Tag Archives: Living in the Spirit

Pour Out Your Spirit on Us

Living in the Spirit

October 17, 2022

Scripture Reading: Joel 2:23-32

O children of Zion, be glad
   and rejoice in the Lord your God;
for he has given the early rain for your vindication,
   he has poured down for you abundant rain,
   the early and the later rain, as before.
The threshing-floors shall be full of grain,
   the vats shall overflow with wine and oil.

Then afterwards
   I will pour out my spirit on all flesh;
your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
   your old men shall dream dreams,
   and your young men shall see visions.
Even on the male and female slaves,
   in those days, I will pour out my spirit. –Joel 2:23-24,28-29

Oklahoma is suffering a drought, causing catastrophic outcomes for the state. There is not enough grass to feed cattle. Even where grass might have been available, fires turned the trees and other plants into ash. While the rain that fell last night was accompanied by high winds and hail, it was a blessing.  

As we recover from the avalanche of COVID and are learning to live with its ongoing impacts, we, too are suffering its consequences. Businesses are trying to find a new normal, our supply systems are not as streamlined as we want them to be causing delays in finding what we need contributing to inflation, and a war in Europe is adding to our challenges. We somehow find ourselves in a divide-and-conquer world unable to find common ground for the Common Good. If ever we needed the Lord to pour his spirit on all of us and show us the way to a beloved community, we need it now.

Prayer: Lord, pour out your spirit on us and help us to build a more loving 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.

The Spirit of God

Living in the Spirit

May 30, 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 3:10-17

Having lived in Oklahoma most of my life, I have no problem understanding the phrase: 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. When the person reporting the weather here says the wind will be light today, they probably mean between 15 and 20 miles an hour. Known primarily for oil and gas, Oklahoma ranked third in the nation in electricity generation from wind in 2020. The Greek word, pneuma, translated wind in this scripture, can also mean spirit or breath*. Paul uses the adjective form pneumatikos more specifically to designate the spiritual. In so doing, he creates a metaphor for understanding the unpredictable nature of the Spirit. (I am glad I did not get the assignment to translate scripture but appreciate the work of those who did.)

Life is unpredictable. I have my rituals from day to day based on the “normal” flow of my life, and then suddenly, something happens, turning my plans upside-down. Such intrusions may be good or bad, nuisance or Major disasters, limited opportunities, or a significant job promotion. God is with us through it all. I am amazed at God’s desire to synchronize all the activities of God’s people to target them toward a Kingdom ruled by love. Even more stunning is God’s determination that I could be of help in making it happen. That is God’s vision and goal. When we think about that, we can understand the need for and importance of the one we call Spirit to weave us together in love.

Prayer: Lord, that you for the gift of the Spirit. Help us welcome the Spirits leading and give us the courage to follow them. Amen.

*https://biblehub.com/greek/4151.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.

Christ with Us

Living in the Spirit

November 5, 2020

Scripture Reading:
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about those who have died, so that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have died. For this we declare to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will by no means precede those who have died. For the Lord himself, with a cry of command, with the archangel’s call and with the sound of God’s trumpet, will descend from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up in the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the air; and so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage one another with these words.

Strangely this scripture is significant to me at this time, in this place. My electric company is good at keeping me posted on where they are regarding getting my electricity back on following an ice storm that downed thousands of lines. I got many emails saying they could not give me a specific time but were assessing outages in my area. I then got projections with dates and times, but they are all moving targets. I watched the website for reductions in outages. They would decrease and then pop back up higher than before as more trees fell and pulled down more lines.

I sense that Paul is addressing a similar concern regarding when Christ was going to return. “I do not know” response is not very comforting when loved ones have died before Christ’s expected return. Christ did promise to return. It is hard to understand. Life after death is a great mystery, as is Christ’s return. Two thousand years later, as a child, I heard preachers on the radio saying Christ is coming soon, often listing signs present in our society. I was a skeptic at an early age. Most of those shows ended with a request for money, so the ministry could continue warning people to get ready for Christ’s imminent arrival. In my young mind, that was a distraction from the work Christ’s expected us to do. Probably because of my skepticism, I do not put much emphasis on what is called the second coming. I do take Jesus’s gift of the Spirit seriously. In the Spirit’s presence, Christ never left. The Spirit guides us as we live out our life as part of the Body of Christ, loving our neighbors and doing justice.

Prayer: Lord, our understanding of you is driven in part by the world around us and its influences. Guide us in separating with is your way, your truth, and your life. 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.

Spirit Within

Lent
March 28, 2017

Scripture Reading: Ezekiel 37:1-14

Then he said to me, ‘Mortal, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, “Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are cut off completely.” Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: I am going to open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people; and I will bring you back to the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people. I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you on your own soil; then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken and will act, says the Lord.’ –Ezekiel 37:11-14

Life in the Spirit is life with God engaged. It is easy to get down on life, down on politics, down on the church. Life is hard at times and always a challenge. Living in community involves the give and take of humans striving together when each takes in the world around them in ways differing. I recently saw two pictures of the same thing one depicting the items as they are perceived by most and the other illustrating what the world looks like to the color blind. I was surprised to see the perception of what I would call blue instead of yellow. For some reason, I thought being color blind meant everything was black and white or shades of gray.

God created us in community and thus surely intended that communities of variances result in greater hope, faith and love. Let us celebrate our differences as we claim our roles living in the Spirit of the living God with all of God’s other critters.

Prayer: We thank you God for the gift of your Spirit and for the life-giving strength is provides. 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.