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Awakened & Shaken

The young woman is on a righteous path.  Our conversation a week or so ago confirmed what the Spirit had been saying, “Her awakening to the love I have for her will bring about a revival of her soul and the will of Heaven on earth.”  She, as a lover of Jesus and a ministerial candidate, is pursuing wisdom as it is to be pursued…through the Holy Spirit first, not the intellect first.  Her questions and applications were indicative of one being blessed for her hunger and thirst for righteousness.  (Pause for Thought:  “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.”—Matthew 5:6 How do you define “righteousness”?  In what areas of life do you see the lack of righteousness?  Has God called you to do something about it?)
 
The more we spoke, and the more she answered the questions we gave her to reflect upon, the more she began to remind me of Stephen from the Book of Acts.  Her passion to apply God’s word into all manner of relationships was contagious.  It was impressive to listen to one so young; well on her journey to Spiritual maturity.  In comparison to those who claim to know so much about Christ’s purposes, her humility conveyed a powerful understanding of God’s will through Jesus.  I left our conversation thinking intently about what I had heard.    (Pause for Thought:  “In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Grecian Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food.  ‘Brothers choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom.  We will turn this responsibility over to them.’  This proposal pleased the whole group.  They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit.”—Acts 6:1,3,5  Who do you know full of the Holy Spirit?  What effect do they have on you and on others?  Are you full of the Holy Spirit?  Why or why not?)
 
Her journey isn’t without peril.  She expressed how much opposition she was receiving from her “Christian” classmates because of her passion for God’s word and ministry.  This doesn’t and shouldn’t come as a surprise.  When the Holy Spirit calls us into something for Christ’s-sake, and we can’t help but speak the truth, the enemy throws obstacles at us through people who could and should relate to our journey with Jesus.  Again, the story of Stephen comes to mind as he was noticed by the “spiritual leaders” of his day.  Stephen was awakened by the Spirit, but the leaders considered him a usurper of the normal pursuits of “spirituality”.  When met with opposition, Stephen’s Spirit-filled wisdom and love for others couldn’t be extinguished…even after death.  Saul, soon to be Paul, is living testimony to the awakening in Stephen and the shaking of the norm.  See Acts 6:8-7:59.  (Pause for Thought:  “See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks.  If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven?  At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, ‘Once more I will shake not only the earth, but also the heavens.’  Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our ‘God is a consuming fire’.”—Hebrews 12:25-26,28-29.  Has anyone tried to quench the Spirit within you?  Have you ever tried to quench the Spirit in another?  How has the Spirit shaken the “normal” around you and awakened God’s will for you and others?)
 

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