May 15 - Jeremiah 29:11

“For I know the plans I have for you,"

declares the LORD,

"plans to prosper you and not to harm you,

plans to give you hope and a future.”

Jeremiah 29:11

For two days, we’ve looked at Jeremiah. For two days, we’ve heard warning and judgment.

Let’s let today’s verse be our final word from Jeremiah for a few days!

• God has plans for you.
• They are good.
• He wants you – and all people – to prosper.
• Harm is never his intent.
• God wants to give you hope.
• God wants to bless you with a glorious future.

That’s awesome news. But think … for two days, we heard warning and judgment. If God’s plans are good, why does God seem angry and judgmental?

Why? Because he loves us … and because we create our own destruction. We go on deadly paths. We fight the wrong battles. We forsake God’s wisdom and guidance. And we constantly lead others astray.

Is God loving if he lets us wander into quicksand and fall off steep cliffs? No! Like a loving parent, God wants to steer us toward the paths of life.

But he’s not a dictator. He may occasionally bring about corrections – some big, most small – and those occasions grow more frequent the more we follow him … but ultimately, he gives us our free will. We’re free to walk off the cliff, in spite of all God’s guard rails and warning signs. (And he grieves as much as you do.)

With all that said … I guess the secret to life is getting out of our own way, and discovering the plans he has for us.

In Christ’s Love,

A guy whose wife always says,

“God’s way is the best way”

May 14 - Jeremiah 6:16

This is what the LORD says:

"Stand at the crossroads and look;

ask for the ancient paths,

ask where the good way is,

and walk in it,

and you will find rest for your souls.

But you said, 'We will not walk in it.'"

Jeremiah 6:16

Yesterday, we cited Jeremiah 22:29. The prophet said, “O land, land, land, hear the word of the Lord!”

I pondered, “What words should America (or any nation) be heeding today.”

More and more people sense that our nation is at a crossroad (see our verse for today). More and more people see us forsaking “the ancient paths.” Modern is “hip” and “cool” and “tolerant” and “compassionate,” but we’re “not walk[ing]” in “the good way.” (And then we wonder why there’s no “rest for [our] souls.”)

Here’s a few pieces of advice from God. (Indeed, it was God who spoke, and Jeremiah’s job was to simply relay the message) …

• 17:25 This is what the LORD says: "Cursed are those who trust in mortals, who depend on flesh for their strength and whose hearts turn away from the LORD." How often do we trust in governments (mortals) for our hope and provision? Where will that lead?

• 7:8 But look, you are trusting in deceptive words that are worthless. What deceptive arguments and idea are floating around?

• 5:7 "Why should I forgive you? Your children have forsaken me and sworn by gods that are not gods. I supplied all their needs, yet they committed adultery and thronged to the houses of prostitutes." America’s grandparents go to church more than their grandchildren. Why this increasing forsakenness? And what’s the cure? Here’s where the next generations are motivated – through service. How do we adjust the church to fulfill this mission?

• 10:14 Everyone is senseless and without knowledge; all goldsmiths are shamed by their idols. Their images are a fraud; they have no breath in them. What are the “senseless … idols” and false priorities that defraud us?

• 5:6 Therefore a lion from the forest will attack them, a wolf from the desert will ravage them, a leopard will lie in wait near their towns to tear to pieces any who venture out, for their rebellion is great and their backslidings many. What will be the inevitable fruit of unrepentant “backslidings”? Indeed, who does scripture say is prowling about like a roaring lion?

• 1:10 "See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant." As we conclude, what’s the role of the church? So why are we so timid rather than bold? 

Pray that we may, as St. Paul said, “speak the truth in love.”

Or a Jeremiah says, “1:17 Get yourself ready! Stand up and say to them whatever I command you. Do not be terrified by them, or I will terrify you before them.”

May 13 - Jeremiah 22:29

O land, land, land,

hear the word of the Lord!

Jeremiah 22:29

In the old Hebrew traditions, if you said something once, it was important. If you said it twice, it was doubly important. If you said it three times in a row, it was infinitely important.

For example, when the seraphs in Isaiah 6 were calling out, worshiping the Lord, they weren’t just saying that God was “holy” … but “holy, holy, infinitely holy.”

What, therefore, does it mean when Jeremiah says, “land, land, land”?

It’s like when your mom your calls you. If she says, “Eddie,” it’s important. If she says, “Eddie Thomas,” it’s doubly important. If she says, “Edward Lee Thomas,” it’s life or death! (Usually the child’s life or death, if he doesn’t obey!)

Jeremiah’s warnings were life and death. If they chose not to listen to “the word of the Lord,” it was going to lead to their destruction.

