Tag Archives: Holy Spirit

Holy Spirit

Ordinary Time

February 17, 2023

Scripture Reading:

2 Peter 1:16-21

So we have the prophetic message more fully confirmed. You will do well to be attentive to this as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. First of all you must understand this, that no prophecy of scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, because no prophecy ever came by human will, but men and women moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God. –2 Peter 1:19-21

How do we discern when we are following our interpretation of scripture rather than its spirit-led intent when we want it to say what we want it to say? I hear people rationalizing ways of being that are in direct opposition to my understanding of scripture. Indeed, I have read scripture that I wondered how Jesus would interpret and how I apply it to my way of being. That requires me to invest more in understanding the workings of the Holy Spirit.

I remember, as a preschooler going with my family to a revival meeting to which our Pentecostal neighbor had invited us. I had never experienced people in church speaking in tongues and throwing themselves on the floor. I spent most of the service under the pew hiding behind my parent’s legs; they let me stay there. We did not return for the remainder of the revival. My older brother and sister did not have the same fearful experience I did. Back at home, my mother explained that people have a lot of different ways of worshipping God, but I fear that experience tainted my exploration of the Holy Spirit.

As we enter the Lenten season, I plan to delve into a better understanding of the Holy Spirit. I would encourage others to join me. It is challenging. Just now, I decided to quote one of my favorite choruses. When I Googled it to copy it here, I got the version printed below, which is not the same as the one I learned as a child. The fifth line l learned is worded Melt me, mold me, fill me, use me. On Google, the first entry was a ten-verse hymn.

Spirit of the Living God,
Fall afresh on me,
Spirit of the Living God,
Fall afresh on me.
Break me, melt me, mold me, fill me.
Spirit of the Living God,
Fall afresh on me. *

Perhaps what I need to develop is faith and trust in God, who knows me completely and will communicate with me as the person I am.

Prayer: Lord, Spirit of the living God, Fall Afresh on me. Amen.

*The chorus Spirit of the Living God by Daniel Iverson. See at https://hymnary.org/text/spirit_of_the_living_god_fall_iverson#Author__st__1_

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.

God’s Presence

Living in the Spirit

June 3, 2022

Scripture Reading:

Acts 2:1-21

When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.

Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. Amazed and astonished, they asked, ‘Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs—in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.’ All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, ‘What does this mean?’ But others sneered and said, ‘They are filled with new wine.’ –Acts 2:1-13

I was not a good student of Spanish. I learned to read it but I failed at being able to do any more than the simplest of conversations. Fifty or so years later, I cannot even read it. That is proof, I guess, that if you do not use it you lose it. I worked with a man whose native language was German. He was chronically slow to respond. He told me once that he had to translate what people said to him into German then form his response in German and translate it into English before he could speak it. He was very quick at it when you consider the work his brain was doing in the background. Basically, he came across as being thoughtful. What happened at Pentecost was one of those events when one had to be there to get the fullness of what happened. They were just as bad at foreign languages as I am. Descriptions just failed the participants.

Pentecost was when the disciples realized that their sojourn with Jesus had just begun. They realized his presence with them was directly from the Holy. As Paul described the empowerment, in Philippians 4:13, I can do all things through him who strengthens me. So can we.

Prayer: Lord, we know you will guide and help us remember that. Open our hearts and minds to your presence as we struggle through a challenging world. Amen.

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.

God’s Journey of Love

Living in the Spirit

May 29, 2021

Scripture Reading: John 3:1-17

Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. He came to Jesus by night and said to him, ‘Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.’ Jesus answered him, ‘Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.’ Nicodemus said to him, ‘How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?’ Jesus answered, ‘Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be astonished that I said to you, “You must be born from above.” The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.’ Nicodemus said to him, ‘How can these things be?’ Jesus answered him, ‘Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things? –John 3:1-9

Faith in Jesus Christ seems to boil down to a choice. I have wondered why God created us with free will. God highly values having a mutual relationship with humans, and God desires that relationship to be reciprocal. We call that relationship with God love; love does not exist on a one-way street.

The English language dumps a whole lot of meaning on the word love. We use it as a stronger word than like to describing the very essence of God. The Greek Language used in the New Testament has six different words for love. We are most familiar with agape—God’s love, éros—love between a couple, and philía—Sibling love. I work from the definition of human love as wanting the absolute best for another. Our love of God is a deep desire to live within the standards of God’s love shared with us.

