Living in the Spirit
November 3, 2022
Scripture Reading:
As to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we beg you, brothers and sisters, not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as though from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord is already here. Let no one deceive you in any way; for that day will not come unless the rebellion comes first and the lawless one is revealed, the one destined for destruction. He opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, declaring himself to be God. Do you not remember that I told you these things when I was still with you? –2 Thessalonians 2:1-5
I have been aware of cults since I was a child from Jim Jones’ People’s Temple to QAnon today. I worked with a person several years ago who did not come to work one morning without notice. We found out later that she had traveled to a designated place for the Rapture and did not find it necessary to file for vacation time to be away. In her mind the world as we knew it would no longer exist.
When we look at the work of Jesus, we see authentic events with very real people being guided in loving themselves and loving one another—no mass suicides and no perverted sexual behavior, and no cabal of Satanic cannibalism. When I consider such cults, I think of the song title, Looking for Love in All the Wrong Places*. While the song addresses looking for a life partner, I think we all have an innate need to know God, our creator, and live in fellowship with God. Part of our calling is to share our experience of God with others so that they can know there is more to life than negative patterns of behavior. I am sorry to say that I have observed people who moved further away from God because of misguided, judgmental experiences pressed on them in childhood that turned them off from seeking a relationship with God. Jesus never crammed God down anyone’s throat and neither should we. Jesus lived his love and so should we.
Prayer: Lord, prepare me to be a sanctuary
Pure and holy, tried and true
With thanksgiving, I’ll be a living
Sanctuary for You
It is you, Lord who came to save
The heart and soul of every man.
It is you Lord who knows my weakness,
Who gives me strength, with thine own hand*. Amen.
*Chorus and the first verse of Lord, Prepare Me to be a Sanctuary by John Thompson, Randy Scruggs
All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.