If you were God, what would you be saying to our land today? “America, America, America, hear the word of the Lord!”

Tomorrow, I’ll show a few prophetic pieces of advice to this or any nation.

In Christ’s Love,

Edward Lee Thomas

May 11,12 - Isaiah 1:3

The ox knows its owner,

and the donkey its master’s crib;

but my people do not understand.

Isaiah 1:3

My wife owns chickens. And let me assure you that it’s not only ox and donkeys who know their owners. It’s dumb birds who know their “family” too.

When we first brought our chickens into our family, our sweet, old black lab looked at these baby birds as a potential dinner. (Lucy is a very sweet dog. But according to canine instinct, little things that run around might just be food.) Therefore, Mary Louise carefully introduced these little babies into our “pack.”

By the time the chicks grew from tennis-ball-size to softball-size, Mary Louise would take them out into the grass for their first real explorations of the world. The dogs would come, of course, and lay in the sun nearby. Within moments the chicks would flock to Lucy, and crawl all over our dog. Lucy would look up at us, with big brown eyes that were saying, “Really!”

The ox knows its owner. The donkey knows its master’s crib. Even the lowly chicken knows its pet dog. “So why,” asks God, “do my people not know and understand me?”

Here’s the truth about most animals: What they know and appreciate is a trusted source of food. For example, my grandfather’s sheep didn’t really come to my grandfather; rather, the sound of his voice was the sound of food. (I’ll bet you didn’t know that food had a sound.)

We’re just as dependent upon our Master for food as my grandfather’s sheep, but we’re prideful enough to think that it’s our hard work that feeds us.

Why don’t people know and understand God? It’s ultimately because of pride. Therefore, if you want to grow closer to God, examine your pride.

In Christ’s Love,

a guy who wants to be a tick

on my heavenly Father’s back

(wait … that’s a chick -- not a tick --

on my Father’s back!)

May 10 - Exodus 23:8

You shall take no bribe,

for a bribe blinds the officials,

and subverts the cause

of those who are in the right.

Exodus 23:8

In the insurance industry, the damage caused by storms is often labeled an “Act of God.”

And people often ask, where is God in the midst of the tragedies.

For example, what if a building collapses in a storm? Whose fault is it?

• Is it God’s fault? He set up the conditions to water the earth and provide for the growth of food! Therefore, it’s not the Lord’s fault (though I can understand why some non-believers blame the God they supposedly don’t believe in). 

• So whose fault is it? Too often it’s the fault of bribes. Corrupt builders (trying to save an extra dollar) bribe a corrupt building inspector (trying to earn an extra buck), and a substandard building topples. Is that God’s fault? Or sin’s fault?

I’ve counseled people who’ve lost jobs throughout this recession. “What caused the loss of your job?” After they mulled this for a moment, I’d say, “It was greed … Greed drove the housing bubble. And when it popped, innocent people suffered collateral damage.”

For self-esteem purposes, most people prefer viewing themselves as “victims,” rather than “bad employees who deserved to get fired.”

BUT … we’re very rarely victims. We’re co-conspirators. We excuse little sins all day – in ourselves and in others. Then we’re indignant when the corruption catches up with us.

The command in Exodus is, “you shall take no bribe.” Legalistically, I’m clear on this one. I don’t take bribes! But if I’m honest, I’m still part of the corruption in little ways.

My goal is freedom from my own corruption. And that’s the way to begin to turn the world a little more aright … one person living right … and influencing one more person beyond that.

In Christ’s Love,

a co-conspirator

who wants to

escape the mob

May 9 - 2 Corinthians 1:5

Just as the sufferings of Christ

are abundant for us,

so also our consolation

is abundant through Christ.

2 Corinthians 1:5

“The sufferings of Christ are abundant for us!!!” Do you have that on a bumper sticker on your car?!

No?!

If we’re honest, most of us would prefer to ignore the reality of suffering. To escape it.

Yes, we good Christians are thankful for the cross. We know that without it we can’t be forgiven. Without it, we can’t live. But mostly we’d prefer a sanitized version. We prefer a nice gold cross with clean edges and a nice sheen. We’d never hang a bloody mess around our neck as a decoration.

But suffering is the way of this world. Sin brings suffering. Our sin. It results in grief and brokenness and pain. And if you aren’t experiencing it now … you will. There will be illness, injustice, death, grief, and despair in all our lives.

But here’s the truth … We can ignore suffering. Wish it away. And pretend it doesn’t exist – at least when the days are good. Or we can align ourselves with Christ’s sufferings. Because if we don’t embrace Christ’s sufferings, we won’t discover Christ’s consolations.

