The Holy Ghost leads men into a glorious inner-chamber relationship and communication
with the eternal God: to talk to Him, learn of Him, and to be inspired and renewed by Him.
Then endued, anointed, and inspired, he goes forth to reveal, talk of, and share with the
godless masses.
Glenn D. Miller
Once when we were talking, a dear friend and teacher told me, that as each situation or
problem presented itself, we were supposed to bring it to God in prayer.
1 "That sounds hard," I said.
"It is," he said.
I asked him, "Do a lot of people really do that?", and he said, "Probably not."
"Do you?", I asked.
"I try," he told me. I am a student of the old school. I loved school. Still do. Everything about it.
When the teacher asked a question, my hand shot up. Still does. I listened. I paid attention.
I drank it in. And so began another part of my journey with the Lord.
At first it was only the big stuff: my back injury, our children. And my friend was right.
It was very hard. But the part that was hard was not the giving it to God. That was easy.
Hey, who doesn't want to give their problems to someone who's ready to take care of them?
The hard part was keeping my hands off.
I remember when I was a child and I would bring things to my parents or my Granny to fix for
me. Watching from where I was sitting or standing, I would sometimes get a glimmer of what
had to be done.
Remember that glimmer feeling?
If I took the thing back and tried to fix it myself, well, sometimes it worked and sometimes
it didn't. But if I left it with them, more often than not, it got fixed. My taking it back
and trying my own thing only slowed down the process, because I was only able to see from a
certain angle, but they were able to turn the thing around in their hands and look at it from
all angles. This is what God does.
And so, as I kept doing this, giving it all to Him, and leaving it there, things began to
happen. The big stuff got better and different and easier. All I had to do was sit tight, rest
in the Lord, and He did the work.
This is not to say it was smooth sailing. It was a terrible battle sometimes, and I can
remember hours and hours into the night, of anguish and pain in my heart. I remember one time
that I had battled almost all night, telling the Lord that I only wanted to do His Will, and
that my feelings and emotions were getting in the way, and begging Him to bring them in line with
His. It became unbearable at one point, and I begged Him to remove the problem from me.
HE DID.
It is a spiritual battle. And so I continued to give Him each difficulty, continued in my
battle to leave things in His hands, and the answers and solutions and changes continued to
follow. And I thanked Him and gave Him the Glory.
Giving Him all these things got to be a habit. I soon began to do it with everything, big
and small. I cannot tell you all the details, it would take days, because it was constant,
from waking to sleeping. A harsh work, new shoes needed, a job that needed an extra hand, a
misunderstanding, a parking place, a missed bus, a decision.
He always responded! Someone would call, or come, or respond. Insight would come. Something
would change, or happen, or not happen.
"The truth of Christianity is not just in my wide awake mind, but deep down in my unconscious
mind, also." (Light in my darkest Night, Catherine Marshall)
God works in us as we sleep, as we wake, and throughout the day.
2 I have always looked at what Jesus said. You know, the red letter stuff. Now,
I have also learned to look at what Jesus does. I read John chapter 8,
verses 1-11. 3 'BUT JESUS BENT DOWN AND STARTED TO WRITE ON THE GROUND WITH HIS FINGER.'
4 I always thought it was a strange thing for Jesus to do. Here were these people,
rock-throwing on their minds, barraging him with questions, and what does he do?
HE BENDS DOWN AND STARTS WRITING ON THE GROUND WITH HIS FINGER.
Strange...was he - our King, our Saviour, our Prince of Peace - practicing writing his name?
...hoping they would leave?
...killing time?
...graffiti? ...pop-art, perhaps?
...just plain burying His head in the sand? Then it became clear to me.
HE WAS GIVING THE SITUATION TO HIS FATHER IN PRAYER.
And then he spoke what the Father had given him to say.
"Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to
you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work."
5 It was a statement of wisdom and conviction:
'If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.'
6 So now, empowered, I mean he had the answer, why didn't he stare them down?
Why didn't he do the 'brood of vipers', 7 'wicked generation',
or long exhortation thing? Why did he do this again?:
'AGAIN HE STOOPED DOWN AND WROTE ON THE GROUND.'
8 I mean, it was a done deal, right? He just made this incredible statement, so why this
writing in the dirt again?
Was he resting on his laurels? (that was a wise statement),
enjoying the attention?,
ignoring them head in sand and hoping they would go away?
And then I looked at those words again.
Jesus had not "left the building". Neither would he do anything casually, without real purpose.
So what was he doing this again for? The first time he did this, the Father gave him words of
wisdom.
And then, I saw what was happening. One by one, they left, dropped their
rocks, and left. And what was he doing, really? I mean, really doing???
HE WAS LEAVING THE SITUATION IN HIS FATHER'S HANDS, PRAYING, AND ALLOWING THE HOLY SPIRIT TO
WORK.
And when he stood again, he was empowered once more by the Father 9 We are always asking how to put Bible teaching within the context of our own lives. Here's
something basic and simple. The proof's in the pudding! If you don't do it, you'll never know!
Now, every time a situation presents itself,
I BEND DOWN AND START WRITING ON THE GROUND WITH MY FINGER.
Like I said, the proof's in the pudding!
The word "miracle" is a word we use to put a name on things that have been fixed inexplicably,
things that have been changed inexplicably, things that have happened inexplicably. The world
likes to use the word "co-incidence". Personally, I like "God-incidence". Scripture References: 1. Matthew 11:28-30 2. Psalm 139:1-3 3. John 8:1-11 But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on
questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, "If any one of you is without sin, let
him be the first to throw a stone at her." Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.
At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only
Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her,
"Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" "No one, sir," she said. 4. John 8:6b 5. John 14:10 6. John 8:7 7. Matthew 12:34 8. John 8:8
9. John 5:19-20 10. John 8:11b Excerpt taken from:
Scripture References may be viewed briefly by placing your pointer over
the image of the cross found next to the numerical reference.
The gist of the conversation was something like this:
Right beside us. He is more real that you or I. We are limited in our earthly bodies and
minds. And He avails Himself to us at all times. What Love!
I looked at Jesus. I looked again and again. Two verses would not leave me. The first one
was:
to instruct and release. 10
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."
O Lord, you have searched me and you know me.
You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
You discern my going out and my lying down.
You are familiar with all my ways.
But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where
all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. The teachers of the law and
the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and
said to Jesus, "Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the law Moses
commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?" They were using this question as a
trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.
"Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared. "Go now and
leave your life of sin."
But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with His finger.
Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me?
The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, Who is
doing His work.
When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them,
"If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her."
You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of
the heart the mouth speaks.
Again He stooped down and wrote on the ground.
Jesus gave this answer: "I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do
only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.
For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, to your amazement he will show
him even greater things than these."
"Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared. "Go now and leave your life of sin."
The Unquenchable Fire and Streams of Living Water, a journey in faith
Chapter 4. Finger in the Dust, The Template
Book 1 in the series
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