the holy spirit

today at church the sermon was on physical manifestations of the holy spirit which is something that i have experienced in my life and the lives of others but it isn't something we talk about really so i think it was a step in a really positive direction.
the pastor spoke about 1 Corinthians 12 where it talks about spiritual gifts and even though the bible doesn't say much about physical manifestations of the holy spirit the pastor drew a lot of great parallels between the counsel concerning spiritual gifts and the physical evidence of the holy spirit we were talking about. He had a number of members of the congregation get up and talk about experiencing the presence of God and what that is like for them and there were people that said that they remained unmoved and there was a women that started laughing as she was speaking because she was so touched with the spirit.

the most pivotal point the pastor made was that the evidence of the holy spirit is not in the signs we see or experience but in whether or not Christ is being exalted. he pulled from the passage to show us that God is concerned with the heart. God doesn't care whether or not you shake or laugh or cry or even feel his presence tangibly- He cares that your heart is seeking Him.
and i think that was something we all needed to hear. there's been a girl on campus who started speaking in tongues a week ago and a lot of people really didn't know what to make of it and Satan uses that confusion to create fear and tear us from one another and from Christ.
so it was really good for our group to hear, but i think it's important for all believers to know that because they aren't experiencing a gift or physical manifestation of the spirit it doesn't mean that they aren't in the spirit. God made us all unique and the way that we experience Him and His spirit is equally unique so we shouldn't be afraid of these things or let them split us because we have enough to separate the body of Christ without tearing it apart ourselves. and if you're in the body and do experience these things then i think it's important for you to know that you're not alone and that you shouldn't be ashamed of your gifts but that you should exercise them with your brothers and sisters in mind, in a way that won't cause anyone to stumble in fear or confusion.
let's cultivate an environment of freedom and love each other, for it alone covers a multitude of sins.

"It is absolutely clear that God has called you to a free life. Just make sure that you don't use this freedom as an excuse to do whatever you want to do and destroy your freedom. Rather, use your freedom to serve one another in love; that's how freedom grows. For everything we know about God's Word is summed up in a single sentence: Love others as you love yourself. That's an act of true freedom."
Galatians 5:13-14