Sin brought and brings pain into this world. But rather than washing his hands of it, God came down and submitted to our conditions – the ones we made.

That’s our consolation. We have a God who walks with us … even through the pain.

And as an added benefit, those of us who cling to the sufferings of his Son, get an additional bonus – a lifetime of consolations in heaven.

In Christ’s Love,

a guy who’s thankful

for suffering

(doesn’t that sound weird?)

May 8 - Psalm 94:9

He who planted the ear,

does he not hear?

He who formed the eye,

does he not see?

Psalm 94:9

In our Wednesday study on Ephesians, we’ve been talking lately about the heart. One of the images we’ve used is the “clean heart.”

In Psalm 51, King David famously prays, “create in me a clean heart, O God.” Do you remember the story behind it?

David commits his worst sin – adultery leads to murder – but proudly thinks he’s covered it up.

And then the prophet comes.

Nathan reminds David that he can’t hide his actions from God.

That’s what our verse for today is about. We all – at least sometimes – act like God doesn’t see and hear and know and even grieve our “secret” actions.

Confession is not for God’s awareness. It’s for us. We NEED to humbly tell God how and why and where we failed. Why? Because it’s in the telling that relationship is forged, trust is formed, and life truly begins.

In Christ’s Love,

a guy who ought to remember

that the creator of my eyes and ears

has bigger eyes and ear than I

May 7 - Leviticus 22:31

You shall keep my commandments

and observe them: I am the Lord.

Leviticus 22:31

A week or so ago in my sermon I talked about the Kosher laws. I told about a friend – a non-orthodox rabbi – who said he understood intellectually why many Jews were relaxed on the Kosher laws nowadays.

Given by God – before refrigeration – to protect a people’s health, many reason that those health needs don’t apply anymore … and so they don’t keep Kosher.

But my friend does.

Why? Because it forces him – every time he eats – to think about his commitment to God. (Try to eat out inexpensively in America without meat and cheese touching! He usually orders a salad … no bacon bits, please.)

Not every one of God’s law will make sense every time to every one of us.

That’s not the point.

The point is … Obedience. Submission. Commitment. The point is humbling our will (and willfulness) and following at a cost.

Our natural human tendency is to think we know best for ourselves. Obedience is trust. Obedience says, “God you are bigger than I am. You have a much, much bigger perspective. I will follow you – not because it makes sense, but because in obedience I grow closer to you.”

In Christ’s Love,

a guy who always

thinks he knows best

… and therefore,

needs to humble himself

(before he gets humbled!)

May 6 - Galatians 6:2

Bear one another’s burdens,

and in this way you will fulfill

the law of Christ.

Galatians 6:2

What is “the Law of Christ”?

• In 613 rabbinical laws.
• 247 come from the book of Leviticus.
• On Sinai, God simplified them to “the Top Ten.”
• In the Gospels, Jesus simplified them to two.

Do you remember them?

• The first is … “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” – Mark 12:29-30
• The second is this, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” – Mark 12:31

As we’ve said before, the way to spell “JOY” is “Jesus,” “Others,” and finally “You.” “Bearing one another’s burdens” obviously fulfills the second “Law of Christ.” Indeed, helping a neighbor carry (bear) their burdens, is precisely the kind of selfless act that helps us spell joy.

But here’s the question: Does “bearing one another’s burdens” also help us fulfill the first and greatest commandment – loving God, heart, soul, strength, and mind?

Yes.

Part of loving God is loving what he loves. And if God loves other people, then we should love other people.

In this way, there’s really only one commandment: Love God (and therefore, what he loves).

(I think Jesus needed to add the second commandment because we’d forget it otherwise. And I think the Father needed to spell it out even further in the Ten Commandments and all the other rabbinical laws because we’d try to find loopholes. But really there’s only one true secret to success in life: Love God and things he loves!)

In Christ’s Love,

A guy who wants to echo Paul

In 1 Corinthians 2:2

“I resolved to know nothing

while I was with you except

Jesus Christ and him crucified”

(I want to know him and love him

and thus fulfill the Law of Christ)

May 4,5 - 1 Thessalonians 1:4-5

We know that God has chosen you,

because our message of the gospel

came to you not in word only,

but also in power and in the Holy Spirit

and with full conviction.

1 Thessalonians 1:4-5

Paul preached. Then he traveled and preached again. Sometimes he’d come and go in a matter of hours or days. Other times, he’d stay for weeks, months, and years. Preaching and preaching and teaching.

• Some people were Velcro. The message of the Gospel stuck.
• Some people were Teflon. No matter what the Apostle said and how he said it, the Word of God seemed to bounce right off.

