Tag Archives: Led by the Spirit

Maturing in Faith

Ordinary Time

February 2, 2023

Scripture Reading:

1 Corinthians 2:1-12 (13-16)

When I came to you, brothers and sisters, I did not come proclaiming the mystery of God to you in lofty words or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified. And I came to you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling. My speech and my proclamation were not with plausible words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom but on the power of God. –1 Corinthians 2:1-5

My impression of Saul of Tarsus is that he was pretty sure of himself. He had been raised in wealth, the son of a Pharisee, groomed in his faith, and zealous about converting others to his beliefs* to the point of persecuting those who were following  Jesus. That does not sound like the description he gave of himself in the scripture above. He even went so far as to change his name to Paul after his encounter with Jesus Christ on his trip to Damascus, where he was headed to continue his persecution. After encounters in Damascus with Christ-followers and receiving their fearful welcome because his previous behavior preceded him, he withdrew to the mountains for three years to delve into what had happened to him and, more importantly, what he was to do about it.

And so, this same very confident man came to the people of Corinth in weakness and in fear and in much trembling. While his sense of surety remained, his relationship with God had blossomed and matured. He no longer needed to be overbearing but humbly became the conduit for God’s love to spread throughout the known world.

Our world today needs all Christ-followers to open ourselves to being the conduit of God’s love as we live in a world challenged by change. To do that, we must open ourselves to God’s examination and gain an understanding and relationship with God to make that transition for the betterment of all. We, too, must be willing to let the Spirit of God guide us and not assume that carrying out our way of being faithful is still appropriate in our world today.

Prayer: Lord, remove the beam from our eyes so that we can better serve you among all people guided by your love. Amen.

*Philippians 3:2-6  For it is we who are the circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God and boast in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh— even though I, too, have reason for confidence in the flesh.

If anyone else has reason to be confident in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, a member of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.

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.

The Word Made Flesh

Christmastide

December 27, 2020

Scripture Reading:
John 1:1-14

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. –John 1:1-5

The above scripture establishes Jesus Christ as the Word. John’s identification of Jesus Christ as the Word provides the literary litmus paper by which we can test what is included in the Bible and written about the Bible since it was compiled. The Bible is history, theology, spiritual and civil laws, and even ancient etiquette. It is delivered in prose and poetry and as genealogy and numerology. We can study the Bible for a lifetime and still see something new.

Inspired by God, the Bible was written by people and thus filtered through their life experiences. We read what they wrote filtered through our experiences. Perhaps that is why the Bible’s compilers included four gospels describing the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus. I have been blessed by participating in Bible study groups where my limited insights are stretched by hearing comments from people with backgrounds that differ from mine. Just as God inspired the writing of the Bible, we continue to be enlightened when we open ourselves to reading scripture and other faith-based literature with the guidance of the Spirit.

Problems arise when we pick and choose the parts of scripture that only agree with our preconception of what we think it should say while ignoring aspects that it does say. When I visited Monticello many years ago, I viewed a copy of the Thomas Jefferson bible titled The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth. Jefferson literally cut out the parts of the Bible he did not like or thought unnecessary and retained the elements that mattered in his mind. While we may not cut out the sections we do not like, we do not address them, and we readily ignore parts that may still have some wisdom but do not fit our lifestyles. I find this prevalent in what we define as sin. Sin is often anything we do not do or never would do while perceiving something like idol worship as outdated. Our idols may not be made of carved stone, but greed and lust for power often are gods we put before God.

The Word according to Jesus is encapsulated in Mark 12:30-31–you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.” The second is this, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” There is no other commandment greater than these.’ If any scripture does not pass the test of love, it is not of God, for God is love.

Prayer: Lord, inspire us to read and study your Word through the guidance of the Spirit.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.

The Art of Truth

Living in the Spirit

July 31, 2020

Scripture Reading: Romans 9:1-5

I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience confirms it by the Holy Spirit— I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my own people, my kindred according to the flesh. They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises; to them belong the patriarchs, and from them, according to the flesh, comes the Messiah, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen.

 I must confess whenever someone says to me, “I am telling the truth; I am not lying.” I generally doubt whether they are telling the truth. I guess I am becoming more cynical in my old age. Lying has become an art in our society. Political advisors are hired who are skilled at reshaping the truth to fit their candidate’s best interests. It happens in all aspects of our society. Fact-checkers’ columns or services have become a standard.

I long for Amos’s plumb line. Something objective by which we can measure the truth with which we speak or by which we live.  Paul identifies his plumb line when he calls on the Holy Spirit to test his conscience. God did create us with consciences, the sense of knowing right from wrong. Over time though, I fear we reprogram our consciences to ease our minds about doing things we know innately are wrong.

I wear glasses all day every day, and lenses get dirty. I notice it most when I attempt to watch TV in the evening. At first, I may think there is something wrong with the TV. It’s just not clear. Then I take my glasses off and am amazed that I was able to see anything. The TV is fixed once my glasses are cleaned. We do the same thing with the truth when we do not see it as clearly as we should. That is why our relationship with the Holy Spirit is so vital. The Spirit can clean our conscience’s glasses.

