pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

Tag Archives: Holy Spirit


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The Gift of the Holy Spirit

Baptism marks us as a child of God and brings us into His family.  In the early church and in non-infant baptisms today, it is also an affirmation of one’s own faith in Jesus Christ.  In all cases of Christian baptism today, one is baptized in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  In our text from Acts, this was not the case.  The new believers had been baptized but had not yet received the Holy Spirit.

John and Peter go to the newly baptized believers in Samaria to offer them the gift of the Holy Spirit.  Through prayer and the laying on of hands, these new members of the family of God receive the Holy Spirit.  To invite the Holy Spirit to come and dwell in them was essential.  For them and for us, the Holy Spirit is the living presence of Jesus Christ in our lives.  This presence guides and leads us to live life as a follower or imitator of Jesus.  The life of one indwelled by the Holy Spirit is a life that bears fruit in the world and shares the light and love of Christ with others.

The Holy Spirit also acts as a connector or unifier.  It leads and guides us all in the same way, bringing us together as the body of Christ.  Much as baptism brings each new believer into the one family of God, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit imparts into each of us a common DNA, making us one in Christ.

This day may we invite the Holy Spirit to be active and present in our lives.  This day may we attune our ears and hearts to the voice of the Holy Spirit.  This day may our hands and feet be receptive to the movement of the Holy Spirit in our lives.  Come Holy Spirit, come!

Scripture reference: Acts 8: 14-17


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Prayer Invite

Within each person is a spark of the divine.  This is what causes us to see God in our world and to have an innate pull within us to connect to God.  As John began to baptize in the wilderness, people started to wonder if he was indeed the Messiah that they were longing for.  John must have sensed this and Jesus’ imminent coming as he announced that he was not the Messiah but that the One was indeed coming.  John’s call to repent and to live a righteous life was to prepare the way for Jesus.

As we awaken and face each new day, are we like the people on the river bank?  Are we heading into our day expecting to see and experience God at work in our lives and world?  Do we face each day with the expectation that God can and will be present and active in our lives?

It is God’s desire to be present to and active in our lives each day.  So how do we invite God in and learn to live with eyes that are focused on seeing God?  It begins with us as it began with Jesus – in prayer.  After He was baptized, Jesus prayed to God and the Holy Spirit descended on Him.  Prayer is our initial point of connection to God as well.  Prayer draws us into relationship with God.

Sometimes we can lose our sense of expectation.  Life can get routine and we fail to see God in the ho-hum of the day to day.  But God is always there.  He desires to play the lead role in our life, but He does not force His way in.  Today and each day may we begin in prayer, inviting God to be present to us throughout our day.

Scripture reference: Luke 3: 15-17 and 21-22


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Made in Love and Prayer

Hannah only saw Samuel once a year after she dedicated him to the service of God as a young boy.  This was the child she prayed and prayed for and waited and waited for all those long years.  Can you imagine only seeing your child once a year since early childhood?

Each year Hannah would make Samuel a new robe to wear as he served in the temple.  As young children grow, this was a necessary thing to do – much like getting new school clothes each year.  But for Hannah this was not a quick trip to the mall to purchase a new robe.  She handmade the new robe, one stitch at a time.  Each piece was carefully cut and sewn together.  Maybe she even made the linen itself.  From what we know of Hannah, she probably prayed for Samuel with each and every stitch.  So when Samuel received the robe each year, it came soaked in love and prayer.

A group of ladies at our church has a prayer shawl ministry.  They gather once a month, usually at Betty’s house, and they make shawls.  They pray as they create these beautiful shawls.  Each one is bathed in prayer and love.  After dedicating the shawls, members of the church can take them to people they know who are ill or struggling with something.  They are amazing gifts to those in need of prayer and God’s love.

As we ponder these gifts made in love and covered in prayer, we must ask ourselves how we can give such a gift to another.  Maybe a gift can be bought in love and bathed in prayer instead.  Or maybe we receive such a gift from another.  If so, what then is our grateful and thankful response?  Perhaps for some, the gift needed is our time and presence and through prayer God reveals who needs this gift this year.  Maybe the Holy Spirit whispers or nudges us too.  May this love and grace fill our gifts and our presence this Advent season.

