Leawood, Kansas, United States - The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection Daily Guide grow. pray. study. for Monday, 20 October 2014 "The Holy Spirit—active agent of new life"

Leawood, Kansas, United States - The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection Daily Guide grow. pray. study. for Monday, 20 October 2014 "The Holy Spirit—active agent of new life"
Daily Scripture:  Acts 18:23 After spending a considerable time with the Antioch Christians, Paul set off again for Galatia and Phrygia, retracing his old tracks, one town after another, putting fresh heart into the disciples.
19:1-2 Now, it happened that while Apollos was away in Corinth, Paul made his way down through the mountains, came to Ephesus, and happened on some disciples there. The first thing he said was, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed? Did you take God into your mind only, or did you also embrace him with your heart? Did he get inside you?”
“We’ve never even heard of that—a Holy Spirit? God within us?”
3 “How were you baptized, then?” asked Paul.
“In John’s baptism.”
4 “That explains it,” said Paul. “John preached a baptism of radical life-change so that people would be ready to receive the One coming after him, who turned out to be Jesus. If you’ve been baptized in John’s baptism, you’re ready now for the real thing, for Jesus.”
5-7 And they were. As soon as they heard of it, they were baptized in the name of the Master Jesus. Paul put his hands on their heads and the Holy Spirit entered them. From that moment on, they were praising God in tongues and talking about God’s actions. Altogether there were about twelve people there that day.
Reflection Questions:
Do you recall that on his second missionary journey, Paul wanted to go to Ephesus, but the Holy Spirit somehow kept him from it? He tried again on his third journey, and got there. Early on, he met some disciples whom John the Baptist (or a follower of his) had baptized. They didn't know about Jesus or 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. Baptized in the name of Jesus, they began to experience that power.

• John the Baptist's ministry was powerful (cf. Matthew 3:1-12), and not everyone who heard him or whom he baptized was present when he baptized Jesus. It makes sense that there were people who accepted John's message about repentance, but didn't know all about Jesus' life, teaching and resurrection. How fully do you understand your faith? What helps you to keep deepening that understanding, and experiencing the Spirit's life-changing power?
• Scholar N. T. Wright noted, "Luke does not say that tongues always accompanies such baptism." (In fact, he wrote the opposite in a letter to Corinth—cf. 1 Corinthians 12:27-30.) Wright added, "The main thing Luke is doing in this story is to introduce Paul's work in Ephesus, and to show that…he was concerned with the spirit's powerful work both in the lives of individuals and out into the wider community." When have you sensed the difference between ministry or service done with purely human effort, and that done when the Spirit's power is present?

Today's Prayer:
Lord Jesus, thank you for calling me, not just to repent over and over, but to keep growing through the power of the Holy Spirit working in my heart and my life. Amen.
Insight from Melanie Hill
Melanie Hill is the Guest Connections Program Director at Resurrection.
Today’s scripture passage struck me as odd when I first read it. As an American living in the 21st century I have complete access to all the teachings of Jesus, including those about the Holy Spirit. So the idea that many of the early Christians had an incomplete experience or knowledge of Jesus and the Holy Spirit seemed strange at first. How wonderful for those first believers to hear from Paul about the Holy Spirit! What must it have been like to listen as Paul explained about the fulfillment of God’s promises in the person of Jesus and later in his gift of the Holy Spirit in our lives? I imagine those twelve men walked away amazed and excited to experience the Holy Spirit in their lives.
And then my second thought hit me. Why don’t I feel that same amazement and excitement daily as I interact with the Holy Spirit? The answer is simple. I miss what the Holy Spirit is doing in my life. I’m distracted. I’m too busy moving through life to look up and notice what the Holy Spirit is trying to show me. How many times have I missed the nudging of the Spirit because I was too immersed in what I was doing?
Just the other day I was running errands with my 10 year old son. I had invited him to come with me so that I would have some time to spend with him one on one without his three sisters around. My good intentions quickly became over run by the reality that I had a very limited time to accomplish my long list of errands before I had to head back to work for the evening.   It was as we were walking into the last store on my list that the Holy Spirit nudged me to listen to my son. We had been talking (and by talking I mean that my son was talking and I was making what I think were the appropriate sounds to encourage him to continue) about a problem he was having with another kid in our neighborhood. I had just given him the really theologically deep answer of “because that’s what Jesus would want us to do” when he said, “Do you always think about what Jesus would want you to do?” And there it was. My nudge. I could’ve continued into the store and even tried to multitask an important conversation while looking for what I needed, but I felt the Holy Spirit telling me to stop and pay attention. So I did. We stopped and I got to share with my son why my relationship with God is the center of my life. It didn’t take long—he is 10, after all—but it was important.
Later that night I kept thinking about how grateful I was that I stopped and noticed what was happening. So often I miss out on these opportunities because I’m distracted. When I’m distracted, I hurt. I hurt other people because I miss out on the places where the Holy Spirit is encouraging and inviting me to notice and take action. I hurt myself because I miss out on something amazing that God wants to use me to accomplish. We’re all distracted. Looking up helps us guide one another and gives us the opportunity to be a part of something wonderful. Life is busy. I get that. But let’s not allow the work of life to stop us from participating in the purpose of it. Take a minute today to stop and notice. When you feel that nudge, take a minute and see where the Holy Spirit is inviting you into the mission of God. Trust me; it’s going to be more important than posting that pic or reading that email.
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