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Tag Archives: Holy Spirit

Jump in the River

07 Dec

diveIn my last post I started talking about the Holy Spirit being described as Living Water in the Scripture. Jesus referred to this water when He talked with the woman at the well. She had no idea what He was talking about.

I also talked about Jesus preparing His disciples for the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the church. He told them that the Gift of God was the Baptism in the Holy Spirit. (Acts 1:4-5)

Baptism is a religious word that we sometimes misunderstand. To baptize literally means to submerge or immerse completely in a liquid.

So when we talk about the baptism in the Holy Spirit, we’re really talking about being immersed in the Spirit. So the gift of God is a spiritual immersion. The Lord wants us to jump in this spring of living water.

The woman didn’t understand what Jesus was talking about, so He explained it.

Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
John 4:13-14

The water that Christ gives (the Holy Spirit) will become a gushing fountain of this water. And it will continue springing up to eternal life.

Drinking water is a lot like breathing air. In the spirit we need to be breathing in and out. It should be a continual thing.

That’s why Jesus could say in verse 21 that a day is coming to fulfill this in God’s people.

“God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.”
John 4:24

We are given the Holy Spirit on the inside of us when we’re saved. But God wants us to be immersed in Him; immersed in the living Holy Spirit.

We sometimes think of eternal life only in terms of length. God wants us to live His kind of life – the God kind of life. That’s why God wants us to have the water of life within us.

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 6:23

What is the gift of God? It’s the Holy Spirit in you – springing up to eternal life. The gift of God brings eternal life.

The real question we should be asking is; what exactly is eternal life? What does God mean when He uses that phrase?

In my next post I’ll wrap up this series by showing how Christ explains this gift of His life bubbling up within us.

Question: How often do you pray and worship God in the Spirit?

© Nick Zaccardi 2016

 
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Posted by on December 7, 2016 in Prayer in the Spirit, Spiritual Walk, Worship

 

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The Gift of God – Like a River

05 Dec

Stream 2All around me I see people gearing up for Christmas. The parking lots at the malls are starting to fill up as shoppers begin buying presents. We all like to receive gifts. But I think that the greatest gifts are not from a store. They’re things that affect us for eternity.

On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.”
John 7:37-38

I want to take a few posts to talk about the gift of God to us. Jesus describes it as streams of living water bubbling up on the inside of us. Yet, even though it flows through you, you’re not the source. The Lord is talking about an unending stream.

By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.
John 7:39

Jesus was talking about the Holy Spirit living in God’s people. It was a new thing that God was going to do. It had never been seen before.

Of course, there were many Old Testament saints who were used mightily by the Holy Spirit. But until this time, no one had ever experienced the Spirit of the Lord actually taking up residence in their lives.

Look at what happened after Jesus was glorified.

On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
Acts 1:4-5

It’s clear from the words of Christ that the gift of God is the baptism in the Holy Spirit. God wanted them to have this gift. It was something that they needed to wait for before they did anything else.

They had already been given the “Great Commission” to go into all the world and preach the Gospel to everyone. But now Jesus is telling them to wait. Don’t go, don’t preach, don’t do anything for me until you receive this gift. That tells me that the baptism in the Holy Spirit is necessary to proclaim the Good News.

We need to understand how the Spirit operates in us. In some ways the Holy Spirit is like water. He can be compared to a stream, a river, a pool or an ocean. He can be in you and you can be in Him.

But this was not the first invitation Jesus gave to receive His gift. At one point in His traveling, the Lord met with a woman by a well. In discussing about water…

Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”
John 4:10

Jesus used a very interesting phrase to describe this. He called it living water – water that is alive. That’s because this water is a person – the Holy Spirit. We need to learn how to relate to Him. That’s how His life can become our life.

Question: How has the life of the Holy Spirit changed you?

© Nick Zaccardi 2016

 
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Posted by on December 5, 2016 in Prayer in the Spirit, Revival, Spiritual Walk

 

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Worship – The Place of Change

02 Dec

LightningI’ve been posting about the worship that takes place in the throne room of God. We enter that place as we pray in the spirit.

From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. Before the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits of God.
Revelation 4:5

Here is another picture of what happens before the throne of God. We need to understand that the term seven spirits of God could also be translated as the seven-fold spirit of God. I believe that’s referring to the Holy Spirit.