Scripture reference: 1 Samuel 2: 18-20 and 26


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Christ’s Peace

“And he will be their peace.”  Many people in our community and around the world would love for peace to reign in their lives.  People do not expect life to be perfect.  We all know life naturally has its ups and downs, its joys and trials.  But people need peace in the midst of it all.  People need a rock upon which to weather the storm and also upon which they can share their joys with others.  People need Jesus.

Micah spoke to a people in the midst of a trial.  It was one of many times that the people of Israel had turned from God and were feeling the consequences of their choices.  Yet even in the midst of this trial, God was present.  He was never gone.  The people waited and longed for God to act and restore them.  God remained their hope and peace.  Knowing that made the trial endurable because there is light at the end of the tunnel.  No matter how far away, light is still there.

Jesus himself offers this same light.  As His time on earth drew near to a close, He offered these words to His disciples: “My peace I leave you.”  He knew the struggle ahead as they adjusted to His physical absence.  Jesus also knew the light was coming.  He knew this peace would be restored with the coming of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus’ promise of peace is to us as well.  We can claim this peace as His followers.  His promise was not short-term, but to the end of this age.  Many in our worlds are seeking peace.  As His followers, we are called to share this peace.  As Christ reigns in our lives, may we allow His light and love to shine forth, bringing Christ’s peace to those in need.

Scripture reference: Micah 5: 2-5a


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Transform and Lead

John came to prepare the way for the Lord.  In the desert he preached a “baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”  He came to bring a message that would transform people’s hearts and make them ready for Jesus.

The radical changes to the earth that Isaiah wrote about and Luke quotes are very dramatic – valleys are filled in, mountains laid low, and crooked paths made straight.  Powerful things that only God could do.  But John called for and calls today for us to undertake such radical transformations in our lives as well.

As we seek to prepare our hearts for the coming of Christ this Advent season, what valleys or low spots in or lives do we need God to lift us out of?  What mountains or pedestals do we need to step down off of to allow humility in and God to be the one lifted up high?  What crooked paths do we sometimes walk that we need the Holy Spirit to turn us from and to walk alongside us on the narrow path?

We anticipate a time of celebration as we remember Christ’s birth.  We also need to be transformed by and made right with God.  May we allow God to transform us and to lead us in a life that knows His saving grace.  May we prepare Him room in our hearts.

Scripture reference: Luke 3: 3-6


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For the King

Our world has seen many great leaders.  From men like King David to men like JFK and MLK, Jr., we have seen many great men.  They lived for a period and lead well, but they passed on and history rolled on.  Only one leader has established himself as an eternal leader: Jesus Christ.

Jesus’ example lives on not only in the words of a Bible.  The words of David live on there too.  But through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, Jesus remains  alive and present to each of us.  This indwelling of the Holy Spirit allowed His followers to risk all as they moved out into the world to boldly proclaim this risen Son as the way, the truth, and the life.  Only death could silence them and many made this choice.

For His followers today, we still experience the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives.  The same Spirit leads and guides and nudges and whispers to us.  It pushes us to live out our faith in the world as a living witness to what Jesus does in our own lives.

We too live with the warning – there may be a little suffering.  Maybe it is a little harassment, maybe a little rejection.  In all cases, God remains present.  The Holy Spirit continues to intercede in heaven and to work within us.  All to share our King with the world.  All to prepare ourselves for seeing Him face to face.  All this for a King!

Scripture reference: Mark 13: 5-8


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Part of God’s Story

Jeremiah 29:11 promises us that God has plans for each of us, plans for good.  God also allowed free will into the world so we each have the choice to live into God’s plans or to follow our own plans.  For any of us, we seek to live our lives as a child of God but we also venture down our own roads from time to time.  As we mature and grow in our faith, we learn to stay attuned to God’s plans and purposes for our lives more and more of the time.

