A Vertical Response from the Holy Spirit

Luke 21:14-15

        “Settle it therefore in your minds not to meditate beforehand how to answer, for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict.”

Will you stop and ponder these words from our Lord?  How much have you settled in your mind beforehand on how to answer the guy next door, the guy at work who has distain for your faith, the family members who tell you to remove them from your email list or the godless culture that is rejecting you if you do not conform to its desires?

I’ve had my best come back in the privacy of my car about what I should say the next time, and it is based on a horizontal response not a vertical answer.  It is the best Bob can offer, but it falls short, enormously short of a vertical response from the Holy Spirit.

It is sad to admit that much of my life, as a follower of Christ, was not founded on settling beforehand not to put any confidence in my flesh, but to set my mind on listening to the Holy Spirit for wisdom and the words He will put into my mouth.  I’ve often wondered why a person like me with strong opinions who has wished so often that I had just been quiet, and not shown how little I knew by opening my mouth and removing all doubt. 

The Psalmist gives us such wise counsel in Psalm 119:11, “I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.”  What is stored in the memory of your mind, if it is a mind based on worldly wisdom then expect to draw from that and if centered in the Scriptures, they will flow from your mouth, but if we are still and have been trained to not speak before the Spirit puts words in our mouth, we will speak with authority and power.

Do you recall what took place before Peter’s sermon at Pentecost?  Devout men from every nation were in Jerusalem and each person in the multitude was bewildered because each was hearing them speak in his own language.  While many were amazed, others were mocking, “They are filled with new wine.”

The Scriptures are clear in Acts 2:14-41, on the power and authority that came out of Peter’s mouth, and that day there were added about 3000 souls.  My prayer is that you and I become vertical in our response, for Proverbs is clear that “When words are many, transgression is not lacking, but whoever restrains his lips is prudent.”  (Proverbs 10:19)

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice