I heard about John Davidson before I met him. His reputation had made it all the way from Waco to the Northern Plains of Montana. My student minister studied under him. I had also seen his nephew as a television game show host. Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, at 8:00 in the morning, I studied the New Testament with Dr. Davidson. He was older by then, with a white shock of hair and a demonstrative speaking style.
In those days the Holy Spirit was getting a lot of attention in Christian circles. Some of it was good, and some of it over the top. One morning he said, "It's not how loud you shout, or how high you jump, but how straight you walk when you hit the ground." As an aspiring young preacher I needed to hear that. Later he preached at my church and it was like a revival without the scheduled meetings.
Aged Paul also wrote to a young preacher with encouraging words about the Holy Spirit. The Spirit God gave us does not make us timid. Timothy apparently struggled with fearfulness. So Paul encouraged him. The Holy Spirit comes bearing gifts: love, power and self-discipline. When the Holy Spirit fills us, we love God and others more than before. With the Holy Spirit's power we can do everything we need to do. Filled with the Spirit, we are not out of control, but under God's control. That is a good place to be, whether you are in Montana, or in Texas, or anywhere in between.
