Hosanna Restoration Church

There was no question about what Jesus promised us; He was sending a gift to them and to all who would believe. That gift was the Holy Spirit of God. All they needed to do was wait! Holy Spirit gives us staying power. We need to stay and His love and promises never fail. Each day we need to stay. Just stay!

Bob Seeger has a song that asks the question, “Why don’t you stay?” Now I know that the message of the song was not a prayer, but decided long ago that every good and perfect gift does come from God so songs have meanings that we may know nothing about until we convert them. No matter what we have done or do or will do, Jesus message to us is simply stay. The song says I know it is late and you are weary. I know your plans don’t include me; have any of you ever felt that way? 

The truth is, we are all that way until we stay with the Lord. We can fool ourselves, comfort ourselves, and lie to ourselves, but ultimately we find ourselves missing something and we just do not know what it is. There is always something just beyond our reach until we realize it is not something, it is someone. That someone is Jesus; Holy Spirit has been calling and drawing us all of our lives waiting for us to come and stay with Jesus. All we need to do is stay.

We ended the year, and what a year it was, talking about the importance of wanting the Lord. It seems only reasonable to talk about staying with the Lord. This is not something that we decided once a long time ago; it is a decision that we make daily and often many times a day.

People lately have been talking about easy grace, and about how it is just giving salvation away with no responsibility or requirements. It is as though there is something wrong with what God desires. Grace saves us. Works can’t. However, works come with staying in Christ. Some transformations take place immediately and others come with a lifetime of staying. Some seem to come and go and stay away more than staying close, but God never gives up on us.

We need to remember to take our eyes off people and keep them on the Lord. Even as Christians, we can get weary. Imagine that! We can also make plans that do not include the Lord, but still He will keep reminding us to stay. Even when we are away, He is drawing us back like the prodigal son. I am sure that the prodigal had many moments when he was away that caused him to think of home. Then he finally went and stayed. Let this be a year when we stay, stay, stay!