Jn 21:25: “And there are also many other things which Jesus did, which if they were written in detail, I suppose that even the world itself would not contain the books that would be written.”
NASU 1Cor 3:16-17: “Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are.”
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