Thus, we are born as humans made in the image of God. At some point, we must decide to love like God or not. That choice opens the window of our souls to the indwelling of the Spirit of God and sets us on the path to wholeness and oneness with God and living justly with all God’s other children.

Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for the gift of the Spirit to lead and guide us on your incredible journey of love. Amen.

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.

Cluttered Souls

Eastertide

May 22, 2021

Scripture Reading: John 3:1-17

Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. He came to Jesus by night and said to him, ‘Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.’ Jesus answered him, ‘Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.’ Nicodemus said to him, ‘How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?’ Jesus answered, ‘Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is Spirit. –John:1-6

According to the Christian Calendar based on Acts 2, tomorrow is the anniversary of the day we now call Pentecost, where God shared the gift of the Holy Spirit with all Christ-followers. John 20:22 records Jesus giving his disciples the gift of the Spirit after the Resurrection. I think both instances are valid. The Spirit has always been with us throughout the story of God. Sometimes we need to be reminded of that.

God created us as sentient beings able to discern right from wrong. That characteristic is necessary if we are to understand and practice God’s righteousness. I think God wanted partners, not puppets. Partners must internalize God’s mission and intentionally choose to make it their own. God came to dwell among us in the person of Jesus and remains with us in the presence of the Holy Spirit. We are never left alone without help as we strive to follow the example of Jesus Christ.

Whoever wrote the book of John surely had access to Paul’s writing as that person, too, differentiated between the flesh and the Spirit. There is a purity about the Spirit that we can sometimes miss if our humanness, our flesh, gets in the way. I call them filters. From birth forward, humans create filters to simplify our lives. Children touch a hot object that burns them, and instantly their minds start building a filter that says do not touch hot things. Filters are necessary, but when our filters build up some messages, they can be dangerous to our lives and our connections to the Spirit. I think it was in David Wilkerson’s story recorded in The Cross and the Switchblade where he described learning not to call God father when working with children in the intercity. Fathers to many of them were undependable flashes in their lives.

We are called to love like Jesus, and that requires us to look for the dirty filters in ourselves that limit our ability to love others. We must retain our relationship with the Spirit to keep our filters clean. We are called to love one another, enabling others to form a relationship with the Spirit.

Prayer: Lord, search me and cleanse me of any wicked ways. Help my love to enable others to free their souls of clutter, too.  Amen.

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.

Adopted

Eastertide

May 21, 2021

Scripture Reading: Romans 8:12-17
So then, brothers and sisters, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh— for if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’ it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our Spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ—if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.

I enjoy the Finding Your Roots program on PBS. That should come as no surprise to anyone who knows me and my fascination with genealogy. Tracing the ancestry of slaves in the USA gets dicey before the Civil War because they were most often treated as animals in formal documents with no names listed. Their age, sex, and financial worth are usually all that is recorded. Occasionally, searchers are surprised to find where a slave owner had legally freed a slave. Even rarer, following the Civil War, some slave owners deeded land to former slaves to start them on their way to self-sufficiency like they would their child. I thought of that when I read this sentence in the above scripture: For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption.

There is something incredibly special about adoption. Perhaps the circumstances of needing to be adopted are painful, but having parents seal their acceptance and love for one by their choice through adoption is life-changing. As Paul describes it here, God’s gift of the Holy Spirit is that seal of acceptance. Some come to accept the love of God from a loving family with God as its center. Others stumble into discovering God in a drug treatment center or prison or a sudden realization that living the good life is not living much at all. God accepts us as we are, adopts us, and blesses us with the presence of that Spirit. We may not know what the next moment may bring, but we will always know God will be with us no matter what.

Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for accepting us just as we are and providing the guidance we need to become all that we can be. Amen.

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.

Holy Spirit

Eastertide

May 17, 2021

Scripture Reading:
Acts 2:1-21 or Ezekiel 37:1-14

But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them: ‘Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning. No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:

that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh,
“In the last days it will be, God declares,
   and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
and your young men shall see visions,
   and your old men shall dream dreams.
Even upon my slaves, both men and women,
   in those days I will pour out my Spirit;
     and they shall prophesy.
And I will show portents in the heaven above
   and signs on the earth below,
     blood, and fire, and smoky mist.
The sun shall be turned to darkness
   and the moon to blood,
     before the coming of the Lord’s great and glorious day.
Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” –Acts 2:14-21

The Holy Spirit is a mysterious messenger and guide in our lives. Our ability to interact with the Spirit enables our work toward building a homeland for all people ruled by love. As a young child, one of our neighbors invited my family to a revival meeting at their Pentecostal church. We slipped into seats toward the back of the church, and by the time the first few songs had been sung, I was under the pew watching the service from between my parents’ legs. I had never experienced anything like that. I remember it but I do not think it left any lasting impact on me. My Mom explained that people worshipped God in different ways.