Also around the throne we see flashes of lightning. We see this happening throughout the Bible when God’s throne is mentioned. Lightning, loud noises, and thunder. But when you read Scripture there are only certain times when this happens.

We see this taking place when God changes something. In Revelation, chapter 8, we see the prayers of the saints offered like incense before God. Then, as they were being offered to God, the following takes place.

Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it on the earth; and there came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake.
Revelation 8:5

What was taking place in Heaven started happening on earth. That’s because worship is a place of change. It’s in His presence that our lives are changed.

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.
2 Corinthians 4:16

The Apostle Paul understood this. When he wrote this, Paul was talking about himself and his ministry team. He knew that in the place of worship there could be daily change happening.

Just think about it; we can come into God’s presence for daily renewal.

We try so hard to be good. We fail. Then we keep trying to be better. We need to learn the truth of that old chorus…

“I am changed in the presence of an awesome God.”

Enter into God’s throne room through prayer in the spirit. Everything we need is there. It’s in His awesome presence that we find unity, peace, and a changed life.

Question: How has your life been changed in God’s presence?

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© Nick Zaccardi 2016

 
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Posted by on December 2, 2016 in Prayer, Prayer in the Spirit, Spiritual Walk, Worship

 

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The Gospel – Face to Face with Jesus

28 Oct

cross 2I’ve been talking about how Philip brought Nathanael to Christ. Jesus called Philip and he immediately shared the good news with his friend. When he was told about Jesus, Nathanael had an interesting response.

“Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked.
“Come and see,” said Philip.
John 1:46

Look at his answer; it’s dripping with attitude. Nathanael was a man who was skeptical and bored with life. That’s why we can’t look at people’s attitudes when we share the Gospel with them. We must always remember to look at them through the eyes of Christ.

We can see that Philip understood this by his response. The NIV translates it as “Come and see”. But that doesn’t give you the full impact of what Philip said.

He didn’t use the normal word for see. The word he used is an excited interjection.

“You gotta see this!!!”

The truth is that disciples of Christ are excited about Christ. When was the last time you were excited about the Lord or something He did for you? How do you regain that excitement day by day?

King David is a good example to us. One day David didn’t feel like saying anything.

My heart grew hot within me, and as I meditated, the fire burned; then I spoke with my tongue:
Psalm 39:3

If you want to fan the flame of excitement, then you must meditate on the good things of God. Good things, noble things, praiseworthy things. Why would anyone one want to come to Jesus if He’s not exciting to us?

It’s not about debating with people or convincing them to trust the Lord. The key is that your excitement about Christ should lead them into wanting what you’ve found.

So Nathanael, this skeptical, bored person, went to Jesus.

When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false.”
John 1:47

When Jesus saw Nathaniel approaching, He used the same excited interjection that Philip used.

“Look at this!!!”

The Lord totally turned the tables on him. By saying that Nathanael was an Israelite with no trickery or deceit, the Lord caught him completely off guard.

The Lord knows what we need to see and hear in order to trust Him. Nathaniel was a skeptic, probably ready for a debate. Maybe had some questions to test Jesus with. Now he’s on the defensive.

That should be the case when a non-Christian comes into a group of excited believers who are being led by the Holy Spirit.

But if an unbeliever or someone who does not understand comes in while everybody is prophesying, he will be convinced by all that he is a sinner and will be judged by all, and the secrets of his heart will be laid bare. So he will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, “God is really among you!”
1 Corinthians 14:24-25

It’s not about convincing arguments. It’s coming face to face with the power of God active in His people. I believe that this is the true nature of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Question: Do you know an example of an unbeliever coming face to face with the power of God?

© Nick Zaccardi 2016

 
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Posted by on October 28, 2016 in Ministry, Power of God, The Church, The Gospel

 

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The Walk of Unity and Fellowship

21 Oct

PowerlessI’ve been posting about fellowship and unity lately. It’s all about recognizing those who are serving Christ around me. Understanding their differences, and working with them for God’s glory.

The Apostle Paul describes it this way…

May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.
Romans 15:5-7

His prayer is that the same God who gives endurance and encouragement will now give them a spirit of unity. But that phrase, spirit of unity, is interesting in the original Greek. It’s literally asking God to give us a mind toward one another.

