Plugging In

Yesterday I sat down at my desk shortly after 9am and began my morning ritual. You know - emptying the inbox, re-prioritizing the to-do list, listening to voice mail, and making the rest of the week's game plan. Everything was going as usual. Nothing abnormal. But then it began...

I felt something on my right leg. You know. Sometimes your car keys in your pocket are turned and are boring a hole in your leg. I shifted my weight in the chair and thought it might correct the problem. Several seconds later, it was there again. Boring a hole in my leg. I thought, that's it - I'm going to flaten those keys so they don't poke me. So I reached my hand in far enough to feel the keys and give them a good jingle. Ahhh! That should do it.

Again, several seconds later...this searing pain was at my leg! It felt like someone was holding a hot iron to my leg. I finally jumped up, frustrated, and pulled the dump keys out of my pocket. With the keys laying on the desk, I still felt something in my pocket. Reaching my hand in, I finally pulled out a 9-volt battery.

It was hot! Really hot! Scalding!

Apparently, during Sunday's service, I threw an extra 9-volt in my pocket in case I needed it for an RF mic or my RF guitar unit if the battery died mid-service. I had forgotten about it and wore the same pair of jeans (I do this often - saves money and work for the laundry). With the 9-volt in the pocket, there was also a PAPERCLIP.

The paperclip made contact with the positive and negative of the 9-volt , it caused the battery to heat up. I unknowingly had the perfect storm for a bomb in my pocket.

It's a lot like our access to God's power. His power in us is working through the Holy Spirit that lives in every believer. We have it all the time. Sitting in our pocket. We don't realize it. We could have access to His power at any time. We simply forget about it. We had it on Sunday - but forgot about it in our pocket on Monday at work.

The Holy Spirit is our power source. He’s all-powerful and all-knowing. When we’re plugged into the Holy Spirit, we’re also plugged into God and all His mighty power.

I am fully wired. But unless I plug into the power source, I don’t have any power coursing through my wires. The battery represents the Holy Spirit. The wires (or paperclip in this sense) represent my relationship to Jesus Christ. I may be fully wired — praying every now and then and even reading the Bible once in a while — but that’s not enough. What good is a cord without any power?

Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Ephesians 3:20