Alas! we will not take the receptive attitude of faith. Jesus bids us “ask and receive” that our “joy may be full.” We obey His command in asking, but we do not throw open our souls that we may receive. God’s word to us is, “Open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it” (Psa. 81:10), yet we do not pause in our cries of hunger to accept what is so freely offered.


--Carrie Judd Montgomery, 1881

I WILL BE ON VACATION THE WEEK OF JULY 4 AND WILL NOT BE POSTING.

Carrie Judd Montgomery 6/30 Thursday thoughts

Carrie Judd Montgomery


Jesus has said, “If any man thirst let him come unto Me and drink,” and the utterance of faith would be, “Lord Jesus, I come, and according to Thy word I do drink now.” And depending on that unfailing word we may rest in the sure conviction that marvelous refreshing will be shed abroad in our souls by that living draught. 1881
 
To read daily quotes by Carrie Judd Montgomery and to read some of  her publications, search and join "Carrie Judd Montgomery" on Facebook.

Heavenly Father 6/29 Wed. wisdom

Carrie Judd Montgomery


‎"...I hardly knew how to pray, but would sometimes turn to my Heavenly Father and say to Him, ‘What dost Thou want?”'; because it seemed to me it was more His desire to obtain full possession of me than my desire for Himself."    1936

fresh anointing 6/28 Tuesday truth

Carrie Judd Montgomery


‎"After we have received the Holy Spirit in Pentecostal power, we must be faithful witnesses, letting the streams of living water ever flow through us for the salvation and blessing of men, or the waters will fail to flow and we shall be set aside from His service with only a memory of past blessing, and no liberty or fresh anointing in our lives." 1920

Overflowing Rivers 6/27 Monday meditation

Going back to Carrie Judd Montgomery for a week.  She was a preacher and author of the earliest days of the Azusa Revival and the Pentecostal movement.  A Christian and Missionary Alliance preacher (yes, we allowed women to preach and to pastor in the early days) who changed to The Assemblies of God when it was founded.   These quotes are from her Facebook group.





“Oh, I am sure that it is our privilege not to be half full, but to be filled to overflowing, and that all the time, and the overflowing rivers will then be poured out to a thirsty, lost world.” 1895

Temper 6/24 Friday faith

(This paragraph follows the story of the bad-tempered red-headed boy in Wigglesworth's article.)

I can remember the time when I used to go white with rage, and shake all over with temper.  I could hardly hold myself together.  I waited on God for ten days.  In those ten day I was being emptied out and the life of the Lord Jesus was being wrought into me.  My wife testified of the transformation that took place in my life, "I never saw such a change.  I have never been able to cook anything since that time that has not pleased him.  Nothing is too hot or too cold, everything is just right."  God must come and reign supreme in your life.  Will you let Him do it?  He can do it, and He will if you will let Him. It is no use trying to tame the "old man."  But God can deal with him.  The carnal mind will never be subjected to God, but God will bring it to the cross where it belongs, and will put in its place, the pure, the holy, the meek mind of the Master.

              -- Smith Wigglesworth

red hair temper 6/23 Thursday thoughts

In our Sunday school we had a boy with red hair.  His head was as red as fire and so was his temper.  He was such a trial.  He kicked his teachers and the superintendent.  He was imply uncontrollable.  The teachers had a meeting in which they discussed the matter of expelling him.  They thought that God might undertake for that boy and so they decided to give him another chance.  One day he had to be turned out, and he broke all the windows of the mission.  He was worse outside than in.  Sometime later we had a ten-day revival meeting.  There was nothing much doing in that meeting and people though it a waste of time, but there was one result -- the red-headed lad got saved.  After he was saved, the difficulty was to get rid of him at our house.  He would be there until midnight crying to God to make him pliable and use him for His glory.  God delivered the lad from his temper and made him one of the meekest, most beautiful boys you ever saw.  For twenty years he has been a mighty missionary in China.  God takes us just as we are and transforms us by His power.

               -- Smith Wigglesworth

Laugh 6/22 Wednesday wisdom

(continued from Tuesday . . . the next paragraph)

If you are sure of your ground, if you are counting on the presence of the living Christ within, you can laugh when you see things getting worse.  God would have you settled and grounded in Christ, and you become steadfast and unmoveable in Him.
                                                                  -- Smith Wigglesworth

Inheritance from God 6/21 Tuesday truth

Dare you take your inheritance from God?  Dare you believe God?  Dare you stand on the record of His Word?  What is the record?  If thou shalt believe, thou shalt see the glory of God.  You will be sifted as wheat.  You will be tried as though some strange thing tried you.  You will be put in places where you will have to put your whole trust in God.  There is no such thing as anyone being tried beyond what God will allow.  There is no temptation that will come, but God will be with you right in the temptation to deliver you, and when you have been tried, He will bring you forth as gold.  Every trial is to bring you to a greater position in God.  The trial that tries your faith will take you on to the place where you will know that the faith of God will be forthcoming in the next test.  No man is able to win any victory save through the power of the risen Christ within him.  You will never be able to say, "I did this or that."  You will desire to give God the glory for everything.

