Embrace truth; embrace love.

The joyful outbursts brought on by the spirit of the Lord are not ends in themselves, but simply an outward expression of the joy of Jesus Christ living inside us. We don’t chase after prophecies, drunkenness in the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues, laughter, and supernatural senses (taste, smell, see, hear, feel). While, yes, charismatic Christians do these things, it is not our fixation. Jesus is our fixation. Jesus is the one we are looking at, listening to, cooing toward (i.e. worshiping), kissing, hugging, breathing in, etc. when he gives us these supernatural experiences like the ones above.

Christians do not have to have these experiences to have a solid relationship with Jesus, but it sure helps… but only when we understand that it’s not “Yes, I got my prophecy, yes, I got my prayer language, yes I got the shakes and giggles so now I can feel good about myself.” No! You’ll never enjoy Jesus’ presence that way! because then you have set his gifts up as an idol and decided that it’s something you can work toward in order to earn Christian scout badges and a pizza party at the end of the year. You can’t work for his love. Grace is free, and so all the treasures of the kingdom of God are free also. You need only have the faith and stay fixed on Jesus.