“But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” Acts 1:8
When Amanda and I first got married, we bought an old used refrigerator. It was the kind with a freezer which we had to defrost regularly. It lasted only about a year. It would have lasted longer, but one time when I was defrosting it, I used a sharp knife to chip away at the ice…
We needed a new one anyway.
Amanda hated that refrigerator, and the one we bought to replace it, because of no ice-maker. We had to use plastic ice-trays. It was a hassle to get ice from the trays, fill them back up with water, and put them back in the freezer. It wasn’t so much a hassle for me because I never refilled the trays. I had a habit of getting ice and putting the empty tray back in the freezer which infuriated Amanda.
Last year, we remodeled our kitchen. We went to the appliance store where I embarrassed the life from my wife in my effort to bargain with the salesman. Finally, after I noticed a small scratch on the back, I got the store to discount the price on a brand-new side-by-side refrigerator-freezer with a built-in ice-maker.
To save money, I opted to install the refrigerator myself. I spent the better part of a Saturday running the new water line. After everything was hooked up, I pushed the refrigerator into place and announced to Amanda that her fantastic husband had given her the ice-maker of her dreams.
The next morning, there was no ice.
“No problem,” I said, “I know what’s wrong. I will have it fixed in no time.” After “no time” hours, I confidently pushed the refrigerator back into place and informed Amanda that her wonderful husband had done it again.
The next morning, there was no ice.
“It must take time for the first batch to make, that’s all,” I assured her and started working on it again.
The next morning, there was no ice.
I went back to the appliance store and the salesman said, “Mr. Collins, you need a new what-you-may-call-it, but they are on backorder.” Six weeks later, the what-you-may-call-it showed up in the mail. I pulled the refrigerator from the wall, reached up to turn the water off, and made an incredible discovery. I had never turned the water on in the first place.
No water, no ice. No wonder, no ice.
If you think I looked foolish there, it is nothing compared to what God sees when He looks at people and our efforts to make life work without His power.
The point is: A Christian who forgets the Holy Spirit is like an ice-maker with no water.
How can we forget the infinite, personal Holy Spirit lives within us to guide us and give us power? The answer is regretfully clear. The power is off. When we are preoccupied with the pleasures of the world, we miss the power that comes from a relationship with Jesus Christ. His Spirit enables us to fulfill His purposes, but we must stay plugged in through prayer, reading God’s Word, and having complete reliance on His power – not our own.
Is the power flowing in your life?
James Collins is a pastor at First Southern Baptist Church. He can be reached through the website www.thepointis.net or by email at [email protected].