            -- Smith Wigglesworth

Power of God 6/20 Monday meditation

I come across some who would be giants in the power of God but they have no shout of faith. I find everywhere  people who go down [fail]even when they are praying simply because they are just breathing sentences without uttering speech, and you cannot get victory that way.  You must learn to take the victory and shout in the face of the devil, "It is done!"  

        -- Smith Wigglesworth

Christ is Risen 6/17 Friday faith

Our Christ is risen.  He is a living Christ who indwells us.  We must not have this truth merely as a theory, Christ must be risen in us by the power of the Spirit.  The power that raised Him from the dead must animate us, and as this glorious resurrection power surges through your being, you will be freed from all your weaknesses and you will become strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.  There is a resurrection that God wants you to have and to have today.  Why not?  Receive your portion here and now.

        -- Smith Wigglesworth

Healing 6/16 Thursday thoughts

I was introduced to a young man who lay helpless, and for whom there was no hope.  The doctor had been to see him that morning and had declared that he would not live through the day.  . . .

I said to these people, "I believe your son will rise today."  They only laughed.  People do not expect to see signs and wonders today as the disciples saw them of old.  Has God changed?  Or has our faith waned so that we are not expecting the greater works that Jesus promised?  . . .

At last I persuaded the parents to bring the boy's clothes and lay them on the bed.  From the natural viewpoint, the young man lay dying.  I spoke to the afflicted one, "God has revealed to me that, as I lay my hands upon you, the place will be filled with the Holy Ghost, the bed will be shaken, you will be shaken and thrown out of bed by the power of the Holy Ghost, you will dress yourself and be strong."  I said this to him in faith. I laid hands on him in the name of Jesus and instantly the power of God fell and filled the place.  I felt helpless and fell flat on the floor.  I knew nothing except that a short while after the place was shaken (as in Acts 4, from which Wigglesworth was preaching), I heard the young man walking over me and saying, "For Thy glory, Lord!  For Thy glory, Lord!"

He dressed himself and cried, "God has healed me."  The father fell, the mother fell, and another who was present fell also.  God manifest His power that day in saving the whole household and healing the young man.  It is the power of the risen Christ we need.  That young man is today preaching the Gospel.

        -- Smith Wigglesworth

Get Filled with God 6/15 Wednesday wisdom

Sometimes I say to people, "You weren't at meeting the other night."  They reply, "Oh, yes, I was there in spirit."  I say to them, "Well, come next time with your body also.  We don't want a lot of spirits here and no bodies.  We want you to come and get filled with God."  When all the people will come and pray and praise as did these early disciples there will be something doing.  People who come will catch fire and they will want to come again.  But they will have no use for a place where everything has become formal, dry, and dead.

The power of Pentecost as it came at first came to loose men.  God wants us free on every line.  Men and women are tired of imitations; they want reality; they want to see people who have the living Christ within, and are filled with Holy Ghost power.

         -- Smith Wigglesworth

praise God 6/14 Tuesday truth

Note the words of (Acts 4) verse 31, "And when they had prayed, the place was shaken..."  There are many churches where they never pray the kind of prayer that you read of here.  A church that does not know how to pray and to shout will never be shaken.  If you live in a place like that you may as well write "Ichabod -- the glory of the Lord has departed" -- over the threshold.  It is only when men have learned the secret of prayer, of power, and of praise, that God comes forth.  Some people say, "Well, I praise God inwardly," but if ther is an abundance of praise in your heart, your mouth cannot help speaking it.

         -- Smith Wigglesworth

Heaven on Earth 6/13 Monday meditation

I know the Lord laid His hand on me.  It's heaven on earth.  Heaven has begun with me.  I am happy now -- and free.  Since the Comforter has come.  The Comforter, the great revealer of the Kingdom.   He came to give us the more abundant life.  God has designed the plan, nothing really matters if the Lord loves us.  God sets great store by us.  The pure in heart see God.  There are no stiff knees in the Spirit, or cough in the Holy Ghost -- or pain.  Nothing ails us if we are filled with the Spirit.  If the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He shall quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in you (Romans 8:11).

          -- Smith Wigglesworth

Happy Pentecost ! The disciples were in Jerusalem celebrating the Jewish festival of Pentecost (Shavuot) when the Holy Spirit descended as tongues of flame, gave new tongues of language, and the church was born! This is what I am sharing in church on Sunday as elder of the day.




Today is Pentecost, the 50th day after Easter, commemorating the giving of the Holy Spirit and the birth of the church.



Pentecost is the most neglected holy day on the church calendar.



Perhaps it's due to a let-down after going through Advent, Christmas, Lent, and Easter.



Perhaps because it has NOT been commercialized, our attention is not drawn to Pentecost.