This goes right along with what we have been saying about unity thus far. I should be thinking about you. You’re on my mind so that I can understand your calling. In that way I can see how we fit together in the body of Christ.

Truly, we’re not called to be an organization, but an organism. We should be functioning seamlessly together because of the Holy Spirit within us. As we hear the voice of the Spirit and watch over each other, we are now equipped to fulfill the next part of this passage.

Only in unity can we glorify God with one heart and one mouth. Especially since the word translated heart is really the word passion. As I spend time in the Spirit, I pick up God’s passion.

It’s not about me convincing you what you need to be passionate about. If we could all be synced to God’s heartbeat, then we’ll operate in one passion. Time with the Spirit brings true unity.

The goal is to function together. It’s not up to you to change in order to please me. That’s not what Christ did. He paid the price for me to go to Him. Sometimes it will cost me something to overlook the faults and differences that you bring with you.

I must receive you just as Christ received me. Just as you are. I’m not the Holy Spirit. I have to leave room for God’s grace to work in you. None of us are perfect yet. The Lord receives us just the way we are and we need to do the same.

Unity is a choice. It’s unfortunate that when some people pray for the unity of the church, what they’re really praying is, “God, please making everyone else think like me.” That’s not true unity. It’s us choosing to work together as the Holy Spirit makes us begin to think like God.

I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought.
1 Corinthians 1:10

This is what we’re to strive for. To be perfectly united in mind and thought requires more than just good teaching. It means that I’m spending time in the presence of the Holy Spirit. As I allow the mind of Christ to take over my life, I’m setting the stage for the unity of the Spirit.

The more you and I begin to think like Christ, the more unity we will walk in. This is how the fellowship and unity of Christ can be manifest in His people. Make that your goal as we minister together for the Lord.

Question: What must I do to yield to the Holy Spirit?

© Nick Zaccardi 2016

 
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Posted by on October 21, 2016 in Fellowship, Ministry, Revival, Spiritual Walk

 

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Fellowship – Recognizing God’s Grace

19 Oct

Different AnointingI’ve been talking about our fellowship and the unity of the Spirit. But how exactly do we fix upon each other so that we all keep in step with what God’s doing? We see a great example of this in Scripture, when Paul was first saved and he met with the Apostles in Jerusalem.

James, Peter and John, those reputed to be pillars, gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship when they recognized the grace given to me. They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the Jews.
Galatians 2:9

This is an interesting verse. When they met together, the Apostles understood how the Lord works. They didn’t expect Paul to operate exactly the way they did.

It says that they recognized the grace that Paul had been given. This is a spiritual perception that comes from time with the Holy Spirit.

Too often we take a “cookie-cutter” approach to ministry. We find what God is calling us to do and we run with it. But, because it works well for us, we make the assumption that everybody should be ministering the same way that we do.

That’s foolish. We’re all different. Not only that, but we’re all called to reach different people. What you do in your ministry will never work to reach those I’m called to deal with.

It’s the Holy Spirit who organizes what we do. That’s why it’s so important to let Him take the lead in showing us how to minister.

I must be able to watch what you’re doing for Christ and recognize the grace that’s operating through you. Then, even seeing the differences, we can still march together in unity.

Now we ask you, brothers, to respect those who work hard among you, who are over you in the Lord and who admonish you.
1 Thessalonians 5:12

The word translated respect in this verse means to know by seeing, watching and observing. We are to fix upon those who we know are our leaders in the Lord. In this way we can observe the direction we’re to be heading.

The verse tells us that our leaders are to admonish us. That literally means that they are to put things into our minds. By observing them, we learn what we’re to be accomplishing for Christ. We also learn what to be careful for.

Too often we don’t want to be led. We want to make our own choices without anybody else’s input. Then we get in trouble because we miss out on the insight that only comes through experience.

Unity and fellowship is all about knowing our place in the body of Christ. It not only means that I recognize those marching next to me. I need to see those who are marching in front of me, leading me. I also need to recognize the ones behind me, who are following my example.

Only then can we accomplish all that the Lord has for us to do.

Questions: Who are the leaders you are following? Who are those that are following you?

