{"id":1484,"date":"2013-08-02T13:48:31","date_gmt":"2013-08-02T13:48:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.all-creatures.org\/blog\/?p=1484"},"modified":"2013-08-02T13:48:31","modified_gmt":"2013-08-02T13:48:31","slug":"blocking-the-holy-spirit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.all-creatures.org\/blog\/blocking-the-holy-spirit\/","title":{"rendered":"Blocking the Holy Spirit"},"content":{"rendered":"

Blocking the Holy Spirit<\/h2>\n
\"Blocking<\/a>
Lamb of God<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A lack of common sense is an important ingredient in our blocking the Holy Spirit.<\/p>\n

I think that it is the Holy Spirit that allows humans to discern the emotions and personalities of animals.\u00a0 Most, or many, humans want to ignore the promptings of the Holy Spirit, and their God-given common sense, and say that animals \u201cact by instinct only\u201d or \u201cdon\u2019t have souls and spirits.\u201d<\/p>\n

These people, especially if they consider themselves to be Christians, are blocking the Holy Spirit.\u00a0 That\u2019s why Jesus says that unless you become as children\u2026 Matt 18:2-4:<\/p>\n

2. And He called a child to Himself and set him before them,<\/p>\n

3. and said, “Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven.<\/p>\n

4. \u201cWhoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.<\/p>\n

Until they are programmed or socialized by adults, most children have tender feelings toward animals.<\/p>\n

Being \u201cborn again\u201d as a Christian should result in a return to a child-like wonder and sensitivity, an ability to see beyond the hardness of the world.\u00a0 Remember what 1 John2:15-17 says about the world:<\/p>\n

15. Do not love the world, nor the things in the world.\u00a0 If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.<\/p>\n

16. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.<\/p>\n

17. And the world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God abides forever.<\/p>\n

Truly being \u201cborn again\u201d should result in ridding ourselves of the deceptions of the world and in having our eyes opened.\u00a0 When we have our eyes opened we see things as a child sees things: afresh, free of the half-truths and lies that the world so readily accepts and lives by.\u00a0 Remember the story of the emperor\u2019s new clothes?\u00a0 It was the adults who were \u201coohing\u201d and \u201caahing\u201d about the non-existent clothes of the proud emperor.\u00a0 The child, his eyes yet unclouded by society\u2019s lies, told the truth: the emperor has no clothes.<\/p>\n

This child wasn\u2019t blocking the Holy Spirit, and he used his common sense.<\/p>\n

Being truly born again should result in getting rid of all the layers of hypocrisy that one\u2019s culture imposes, and then finally getting back to seeing clearly as God intends.<\/p>\n

Most children, being naturally attracted to animals, are tenderhearted, as God intends.\u00a0 It is not natural to slaughter.\u00a0 Children would be naturally vegetarian if not twisted and manipulated by adults who themselves have been twisted and manipulated into consuming what was not God\u2019s original food for humans: Genesis1:29:<\/p>\n

29. Then God said, \u201cBehold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree which has fruit, yielding seed; it shall be food for you;<\/p>\n

I find it interesting that after being born again as Christians, Frank and I became more aware about the plight of animals.\u00a0 Our sensitivity increased after our spiritual eyes were opened.\u00a0 Finally, we could no longer knowingly use animal products.\u00a0 We had \u201cteachable spirits,\u201d to use the Bible\u2019s description.<\/p>\n

When I think of all the people in this world, I am reminded of the passage in Matthew 13:30 in which Jesus tells about the wheat and the tares:<\/p>\n

30. \u2018Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, \u201cFirst gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn.\u201d\u2019<\/p>\n

I think of the sensitive people as being the wheat, and the boors who mock and jeer at them as being the tares.<\/p>\n

These sensitive people have stopped blocking the Holy Spirit and are using their God-given common sense.<\/p>\n

Since \"date\"