Humans have been telling ghost stories ever since there have been humans able to tell stories about unexplainable happenings. Evangelical Christians have not done well offering explanations for the paranormal except by saying: “Ghost aren’t real!” In this series we are looking into ghosts, the paranormal and the paranormal occurrences in the Bible along with general understandings of the Holy Spirit.
Ghost Stories
Do You Hear What I Hear? Experience Joy
The Shepherds received a surprise visit from angels while they were out minding our their own business, tending sheep one night. The angels delivered a message of Good News of Great Joy that was meant for all people! When God speaks, it’s always Good News and it’s always meant for all people.
Do You Hear What I Hear? Exhibit Compassion
When Joseph learned that his betrothed wife Mary was pregnant, and knowing it wasn’t his baby, he had in mind to divorce her but quietly with compassion to spare her further humiliation. However, God had other plans, God called on Joseph to level-up his compassion and give Mary grace. God always calls us towards compassion,…
Do You Hear What I Hear? Receive Blessing
God interrupted the normal flow of life for Mary when Gabriel and angel was sent to inform her of Jesus’ birth. For Mary, there was no mistaking God’s message to her, but it is not always easy for us to know if God is talking to us! Like Mary, and Zechariah before her, we may…
Do You Hear What I Hear? Have Faith
The story of Zechariah and Elizabeth from Luke chapter 1 is a fantastic view into God’s miraculous life-giving work as He promises a son to the elderly couple. This interruption into Zechariah’s life inspires faith and obedience for Zechariah, but not without having his doubts at the beginning…
Jesus Is King
To serve a king, we must align our whole lives within the realm and purpose of the king. In America, we struggle with this concept because we elect our leaders and choose whom to follow, but as Christians our goal is to serve Jesus as King – to align our whole lives with the realm…
Ghost Stories, The Holy Spirit Experienced
The Holy Spirit activated the first disciples of Jesus to take the Good News beyond Jerusalem and one of their first stops was Samaria. Philip took the gospel there but it was Peter and John that laid on hands and brought the Holy Spirit into the midst of the Samaritans. It takes an authentically repentant…
Ghost Stories: The Holy Spirit Received
Acts 2:1-8 describes in exciting detail what happened on the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was first received. But not too many years after that the Apostle Paul made a contrast between being filled with the Holy Spirit and being drunk with new wine in Ephesians 5:18. Our command is to be filled…
Ghost Stories: The Holy Spirit Promised
Looking into Acts for the stories of the Holy Spirit coming into our midst, but Jesus promised the Holy Spirit upon specific instructions to his disciples to WAIT in Jerusalem to RECEIVE the Holy Spirit and then RUN to the uttermost parts of the world.
Ghost Stories: What’s Up with Halloween?
We are nearing the annual cultural celebration of Halloween where kids dress up and go door to door begging for candy and gleefully exclaiming, “Trick or Treat!” But from where did the Halloween traditions come? And, are these traditions evil? As believers in Jesus, what should we do with Halloween and how should we encounter…
Ghost Stories: What’s Up with Ghosts?
Nearly half of Americans and 40% of Christians believe in ghosts, but are they real? And what does the Bible say about ghosts? Using the filters of scripture, reason, tradition and experience, we answer those questions and more in order to inform and empower us over the forces of evil deception.