“Morality is not rooted in an opinion poll. It’s not decided by the Supreme Court either! My advice? Let your conscience be your guide. Scripture is our final authority. If you’re going to live a countercultural life, you’ve got to give the Holy Spirit veto power.”- Mark Batterson
Mark Batterson concludes Day 7 of Do It for a Day as he underscores that the Holy Spirit’s internal presence must be greater than the pressure exerted by the world around us. And Pastor Batterson sees implicit bias, cancel culture, and moral relativism as aspects of that external pressure.
Consequently, we need to live the Spirit-filled life. Hence, R. A. Torrey describes that life in The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit. Torrey writes:
“If we think of the Holy Spirit, as many do, as merely a power or influence, our constant thought will be, How can I get more of the Holy Spirit, but if we think of Him in a biblical way as a divine person, our thought will rather be, How can the Holy Spirit have more of me?”
So, Mark asks, how much of you does the Holy Spirit have? What percentage of your thoughts, words, and actions consist of revelations from God’s Word? To keep your personality from becoming a crutch, the author counsels, you need to consecrate it.
Finally, for over 30 years Gordon MacKenzie held the title of Creative Paradox at Hallmark Cards. Therefore, his job involved challenging corporate normalcy. Also, MacKenzie believes society tries to train children away from natural-born foolishness. With genius the innocent casualty. Instead, children need an authority figure to validate that genius. But, MacKenzie laments, no one ever comes. However, Mark observes:
“Enter Jesus! Jesus is the epitome of nonconformity. Just look at all the reactions He got from the ‘normal’ people of His day. He sets us free from self-consciousness by helping us rediscover our inner child. . . . The key to nonconformity is becoming like Christ. The result is becoming like little children.”
Today’s question: In what areas of life do you need to give the Holy Spirit veto power? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “Pop the periscope on our present circumstances”