© Nick Zaccardi 2016

 
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Posted by on October 19, 2016 in Leadership, Ministry, Revival, Spiritual Walk

 

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Fellowship – In Step with the Spirit

17 Oct

Jet Plane to NowhereIn my last post I started to look at our fellowship and unity. We saw that to operate in these we must fix upon each other. We also saw that the revelation of God is the glue that holds us together.

We originally looked at a verse in Amos, chapter 3. Further down in that chapter we’re told how God operates.

Surely the Sovereign Lord does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants the prophets.
Amos 3:7

This goes right along with the truth that revelation keeps us together. God’s desire is to always let His people know what’s coming on the earth. He wants us to be prepared to minister.

This is something many believers don’t understand and are not looking for. God wants to reveal His plans to us. But is that really the case? Look at these Scriptures…

The Lord confides in those who fear him; he makes his covenant known to them.
Psalms 25:14

This literally says that the Lord has a secret consultation with those who fear Him. So it’s not just for prophets, but for anyone who fears the Lord.

…for the Lord detests a perverse man but takes the upright into his confidence.
Proverbs 3:32

This is the portion of the righteous, to be in the Lord’s confidence. He wants to share with us exactly what He’s going to do. But is that a New Testament truth?

However, as it is written: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him” – but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.
1 Corinthians 2:9-10

This verse is not talking about things prepared for us after we die, but things that will take place during our lives. Jesus Christ, Himself, spoke of this aspect of the Holy Spirit.

But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.
John 16:13

This is how the Lord wants to deal with His church. He desires to keep us together and in unity by showing us what’s coming on the horizon.

But if this is our portion, then why do we seem to be groping around in the dark. Many times we’re either in one ditch or the other. Too far in front, or lagging way behind what the Spirit is doing. It often seems like the body of Christ is like a crowd of people simply walking down the street with no purpose or direction.

This ability to see what God’s doing only comes through time spent in quietness before Him. He will not speak to us if we’re not listening.

The only way to keep the unity of the spirit is to keep in step with the Holy Spirit. But keeping in step with Him requires us to fix upon the Spirit of God. It requires time in His presence.

If we want God to confide in us, we need to be found in that intimate place with Him. Then, as we keep in step with what Christ is doing, we’ll keep in step with each other.

Question: How often do you spend quiet time with the Lord?

© Nick Zaccardi 2016

 
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Posted by on October 17, 2016 in Prayer, Revival, Spiritual Walk

 

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Revival – Clearing the Stones

10 Oct

RockyIn my last post I talked about spending time with God. Allowing Him to be both the Architect and the Builder of our future.

There used to be a bumper sticker that I saw very frequently. Even though I understood the spirit behind it, I could never agree with it. Whenever I saw the words, “God is my Co-Pilot,” my immediate thought was, “Then you’ve got a fool for a pilot.”

I want God in control of my life. I don’t want to relegate Him to simply be my consultant. I want Him to set the course for my life.

With God in control, there’s always a preparation that He puts you through. The Lord does this to get you ready for what He wants to do through you. Israel was an example of this.

I will sing for the one I love a song about his vineyard: My loved one had a vineyard on a fertile hillside. He dug it up and cleared it of stones and planted it with the choicest vines. He built a watchtower in it and cut out a winepress as well. Then he looked for a crop of good grapes, but it yielded only bad fruit.
Isaiah 5:1-2

In order to bring out the best in us, the Lord does a lot of work. He chooses us, defends us, and prepares us for a great harvest. But even after He does all that work, the Lord still has to wait for us. We must produce the fruit.

That’s the key. Where is our heart at? Are we in agreement with what the Holy Spirit is doing in us? We must choose to cooperate with Him.

God is preparing for something great from us. But there’s one simple truth. The best wine doesn’t come from supermarket grapes. It comes from a field that’s prepared for that purpose.

It’s the same with us. Are we willing to go through that preparation process? The first thing that the Lord does is to dig it up and clear it of stones. In Scripture, that speaks of repentance.

If we want to experience revival – both personal and corporate – this is where we start. We must be ready to clear the stones.

Prayer is relationship with God. We need to clear the relationship of anything that hinders our walk with the Lord. That’s where revival starts.