The Bible, or God’s story, is filled with ordinary people doing small things to remain faithful who are used in extraordinary ways.  Today’s story features two widows and a farmer.  Through their simple acts of self-giving love they become part of the lineage of Jesus.  Another story features a shepherd boy, the youngest in the family, who slays the giant and eventually becomes king.  One of my favorites is about the fishermen, tax collector, .. who become the disciples and come to change the world forever.  Each of these ordinary people became part of God’s story and are a part of our story as well.

God also calls each of us to be a part of His ongoing story.  Each and every day God brings before us opportunities to serve others with self-giving love and to share our story with others.  Sometimes the small things we do or the little pieces of our story that we share make a big difference in another’s life.  Many times we do not know about this affect or impact.  At other times the whisper of the Holy Spirit is harder to hear or we find it easier to ignore.  We must be attuned to the whispers and nudges and must seek to live into the will of God.  We must be open to those whispers and nudges even when our first reaction is to ignore them or to think, ‘Really?’  The Lord requires of us the same things  he did of Naomi, Ruth, Boaz, David, te disciples… – trust and obedience.  We must remember that God has us each in the palm of His hand.  Lord, make us willing and obedient to the call to be your loving servant today.

Scripture reference: Ruth 3: 1-5 and 4:13-17


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When Necessary…

Have you ever had a “God moment” when you did not expect it?  In a place you did not expect it?  Both?  In your own Christian witness, have you shared your faith with another in an unusual circumstance?

A few weeks ago at Praise Team practice I was touched and moved by a fellow members care, concern, and power of observation.  It had been a busier couple of weeks than normal.  She noted in a deeply loving way that I seemed tired, that I did not have my usual ‘bounce’ as she put it.  In that moment it was as if God was sending me a message.  The divine was brought in by a simple observation by a good friend.

At times, we too can share God.  Although simple, one of my favorites is the idea of offering to pray for the stranger.  If the checker at the store seems a bit frazzled, offer to pray for him or her.  If a homeless man asks for some money, give and then ask if you can pray for him.  This simple act of prayer says I love you, God loves you.

The disciples were bothered by an outsider healing people of their demon possession.  Jesus said, in essence, ‘Silly men, whoever is not against us is for us.’  He went on to explain that all done in His name merits reward, even something as simple as giving another a cup of water in His name.

We are all asked by God to make a positive difference in the world.  He desires to use unlikely people in unusual circumstances to accomplish His will.  We are each unlikely.  The question is: do we see and hear well enough to catch the opportunities that God places before us?  Holy Spirit, whisper to me and nudge me to be used by God.  When necessary, shout and shove.

Scripture reference: Mark 9: 38-41


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Draw Near

There are two primary factors that define who we are: what we surround ourselves with and what we take into ourselves.  Some of the things we surround ourselves with are the people we spend time with, the places and events we go to, and the activities we engage in.  What we take into ourselves includes the things we read and listen to, the things we look at and watch and surf to, and the conversations we choose to be a part of.  These are all things that influence our decisions and things that become our thoughts, ideas, and opinions.

Our two primary options in what we surround ourselves with and what we take in are God’s wisdom and the world’s wisdom.  If we surround ourselves with immoral people, we tend to do immoral things.  On the other hand, if we choose to surround ourselves with Christian people, we tend to engage in godly activities.  If we spend time in the Word, we are built up and grow in our wisdom of God.  If we instead surf for illicit pictures online, we fill ourselves with lust and evil thoughts.

We face these decisions all the time.  Although God is always pursuing us, so is the world.  Even though the Holy Spirit is right there speaking into our heart and mind, the deceiver is right there whispering in our ear.  We make decisions each day that either draw us closer to God or further from God.  Sometimes the choices to fill ourselves with the things of God and to surround ourselves with others making the same choices are difficult.  God promises to draw near to those who draw near to Him.  Draw near to me today, O Lord.  Draw near.

Scripture reference: James 4: 1-8