You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. Exodus 20:16

Prayer:
Holy Spirit, truth divine,
dawn upon this soul of mine.
Voice of God and inward light,
wake my spirit, clear my sight*. Amen

*Holy Spirit, Truth Divine by Samuel Longfellow see at https://hymnary.org/text/holy_spirit_truth_divine_dawn_upon_this

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.

Spiritual Guidance

Eastertide

April 15, 2020

Scripture Reading: Psalm 16

I bless the Lord who gives me counsel;
   in the night also my heart instructs me.
I keep the Lord always before me;
   because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.

Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices;
   my body also rests secure.
For you do not give me up to Sheol,
   or let your faithful one see the Pit.

You show me the path of life.
   In your presence there is fullness of joy;
   in your right hand are pleasures for evermore. –Psalm 16:7-11

Nighttime is my cogitating time, and I do share that with the Lord. Psalm 63 is one of my favorite Psalms. I particularly like verses 5-7:

My soul is satisfied as with a rich feast,
   and my mouth praises you with joyful lips
when I think of you on my bed,
   and meditate on you in the watches of the night;
for you have been my help,
   and in the shadow of your wings I sing for joy.

I wish I could say I keep the Lord always before me, but many times these early morning meetings with God are making up for my failure to keep the Lord before me consciously. It is in those lack of conscious connections, I fall back on trusting the Spirit to hang with me on automatic pilot. Athletes call it muscle memory. To have muscle memory, one must continually work out and practice. My faith workout often occurs in those night meetings. In 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, Paul advises us to Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. It is also the foundation of faith.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for the consistency of your presence in those time when my life switches to automatic pilot. 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.

Cloud of Witnesses

Kingdom of God

August 16, 2019

Scripture Reading: Hebrews 11:29-12:2

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God. –Hebrews 12:1-2

If we take the time to read the chapters in Hebrews that lead up to these familiar verses, we are reminded that our heroes in the faith prevailed through some serious challenges primarily through persistence and hard work and yet only moved the needle forward, never attained the final outcome desired. Nothing came easy for them. Working with people is messy. Trying to get people on the same page is even messier. Bringing people together while loving them as God loves us is downright impossible without the guidance, nurturing, and nudging of the Holy Spirit. Wholeness leads to oneness which leads to justice is a broken record for me, but I play it daily for myself and repeatedly for all who will listen.

At this point in my life, I feel like the needle is moving backwards that we are losing ground but then I see faith at work as living love. Perhaps the Spirit is stirring among us calling us to take the next giant step in created a world where all God’s children has a place and a purpose and are appreciated for their contributions.

Spirit, Spirit of gentleness, blow through the wilderness,
calling and free.
Spirit, Spirit of restlessness,
stir me from placidness,
Wind, Wind on the sea.

You call from tomorrow, you break ancient schemes,
from the bondage of sorrow the captives dream dreams,
our women see visions, our men clear their eyes,
with bold new decisions your people arise*.

Prayer:
Spirit, Spirit of gentleness, blow through the wilderness,
calling and free.
Spirit, Spirit of restlessness,
stir me from placidness,
Wind, Wind on the sea*. Amen.

*Refrain and verse 4 of Spirit by James K. Manley, see at http://users.rcn.com/exetercongchurch/Spirit.htm

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.

Self-Examination

Kingdom Building

June 27, 2019

Scripture Reading: Galatians 5:1, 13-25

Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the law. Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. –Galatians 5:16-21

Sometimes I wonder if people misread this scripture thinking it is commanding us to do the laundry list of behaviors as opposed to avoiding them. I hate listening to congressional hearings anymore because they rarely asked reasonable questions but rather go off on some tangent about how the others side are dirty dogs. We seem to no longer judge people’s character based on any of these behaviors. We tend to admire those who follow such lifestyles and perhaps even envy them ourselves because we are missing out on their fun.

I do remember the days when we perhaps went overboard on judging people by a strict set of moral rules and shunned them for breaking them. I do not what to return to that either. We probably need to discover or recover what Paul means by the phrases Live by the Spirit and led by the Spirit. Paul gave us each and all good advice in Philippians 2:12-13 when he encouraged us to:

Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed me, not only in my presence, but much more now in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

Such behavior requires us first and foremost to come into right relationship with God through the example of Jesus and welcoming the Spirit into our live. Secondly, we must be mindful of how we interact with others and whether our behavior is having the impact God desires for us. Daily self-examination is a good habit to form. Reviewing this list of examples of inappropriate behaviors might be a start. Some are things we would never do; others may be things we cannot admit we do; and some are things we know we do but cannot seem to stop. In any case, the Spirit can help us gain insight and make corrections.

Prayer: Create in me a clean heart, O God,
   and put a new and right spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from your presence,
   and do not take your holy spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
   and sustain in me a willing spirit*. Amen.

*Psalm 51:10-12

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.