Fast forward to the 1970s, when the charismatic movement was popular, I was invited to a house meeting where people shared their experiences with the Holy Spirit. I was encouraged to kindle my relationship with the Spirit. I thanked the friend who had invited me but did not attend again.

Even though these corporate experiences did not appeal to me, I wanted to understand this third part of my relationship with God. I am a monotheist and recognize God’s omnipotence. I adopted Jesus Christ quickly as my role model and teacher. And I finally came to realize that this mysterious messenger and guide had always been with me and would always be. The Holy Spirit, for me, is more akin to Elijah’s still small voice or Jacob’s wrestling match on his return trip home. Now I recognize that those two understandings differ significantly. Thus, I have concluded that the Holy Spirit molds its responses to my needs. The Holy Spirit knows when I need to be consoled and when I need to be stirred into action, thus following its guidance is an ultimate act of faith.

Prayer:
Spirit of the living God,
Fall afresh on me.
Melt me, mold me, fill me, use me.
Spirit of the living God,
Fall afresh on me. Amen*.

First verse of Spirit of the living God, fall fresh on me, by Daniel Iverson, see at https://hymnary.org/text/spirit_of_the_living_god_fall_iverson

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.

Answering a Call

Living in the Spirit

June 29, 2020

Scripture Reading:
Genesis 24:34-67

Then I bowed my head and worshipped the Lord, and blessed the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me by the right way to obtain the daughter of my master’s kinsman for his son. Now then, if you will deal loyally and truly with my master, tell me; and if not, tell me, so that I may turn either to the right hand or to the left.’ And they called Rebekah, and said to her, ‘Will you go with this man?’ She said, ‘I will.’ So they sent away their sister Rebekah and her nurse along with Abraham’s servant and his men. And they blessed Rebekah and said to her,
‘May you, our sister, become
   thousands of myriads;
may your offspring gain possession
   of the gates of their foes.’
Then Rebekah and her maids rose up, mounted the camels, and followed the man; thus the servant took Rebekah, and went his way. –Genesis 24:40-49, 58-61

As a child, I had a little golden book that told this story with pictures and words. It was like a fairy tale, and I enjoyed reading it over and over again. I now know this was a story from an ancient culture that followed customs that are foreign to our society today, although some things never change. No one wants their children to marry the wrong kind of person. Our definition of who that wrong kind of person is has changed markedly.

I am impressed that Rebekah apparently had a choice as to whether she would go. Years ago, I received a telephone call from the state office of the agency where I worked, asking me if I would be interested in transferring to a job in another town. I said, let me think about it. They said we need to know today. I went on a coffee break with a friend, and we tossed around the pros and cons. I returned to the office called them back and said I would take the transfer, and their response was I should report to duty tomorrow and stop by the state office to pick up the name badge I would need, which was apparently already made. I have always wondered if I really had a choice. I wonder if that was the kind of choice Rebekah had. My job change was one of the best decisions I ever made. I think Rebekah probably felt the same about her decision.

I read somewhere recently that the Spirit of God was a wind, not a wall. It flows in and around and through us as it does through all God’s people working to bring the Body of Christ into oneness. We are called to catch the wind and fulfill our contribution to creating a world ruled by love.

Prayer: Lord, give us the discernment to recognize the Spirit’s workings and help us be ready to go where the Spirit leads us. Amen.

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.

Come Holy Spirit

Living in the Spirit

June 7, 2020

Scripture Reading: John 7:37-39
On the last day of the festival, the great day, while Jesus was standing there, he cried out, ‘Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink. As the scripture has said, “Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water.” ’ Now he said this about the Spirit, which believers in him were to receive; for as yet there was no Spirit, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

As yet there was no Spirit, because Jesus was not yet glorified is curious wording for a writer with a Jewish background. The second verse of Genesis mentions the spirit of God. The Hebrew Bible contains over 200 references to the spirit. Psalm 51:11 is a prayer that pleads, Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your holy spirit from me. Was there a sense among Jesus’s followers that the spirit had been taken away? Perhaps driven away would be more descriptive. We lose contact with the Spirit when we think we know more than God. Jesus instructs in Matthew 12:31, Therefore I tell you, people will be forgiven for every sin and blasphemy, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. Must we recognize that we are doing something wrong before we can be forgiven?