That’s what today’s lesson is about. In Thessalonica, the “message of the Gospel came … in word.” (How could it not?! Paul was preaching and preaching and teaching!)

But something different happened in Thessalonica that didn’t happen everywhere. When Paul preached, it wasn’t just words. The Holy Spirit showed up! There was a power at work. Maybe it shook the ground (like it did in Acts 4:31). Certainly it shook some hearts. In Thessalonica, the Spirit cracked open some hard and distant hearts, and – as evidence – people responded with “full conviction”!

It’s reminiscent of the Parable of the Sower. Some seed falls on ground as hard and rocky as Teflon. Other seed falls in shallow soil which never allows the plant – or the faith – to really take root. Other seed gets choked by the weeds and thorns. The word – the seed – “came to” all.

Thank God for good soil. It’s been prepared by the Spirit. But it’s also up to the person to embrace it with “full conviction” … or not.

In Christ’s Love,

a guy who doesn’t take it personally

when I encounter Teflon and thorns …

I just keep sowing and sowing

and praying for Spirit, power,

good soil, and velcro

May 3 - Isaiah 33:13

Hear, you who are far away,

what I have done;

and you who are near,

acknowledge my might.

Isaiah 33:13

One of the first things that I learned in pastoral care class is that “distance” has nothing to do with “distance.”

Families can live far away and be close. Families can live next door and be very angry, cold, or distant.

• God – through Isaiah – is proclaiming his message across great physical distances. There was some physical scattering of his people, Israel. Even though they were not living in Jerusalem – indeed, maybe eventually exiled – God wanted them to know of his power, might, actions, and plans.

• God was also proclaiming this message across great physical distances to people who were not his own. He wanted the world to know who was God! 

• God was also proclaiming his message across the great distance of time. Yes, he wanted the people of Isaiah’s day to know of his power and plans, but he wants all future generations – including you and me – to know them too.

• Furthermore, God was additionally proclaiming his message to his people – both Jews back then and Christians now – who’d become distant in terms of relationship. Has your heart ever felt cold and distant from God? This message is for you. 

• Finally, God was speaking to those who were near. Whether we were living in Jerusalem twenty-five hundred years ago or are spiritually close to our Lord now, God calls us to be his witnesses, to “acknowledge [his] might.” 

The call today is to examine your relationship with God … in terms of closeness and distance. If distant, God invites you back into the pages of scripture – and back into the pages of blessing in your life – to “hear” (and be reminded of) “what [he] has done.”

If close, God calls you to be his witnesses by acknowledging his might.

In Christ’s Love,

a guy who’s both

– close and distant,

close and distant –

depending on the moment

(Guess I have two jobs)

May 2 - Lamentations 3:57

You came near

when I called on you;

you said, “Do not fear!”

Lamentations 3:57

Jeremiah is not the happiest book in the Scriptures. It is filled with mostly sad, grieving, and longing prophecies. God is crying out to his children who are wayward and hardened.

Well, if Jeremiah is sad, Lamentations are the even sadder of this same prophet’s wailings. Lament means to cry.

Nobody likes to cry in pain and grief. But there’s a spiritual blessing in tears. Our natural tendency is to try to solve problems by and for ourselves. When we reach “the end of ourselves,” that’s when we finally cry out to God.

• That was the pattern before the Exodus. When Israel finally cried out, God sent a deliverer – Moses.

• That was the pattern again and again in Judges. When Israel finally cried out, God would send a deliverer.

• And here’s the hope in today’s Lamentations. The prophet says …

55 I called on your name, O Lord, from the depths of the pit; 56 you heard my plea … 57 You came near when I called on you; you said, "Do not fear!"

God’s invitation is to come to the end of ourselves and enter into the beginning of hope.

And holy hope involves not fearing. Why? Because God is in control (not us).

In Christ’s Love,

a big boy who

needs to cry

May 1 - Galatians 5:16

Live by the Spirit, I say,

and do not gratify

the desires of the flesh.

Galatians 5:16

Yesterday in talking about the Fruit of the Spirit, we hinted that Paul contrasted these spiritual fruits with the desires of the flesh.

Let me put this another way … We are at war!

And who are we fighting? Ourselves.

God created and everything was good. Therefore, our flesh – in and of itself – is not bad. However, ever since sin entered the world, we are living in “bodies of death.” That’s how Paul referred to his life in this broken flesh …

I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate … Nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I cannot do it. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do. … Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? (Rom 7:15,18,19,24)

Is that you too? You’re at war … within yourself.

