Daily Scripture: Acts 19:1 While Apollos was in Corinth, Sha’ul completed his travels through the inland country and arrived at Ephesus, where he found a few talmidim. 2 He asked them, “Did you receive the Ruach HaKodesh when you came to trust?” “No,” they said to him, “we have never even heard that there is such a thing as the Ruach HaKodesh.” 3 “In that case,” he said, “into what were you immersed?” “The immersion of Yochanan,” they answered. 4 Sha’ul said, “Yochanan practiced an immersion in connection with turning from sin to God; but he told the people to put their trust in the one who would come after him, that is, in Yeshua.” 5 On hearing this, they were immersed into the name of the Lord Yeshua; 6 and when Sha’ul placed his hands on them, the Ruach HaKodesh came upon them; so that they began speaking in tongues and prophesying. Ephesians 5:15 Therefore, pay careful attention to how you conduct your life — live wisely, not unwisely. 16 Use your time well, for these are evil days. 17 So don’t be foolish, but try to understand what the will of the Lord is.
18 Don’t get drunk with wine, because it makes you lose control. Instead, keep on being filled with the Spirit — 19 sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs to each other; sing to the Lord and make music in your heart to him; 20 always give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah.
21 Submit to one another in fear of the Messiah. Galatians 5:18 But if you are led by the Spirit, then you are not in subjection to the system that results from perverting the Torah into legalism.
19 And it is perfectly evident what the old nature does. It expresses itself in sexual immorality, impurity and indecency; 20 involvement with the occult and with drugs; in feuding, fighting, becoming jealous and getting angry; in selfish ambition, factionalism, intrigue 21 and envy; in drunkenness, orgies and things like these. I warn you now as I have warned you before: those who do such things will have no share in the Kingdom of God!
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 humility, self control. Nothing in the Torah stands against such things.Reflection Questions:Paul met some disciples whom John the Baptist (or a follower of his) had baptized. They didn’t know about the Holy Spirit. Paul showed them that John had pointed forward to Jesus, and that the Holy Spirit’s power continues Jesus' work in giving us a new inner life. John Wesley gave “Directions for Singing” that fit well with Ephesians 5: “Above all sing spiritually. Have an eye to God in every word you sing.” And to the Galatians, Paul described the contrast between the real-life results of living from selfish motives and those that come when we let the Holy Spirit bear his fruit in our lives. The Holy Spirit, in many varied ways, is the person through whom God transforms us for the better.
- Does the kind of life portrayed in today’s readings sound appealing to you, or not? Think through the reasons for your answer. How (if at all) has the Holy Spirit’s presence changed the relationships in your life? Are there ways that you find yourself expressing or acting out love that were not characteristic of you in the past? Take a personal inventory of how present each of the “fruit of the Spirit” qualities is in your life. Prayerfully choose a spiritual strategy for becoming more open to the Holy Spirit’s power in one or two of the areas you most want to grow in.
Today’s Prayer:
Come, Holy Spirit! Bear your fruit in my life, transforming me daily from the inside out. Unite me in love with all of my brothers and sisters in the faith. Amen.
Family Activity:
The Holy Spirit is one way we can seek to know God more fully. Explain to your family that the Holy Spirit is like the wind. They are both always with us but we can’t see them. We can, however, see and feel what they are doing. Go outside for a walk together. Talk about what sounds and movements the wind is causing. Spend some time in prayer as you experience the wind. Remind everyone that the Holy Spirit is God’s presence with us and it will only move in ways that are good, helpful and beneficial. Encourage your family members to remember God and the Holy Spirit whenever they feel the wind. Thank God for the Holy Spirit and for the ways it brings God’s goodness to the world.
Insights from Dave Pullin
Dave Pullin serves as the Director of Technical Production at The Church of the Resurrection. The Technical Production ministry handles all audio/visual/technical support for the church including worship services and events.
If I were completely transparent with you, I’d have to admit that I don’t think I have experienced the Holy Spirit as described in these passages. I haven’t spoken in tongues, I haven’t prophesied, I haven’t seen flames flickering above peoples’ heads, and I haven’t ‘felt’ anything different as a result of the Holy Spirit coming upon me. So does that mean I’m not filled with the Holy Spirit? Sometimes I didn’t really know. Have you ever felt the same way, struggling to feel the Spirit? Are you unsure about your faith when other people speak so confidently about experiencing the power of the Holy Spirit? If so, perhaps I’m not the only one who feels this way.
I can’t deny that those types of experiences happen to people, and I’m thankful that they do. It just hasn’t happened for me. This used to bother me, a lot, as many of my friends would speak frequently about these types of experiences. This made me feel as though my faith was inadequate, which is not a very good feeling to have. Yet as I continued to grow in my faith and understanding, I realized that the Spirit interacts and works through us all, just in different ways, and to be filled by the Spirit means to be open to the Spirit’s suggestions and promptings. I only needed to figure out what that really looked like for me. I needed to learn how to quiet the cacophony of my own selfish thoughts and ambitions in order to be able to hear that Still Small Voice of the Spirit that primarily comes only when I am able to be still and truly listen for God’s prompting.
For me, there are two primary ways I can connect to and hear that Still Small Voice. The first is by getting lost deep within nature. As you read this, I am backpacking deep in the Colorado wilderness where I can completely unplug. No electronics competing for attention. No email, no task list, no agendas, nothing. I completely unplug and allow myself to get immersed in nature. This is where I am simply able to open my heart, my mind, and my soul and be quiet enough so that I can hopefully hear whatever message God is trying to tell me. And more often than not, these immersions are successful, be it trying to find discernment, guidance, or rest and rejuvenation. It is in this place that I feel the closest to God.
The second is through my daily morning ritual. I typically wake up at 5 a.m., and go through the same routine every day. It includes a time of reading Scripture, praying and meditating. It is the regular act of meditation (which I look at as active listening for God) that reminds me that I need to be intentional about listening for God, for the Spirit. At first, the meditation part was pretty difficult. Just sitting there for 5 minutes was torture. But as I continued to force myself to meditate, it became easier and easier. Now I am able to be still and meditate on the Scriptures I read, or a specific thought for the day, or a daily devotional I had read. Or I simply sit and try not to think of anything and only be an observer to my thoughts, holding on loosely. This (almost) daily routine has had drastic impact on me gaining clarity and discernment. I recall reading a quote saying that what we do each and every day is what creates our character, and I believe that to be true.
So even though I may not ever experience the Holy Spirit as some have, I know for certain that God is still present in me. I can feel those subtle promptings. I don’t ever hear an audible voice, but quite often I do get a sense, or a gut feeling about something that I am confident has come from the Holy Spirit…I just have to be intentional about clearing out all the interference so I can hear
it.
The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection
13720 Roe Avenue
13720 Roe Avenue
Leawood, Kansas 66224 United States
913.897.0120
____________________________
____________________________
No comments:
Post a Comment