8Nov

where does the holy spirit fit online?

So how do you catch the eye and influence the heart of a world steeped in digital overdrive?

How do you honor the message you carry and at the same time genuinely adapt to impact your mission field?

By remembering—at all times—who you are and whose you are. In order to do that, you must remain in communion with and rely on the Holy Spirit at all times. It’s not a Sunday thing. It’s not a Bible study or a life group thing. It’s a one-on-one, intimate, powerful, unbreakable Creator-created connection.

But there’s a problem. Not all of us have read the user manual. While many people have the hardware (which we’ll call biblical knowledge), few people download the software (which we’ll call the Holy Spirit) that came inside their package of salvation. So, their bandwidth, power, and capabilities are running at half-speed.

Renowned theologian A. W. Tozer said of this chosen condition:

“If we will let Him, Christ will do in us and through us that which
He did in and through the committed believers after Pentecost. The potential is ours.
Do we dare believe that the faithful Christian believers may yet experience a great new wave of spiritual power?”

Without reliance on the Holy Spirit, there will be no—or minimal—fruit of the Spirit.

“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.”
Galatians 5:22–23, NIV

The Holy Spirit is the global positioning system (GPS) you need to operate online. He is the Power Source that will keep your heart fixed and ministry fruitful. He makes your life and God’s Word sticky to the rest of the world. So don’t log on without Him.

The only catch? You have to plug in the Source if you want the juice. A lamp on a desk won’t help you see unless you plug the cord into the electrical socket in the wall.

How do you stay plugged in to the Holy Spirit?  What are some spiritual habits you’ve used to keep focused in the digital realm?

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  • http://www.tonyjalicea.com Tony Alicea

    First I would say personal time with the Lord dictates everything else. It may look a little different for everyone but it is your one-on-one time with the Lord. If that isn’t right, everything else will begin to fall apart at some point.

    There is an element to getting plugged into the source through meetings, community and books. But communion with the Lord is the real connection to the source.

    In your prayer time. Not praying for others, just talking to God. More importantly, listening. Reading the Word. Meditating on the Word. Singing to Him. All in private. Not for anyone else to see.

    I believe that will translate into both your real and virtual relationships.

  • http://twitter.com/SandraHeskaKing SandraHeskaKing

    It starts for me with a digital unplugging.

    Just sitting. Waiting. Watching.

    Building the habit of time in the yard, especially first thing in the morning, has been incredible. Even as it’s getting cold. I don’t even get dressed most days–just layer up–until I’ve spent that time. I take my Bible, a notepad, a camera, binoculars, and a cup of tea. The connection happens, and I’m not sure if I’m plugging in or He is.

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  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1012805895 Barbara Brothers Cairns

    All my computer passwords are scripture addresses or reminders like “thelordisgood” or “john316″. I always get a boost from the Spirit when I type these in. Try to think of ways all day long to be reminded to follow God and keep Him foremost.

  • http://twitter.com/RachelHauck RachelHauck

    I try to use the same principles in my digital life as my “live” life. If I don’t speak rudely to people face-to-face, I don’t do it online.

    If my goal is to be the light of Jesus, an exhorter, a lover in face-to-face time, then that’s what I want to do online.

    I think I’m harder on myself digitally because I can’t see how ppl respond. So, I often retract from saying things I might say in person.

    I pray. I listen. I delete. :) I’ve posted a few times and then just felt that…noooo. So I delete things.

    God is gracious and good!

  • Tami Heim

    Thanks Rachel – it does require a different kind of disciple. It is so easy to respond and not give full thought to what is going out and how it might be received. I love Pray. Listen. Delete. That’s worthy of its own post!
    God is gracious. God is good! Amen.

  • Tami Heim

    I love that idea and it is a perfect way to get centered before engaging. Thanks for sharing that one. I am already thinking about what I’ll be ‘claiming’ when I update my passwords. Good stuff.

  • Tami Heim

    Nothing like a good dose of creation before going in – this sounds lovely. Amazing how the current flows both ways once the connection is made and everything seems a whole lot clearer. Thanks Sandy.

  • Tami Heim

    When He fills our cup – it overflows EVERYWHERE. You are such a great encourager when it comes to keeping first things first. Thanks for linking here with us and sharing from your heart.

  • http://twitter.com/kennysilva Kenny Silva

    In Luke 11, Jesus tells his disciples that when they pray, they will receive the Spirit. To me prayer is the ultimate spiritual habit for staying connected to the source. As silly as it may sound, I try to pray over everything I’m doing. If it’s a blog post, an article, an email. Even so little as a tweet. I’ll admit, I don’t pray over my tweets, but I’m starting to realize the power of praying over what I say before I say it. In asking the Spirit to guide my words, I find that I speak much more intelligently and appropriately. Why not apply the same principle to tweeting?

  • Tami Heim

    Amen. There is a reason we have been commanded to pray without ceasing. I know it requires a disciplined mind and heart – especially to catch those little 140 character tweets. Thanks for sharing and leading, we appreciate you.

  • http://www.live-intentionally.com David Litwin

    The Internet is an incredibly power tool in the Holy Spirit’s arsenal because He can inspire us (in micro-moments) to learn and discover things that would have taken us days, months or decades to uncover in the past. The Word of God is living and active, which means its significance, especially it’s metaphorical significance (seed, vessel, wine, etc.), continues on an on like the constant expansion of the universe. At any time, the Holy Spirit now has the tool for you and I to go to and discover new facets of God and His Kingdom, not just by reading Biblical commentary, but by inspired research of every subject under the sun.

    For example, as I was working on a book I was writing, I was led to the passage in Gen 3: “You will crush his head, and he will bruise your heel.” In that moment the Holy Spirit said, go research a “bruised heel.” Through that research (medically, it’s called plantar fiscitis) I uncovered so much depth to how the enemy strives to operate in our lives and the way in which God wants us to exist (and move) that I wrote seven pages on just that concept alone. The impact of that research has carried with me since that moment.

    The Word, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, is all around us, and it’s living and active – when we take it out of Chapter and Verse it opens up a world greater than anything we could ever imagine. In a way, it helps us discover the Kingdom of God as it surrounds us on earth.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_ERA6ZJEVSYQM4RW2Q6BPJMDF6Q Biji John

    good

  • Kingdomsearch

    I like what you said within these 3 paragraphs, I would get a lot out of reading the 7 pages of what you discovered about Gods plan and the enemies plan. I really want to get a grasp of what Gods Kingdom is here on earth. I like the way you write, can you email me what you have written?

  • http://www.facebook.com/woldeyesus Ephrem Hagos

    There is everlasting power in Christ’s death on the cross which Christianity has robbed and left dormant for far too long. Revival depends on personal verification and propagation of the immediate cause and effect of his death par excellence!