Why is this so important? Jesus told us about it in the parable of the sower. Too often we plant the seed of the Word on soil that’s too rocky.

The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away.
Matthew 13:20-21

That’s what happens when we receive the Word without letting it change us. No repentance. We let the hindrances in our relationship stop the Word from taking root in us.

It’s time for true repentance. That’s the first step in revival.

Question: How often do you take a self-inventory of your walk with the Lord?

© Nick Zaccardi 2016

 
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Posted by on October 10, 2016 in Prayer, Revival, Spiritual Walk, Word of God

 

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Revival – Getting There

07 Oct

SpeedRevival. Some Christians are praying for it. Many are hoping for it. But do we really understand what it will take to bring it about?

Throughout this blog I’ve shared what I believe the next great awakening of the church will look like. It will be about God’s people listening for, hearing and obeying God’s voice. Unfortunately, the “how” and the “when” are a mystery.

Getting from here to there is what the church should be majoring on right now.

Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain.
Psalms 127:1

As an engineering student, I had to take a lot of math courses. I learned very quickly from Geometry, that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. Well, that may work on paper, but in life it’s never that easy.

What’s the quickest way to get from Boston to New York? That all depends. Are you driving a car or flying in a plane? There are highways, rivers, cities, and other obstacles to think about.

In driving, the shortest route is not always the quickest. It’s the just like our spiritual walk. The difference is that only God sees the whole map. We have to trust Him to set the route for us.

In looking at the verse above, we don’t always think like that. Many times God gives us the blueprint, and we rush off and try to build the house without Him.

When God gave Moses the plans for the tabernacle in the wilderness, He didn’t stop there. The Lord told Moses who would do the work, where to get the supplies, how to move it, and how to use it.

Faith is all about letting God have His total way in our lives. In Hebrews, chapter 11, the Faith Chapter, it says this about Abraham leaving his home at God’s request.

For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
Hebrews 11:10

When we look to the Lord for our future, He doesn’t only want to be involved in the planning. What He wants to do in our life is too big for us to accomplish. God wants to be in on the building of it as well.

So, in talking about revival, it’s great to know where He wants us to get to. But it won’t come to pass without God’s working and power in our lives. That’s why we need to spend the time necessary to seek Him.

Spending time in the Holy Spirit doesn’t just reveal God’s plan to us. It opens the door for God to do a supernatural work in us and through us. That’s what a spiritual awakening is all about.

Question: How much time do you spend listening in God’s presence?

© Nick Zaccardi 2016

 
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Posted by on October 7, 2016 in Faith, Prayer in the Spirit, Revival, The Church

 

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The Cycle of Blessing

29 Sep

StormSo many of the spiritual principles we know have a mirror image in the natural. If we can understand how these natural processes work, then we will have a better grasp of the spiritual truth. One of these is the cycle of the Word in our lives.

“As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”
Isaiah 55:9-11

We probably all know about the water cycle from our high school science lectures. Rain and snow fall from the sky and soak into the ground giving life to vegetation. Moisture is then evaporated back into the air to form clouds and the whole thing starts all over again.

That’s like the functioning of the Holy Spirit in our lives. He takes the Word of the Lord from God’s own lips and rains it into our hearts. That’s where it must be planted in order to see God’s results on a daily basis. I must remain in God’s Word while allowing it to remain in me.

Now that the Word of God is in the good soil of our hearts, the Holy Spirit waters the spiritual seed we’ve planted causing it to spring up. Then, as we respond in prayer, the Spirit of Christ within us turns around and intercedes to God on our behalf.

The key for us is all about positioning. We must be at the right place, and in the right time to be able to receive the rain of the Spirit. What is that right place and time? It’s whenever we place ourselves before Him in an attitude open and ready to hear from God and to respond.

This requires intimate time in the Lord’s presence. Taking the time to be alone with God gives us a perfect opportunity to participate in this cycle of blessing.

In the stillness of our quiet time we can learn to be open to His call. We are in position to feel the move of the Spirit in our hearts. Be listening for His voice to you today as you spend time in His presence waiting for His rain.

Question: How has God’s cycle of blessing worked in you in the past?

© Nick Zaccardi 2016

 
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Posted by on September 29, 2016 in Encouragement, Prayer, Spiritual Walk, Word of God

 

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