Perhaps we neglect it because the descent of the Holy Spirit isn't something we can put our finger on, like a baby in a manger, or a man on a cross, or an empty tomb.



Perhaps it's because we fear the ministry of the Holy Spirit, which some believe has been taken to excesses.



Perhaps it's because we don't relate to the Holy Spirit as a person. The King James Version did us a disservice by translating Ruach HaKodesh as Holy Ghost.



People throughout the ages have thought of the Holy Spirit more as a thing than a Person. As we begin to know the Person of the Holy Spirit we will want to have a closer relationship with Him just as with the Father or the Son.



The Holy Spirit was an agent in the Creation. He has intellect, knowledge, emotions, He makes decisions, He loves, He comforts, He reproves, He corrects, He convinces, He teaches, He brings to remembrance, He guides, He prays for us when we don't know how to pray. . . He wrote the Bible! http://www.theholyspirit.com/HolySpiritPerson.asp



We cannot focus on the Holy Spirit too much. Why? What is the Holy Spirit’s mission? To reveal Jesus. What is Jesus's mission? to reveal the Father. What is the Father's mission? to send Jesus and the Holy Spirit so we can come to Him. Perfect Harmony. They never tried to sit down and work things out. They never had a power struggle amongst themselves.



The Christian festival of Pentecost celebrates the coming of the Holy Spirit. The Jewish festival of Pentecost celebrated the giving of the Law to Moses. The Christian tradition is to wear red on Pentecost. The Jewish tradition is to eat cheesecake. You can choose for yourself which way you prefer to celebrate.

Risen with Christ 6/9 Friday faith

If ye then be risen with Christ, seek the things that are above where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.  Stir yourselves up, beloved!  Where are you?  I am risen with Christ, planted. . . Seated!  God gives me the credit and I believe Him.  Why should I doubt?  . . .   How many receive the Holy Ghost and Satan gets a doubt in.  Don't doubt, believe!  There is power and strength in Him.

            -- Smith Wigglesworth

Marching to victory 6/9 Thursday thoughts

God has reserved him that is godly for Himself.  Therefore lift up your heads -- the devil makes you remember the day you failed, you would give the world to forget.  God has forgotten.  When He forgives, He forgets.  . . .   God wants you to know that you are saved, cleansed, delivered, and marching to victory.  Faith to believe! 

-- Smith Wigglesworth

God-likeness 6/8 Wednesday wisdom

God's Word is a tremendous word, a productive word producing what it is.  Power; producing God-likeness.  We get to heaven through the Word of God, we have peace through the blood of His cross.  Redemption is ours through the knowledge of the Word.  I am saved because God's Word says so.
. . .
If I am baptized with the Holy Spirit, it is because Jesus said, "...ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you..." (Acts 1:8).  We must have one idea to be filled with the Holy Ghost, to be filled with God.
                            -- Smith Wigglesworth

Abundant Life 6/7 Tuesday truth

God has a plan for us in this life of the Spirit.  This abundant life.  Jesus came that we might have life.  Satan comes to steal and kill and destroy, but God has for us abundance, full measure, pressed down, shaken together, overflowing, abundant measure, God filling us with His own personality -- presence -- making us salt and light and glory as revelation of Himself.  God with us in all circumstances, afflictions, persecutions, in every trial girding us with truth.  Christ the initiative, the Triune God, in control of our every thought, word, action, must be in line with Him with no weakness or failure.  Our God -- a God of might, light, revelation preparing us for heaven.

      -- Smith Wigglesworth

Regeneration 6/6 Monday meditation

"Follow in regeneration"  (based on Matthew 19:28) -- every day is  a regeneration; every day is a day of advancement; every day is a place of choice.  Every day you find yourself in need of fresh consecration.  If you are in a place to yield, God moves you in the place of regeneration.

          -- Smith Wigglesworth

Name of Jesus 6/3 Friday faith

The name of Jesus is so marvelous.  Peter and John had no conception of all that was in that name; neither had the man, lame from his mother' womb who was laid daily at the gate; but they had faith to say, "In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk."  And as Peter took him by the right hand, and lifted him up, immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength, and he went into the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God.  God wants you to see more of this sort of thing done.  How can it be done?  Through His name, through faith in His name, through faith which is by Him.

             -- Smith Wigglesworth

Ascension Day 6/2 Thursday thoughts

Peter and John were helpless, were illiterate, they had no college education.  They had had some training with fish, and they had been with Jesus.  To them had come a wonderful revelation of the power of the name of Jesus.  They had handed out the bread and fish after Jesus had multiplied them.  They had sat at the table with Him, and John had often gazed into His face.  Peter had often to be rebuked, but Jesus manifested His love through it all.  Yea, He loved Peter, the wayward one.  Oh, He's a wonderful lover!  I have been wayward, I have been stubborn, I had an unmanageable temper at one time, but how patient He has been.  I am here to tell you that there is power in Jesus and in His wondrous name to transform anyone, to heal anyone.
                     -- Smith Wigglesworth