What happens when the failure to follow the guidance of the Spirit becomes an epidemic in society? We cluster in groups sharing not in God’s righteousness but in communal self-righteousness. We see only what we choose to see within our closed communities losing sight that all people are God’s children. We ignore the ways of God as we search hopelessly for gods that reflect our thinking that foster the evil that persuades us. We all need to read and comprehend the book of Amos again or for the first time.

One of the tricky things about a democracy created as a government of the people, by the people, for the people is we the people own both its failures and successes. Our government is made in our image, and I, for one, do not like what I am seeing. The changes needed begin with us. We need to look deeply into God’s mirror to see how closely our images reflect the image of a God whose prime directive was to love God and love one another. The fear is that we have drifted so far from the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we cannot see our way back to being aligned with God.

It is never too late. God loves all God’s children and wants the very best for us. God wants us to want the very best for each other. To do that, we must let go of thinking we know more than God.

Prayer: Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your holy spirit from me forgive me. Forgive me for departing from you. Cleanse me of my prejudices and guide me to see the world through your loving eyes. Amen.

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.

Called to Serve

Living in the Spirit

June 4, 2020

Scripture Reading: 1 Corinthians 12:3b-13

Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses. –1 Corinthians 12:4-11

None of us are called to do everything; all of us are called to do something. It all starts with loving God and allowing God through the Holy Spirit to show us where we are needed most in whatever circumstances we find ourselves.

I spent many years working in a male-dominated state agency that, in a study done in the 1980s, was paying women executives on average $20,000 less per year than their male counterparts who, for the most part, had fewer years of experience and less education. At the same time, I was able to advance because of a couple of male leaders who fostered my growth and development, and I am forever grateful to them. I remember in one meeting when my supervisor brought me along to present a new program that I developed to the executive committee. I was the only woman in the room and was ignored until my boss said, “Marilynn is going to have to explain that to you. I have not had time to review it all.” That was a baldfaced lie. He had given me feedback throughout the process and chose to open the door for my making the presentation.

I jokingly say that I was called to do the jobs that no one else wanted to do, which was true. The result was that I worked on a broad range of new projects, learned how to work with a diversity of people, and developed new skills I never dreamed I would gain. The Holy Spirit helps us become all that we can be and never leaves us as we strive to serve God.

We live in tumultuous times. God needs all God’s people to step up and say, “Use me where you need me.” And then go forth and do what God is calling us to do.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for the enablers. Help us all to be doers of the word and enablers too. Amen.

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.

Filling the World with Love

Life in the Spirit

June 2, 2020

Scripture Reading:
Acts 2:1-21 or Numbers 11:24-30

So Moses went out and told the people the words of the Lord; and he gathered seventy elders of the people, and placed them all around the tent. Then the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to him, and took some of the spirit that was on him and put it on the seventy elders; and when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied. But they did not do so again.

Two men remained in the camp, one named Eldad, and the other named Medad, and the spirit rested on them; they were among those registered, but they had not gone out to the tent, and so they prophesied in the camp. And a young man ran and told Moses, ‘Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.’ And Joshua son of Nun, the assistant of Moses, one of his chosen men, said, ‘My lord Moses, stop them!’ But Moses said to him, ‘Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the Lord’s people were prophets, and that the Lord would put his spirit on them!’ And Moses and the elders of Israel returned to the camp.

God, the Creator, Jesus the Christ, and the Holy Spirit have been engaged in growing us and guiding us since the beginning of the world. Made in the very image of God, we are fully capable of loving like God. We were provided a role model in Jesus and salvation in his death and resurrection so that we can love and be loved as we strive to develop the Kingdom God envisioned in creation. We, like are ancestors in faith worshipping God in a tent in the desert, are gifted with the Holy Spirit serving as our advocate and our guide.

If the world is going to be that Kingdom, we are the ones who must make it happen. We can no longer let the lesser gods of the world rule our world. The idols of greed and lust for power are the root causes of the strife and divisiveness pandemic among us today. They rear their ugly heads in racism and classism and violence. Mighty armies cannot rid us of such evil. Only God can do that. God has chosen repeatedly to deliver the message to God’s followers that we must be a part of the overthrow of evil. Today let us renew our commitment to that calling.

Prayer: Lord, strengthen our feeble arms and weak knees* as we move out into the world spreading so much love there is no longer space for evil. Amen.

*See Hebrews 12:12

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.