Monday, June 2

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There is a historical legend about the generosity of Alexander the Great.  Apparently Alexander put forth the promise that once a year at a great feast, the members of his court could make any request of him, and as long as it was in his power to grant the request, he would not refuse them.  However, because Alexander was known to be capricious at times and unpredictable in his moods, no court member ever asked for anything too extravagant.  One year at the time of the great feast, a lowly court advisor who was in desperate financial trouble and unable to provide for his family, came to ask the great king for nearly $500,000 worth of money and aid.  The court treasurer tried to dissuade the young man saying that he might lose his head for asking for such an outrageous sum.  But Alexander heard of this man’s request and demanded that he come forward.  To the surprise of everyone, Alexander granted the man’s request and even gave the man a higher position in his court!  Alexander is reported to have said, “This man knows how to ask a gift of a king!  The largeness of his request shows that he believes me to have both the means and the will to grant it.” 

What if I told you that you could ask God for one thing and He would not refuse you – what would you ask Him for?  Perhaps like King Solomon in the Old Testament, you would ask God for wisdom.  Maybe you would ask Him for courage, or faith, or peace, or protection.  

Do you realize that God has already given you the greatest gift He can possibly give?  Listen to the words of the Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians… Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.  – 2 Corinthians 1:21-22

In the book of Numbers, Moses is frustrated with the way the Israelites are resisting him and their God.  At one point, some of the other leaders of Israel temporarily experience the Spirit in their lives and Moses cries out to God wishing that God’s Spirit would rest on all God’s people (Num. 11:29).  Later on in the Old Testament, the prophet Joel predicts that there will come a day when God will pour out His Spirit on all people (Joel 2:28).  In the New Testament book of Acts, Peter declares that what Moses wished for, and what Joel predicted, has finally come true!  We have all been given the gift of the Holy Spirit!

The Holy Spirit is a guarantee from God that He is with us and that our future is completely secure with Him.  The Holy Spirit is the greatest gift God can give us, because by giving the Holy Spirit, He is giving us Himself!  Every other gift that God gives to His children, He gives through His Holy Spirit.  Do you want peace in the midst of some trial?  God gives that through the presence of His Spirit.  Do you want faith and courage to face the future?  God gives that through His Spirit.  Do you want direction or guidance for some decision you are facing?  God gives that through His Spirit.  

Now, If the Holy Spirit is the greatest gift that God can give, then He is the greatest gift that we can possibly ask for as well.  Ah but, and this is the really good news, God has already given us the Holy Spirit the moment we place our trust in Christ.  In other words, the best thing you can possibly ask God for, He has already given to you!  Do you believe that?  Do live as if that is true?  I don’t know about you, but too often I am concerned about all of the things I don’t have and all of the things I wish that God would give me or do for me.  I don’t always see that He has already given me Himself when He gave me His Holy Spirit.  What more can I ask for?  What more do I want?  What more do I really need?  

Jeff Frazier