The Holy Spirit – My Tuesday Three

Once again I haven’t had time to really think about what to do for My Tuesday Three for today, and so I’m resorting to just posting three quotes that intrigued me and made me think. And I’m not going to feel bad about it because every time I’ve posted three quotes for My Tuesday Three someone has said that one or more of the quotes are exactly what they needed that day.

The first quote I want to share is:

You know how it is — you say the same words, yet they mean different things to those hearing them. you offer the same touch, yet it yields different results in different lives. Some people soak up your touch; others wipe it off. You might look at these situations and get discouraged: “Fine! I just won’t do anything nice for anyone!” Yet look back at the example of Jesus.”    — Amy Nappa

I don’t know about you, but I could so relate to this quote. I desire to have Christ live in me and to treat others with compassion, forgiveness, and love. But some people just don’t seem to respond to such kindness. Instead, they cling to their pride and arrogance. But it is at such times that I am reminded of Jesus’ example of One who loved, forgave, and offered compassion anyway. I am reminded of my post from last February titled “Appreciation Not Required.” This would have been a perfect quote to go with it.

The second quote I want to share is:

When purity is reduced to legalism, our hearts are no longer free; they are focused more on maintaining rituals and customs than on living out a genuine character change.   — David Edwards

I love this quote. It is so true that purity is so much more than legalistically following a set of rules. Purity is something that is created in the heart of the believer by the Holy Spirit. It’s not something we gain by our own efforts. It stems from a heart devoted in love to God; it grows from a simple belief in Jesus as Savior. I am reminded of a post I wrote in January titled “The Work of God Is to Believe.” This would have been a perfect quote to go with it.

The third quote I want to share is:

“The Word became flesh,” John said … He was touchable, approachable, reachable. And, what’s more, he was ordinary. If he were here today you probably wouldn’t notice him as he walked through a shopping mall. He wouldn’t turn heads by the clothes he wore or the jewelry he flashed. “Just call me Jesus,” you can almost hear him say.    — Max Lucado

This is the perfect quote for this time of year, as we approach the celebration of the Word made flesh, Emmanuel, God with us. I think Max is right that we might not even notice Jesus because He wouldn’t be all flashy and showy. He’d probably be hanging out with the wrong people. But if we stopped to take notice, I believe we would have been drawn to Him because of His kindness, compassion, and love, because of His desire to know us. These aren’t the traits that the world teaches us to look for in our leaders, but they the traits of the Savior. I am reminded of a post I wrote in August titled “Would You Recognize Jesus?” This would have been a great quote to go with it.

It’s funny how I got to the end of this post and I see a connection among these three random quotes that I chose from my Quotemeal emails in my inbox. The connection is the Holy Spirit − He reminds me to follow the example of Jesus to love anyway; He is the source of purity within the hearts of believers; and it is His work in the womb of a young virgin from Nazareth that made Emmanuel a reality.

Plus, who do you think reminded me of previous posts I had written that related to these quotes? This is just another example of how the Holy Spirit can fill a whole page with words when I sit down to the computer with absolutely nothing to write. Praise be to God.