Yesterday, I listed “the works of flesh” according to the NRSV translation. Listen to them today according the New Living translation:

sexual immorality, impure thoughts, eagerness for lustful pleasure, idolatry, participation in demonic activities, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, divisions, the feeling that everyone is wrong except those in your own little group, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other kinds of sin. (Gal 5:19-21)

Paul says, “17 what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh.”

It’s a tug of war. If the Spirit is in us, it should win, right? Yes … except that our radiators leak. We quench the Spirit, as it says in 1 Thessalonians 5:19. As what should we do?

• First, we should pray, “More, Lord. More,” asking for more of the Spirit!

• Second, we should use our actions as a temperature gauge. When we exhibit more flesh than fruit, more quarreling than peace, more envy than love, and more selfishness than generosity, that ought to be a warning light. It’s time to recalibrate, devoting ourselves more fully to Christ.

In Christ’s Love,

a guy who has to recalibrate

forty-eight times a day --

(at least three major times

every waking hour)

Apr 30 - Galatians 5:22-23

By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit

is love, joy, peace,

patience, kindness, generosity,

faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

Galatians 5:22-23

We ended yesterday with the prayer, “More, Lord. More.”

Believing that “no one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except by the Holy Spirit” (1 Cor 12:3), we believe that if we already believe, we already have the Holy Spirit. But who’s with me? Who wants more?

• Who wants more love, joy, and peace?
• Who wants more patience, kindness, and generosity?
• Who wants more faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control?

Paul is saying that those who are filled with the Spirit should automatically radiate these qualities.

Except … do you radiate these qualities? Or are you more like an old car with a radiator that leaks?

Radiators overheat for several reasons.

• Sometimes they have cracks. And the necessary coolant leaks out.
• Sometimes the day is hot. And the pressure builds to overheating.
• More often – at least in my case – I forget to maintain proper levels of coolant.

That’s true in our lives. Sometimes our we fail to radiate love, joy, and peace because …

• Our good intentions have cracked and our behavior has sprung a sinful leak. (The “by contrast” in Galatians 5:22 is to the “works of the flesh” in verses 19-21. Have you ever sprung a leak through “fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these”? I want more coolant than the heat of these sins.)

• Others of us boil over under heat and in the midst of pressure. (Has your faith ever seemed to escape like steam from an engine when you’ve been stressed?)

• Or – at least in my case – my spiritual drive fails because I’ve failed to maintain the proper levels of faith and devotion.

In these case, the Spirit doesn’t leave or forsake the believer. We’re still a car. We still have a spiritual engine. We simply need some maintenance before we can run again.

In Christ’s Love,

a guy who wants

to be radiater

instead of radiator

Apr 29 - Acts 2:38

Peter said to them,

"Repent, and be baptized every one of you

in the name of Jesus Christ

so that your sins may be forgiven; and

you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

Acts 2:38

How do you receive the Holy Spirit?

In his famous sermon on Pentecost day, Peter proclaimed a simple formula.

• First, Peter says repent. Repentance is literally turning away from your sins. Repentance is also turning toward God, and we call turning toward God faith. Thus, the first part of the equation requires that we repent and believe. 

• Second, Peter says, “Be baptized.” We think of baptism as a cute ceremony to invite the grandparents to. It is really a submission. A death. Baptism is literally a drowning and a new breath, a dying and a new birth. In Romans 6, Paul says we are baptized into Jesus’ death. (The benefit is that if we die with him, we can also rise with him. But baptism starts with submission and death, a dying to self.)

• Baptism, Peter further proclaims, is also a washing. Peter is saying that baptism (along with repentance) assures us that our sins are washed, forgiven.

Therefore, if we want to receive the Holy Spirit, we must do what? Repent and believe! That’s first. Then we need to submit to a drowning so that we might rise to new life through the Spirit.

Wait … wait … wait … one last question: Who receives the Spirit this way? Unbelievers.

So what about us believers? How do we receive the Holy Spirit? Guess what … you already have him! As it says in 1 Corinthians 12:3, “No one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except by the Holy Spirit.” In other words, if you already have faith, you already have the Spirit!

For us believers, our goal then is to not ask for the Spirit, but more of the Spirit!!!

 

In Christ’s Love,

a guy who prays, “More!”

Apr 27,28 - Psalm 143:10

Teach me to do your will,

for you are my God.

Let your good spirit

lead me on a level path.

Psalm 143:10

After a heavy theological day yesterday, we’ll let your brain relax a little more today!

In Psalm 143, we see Father and Spirit. God is the ultimate teacher. How? BY the good guidance of the Holy Spirit.

I don’t know about you, but my walk is often crooked.

•      I navigate poorly … due to false priorities.
•      I don’t ask for direction … (because I’m a man, of course, and) because I think I know better myself.
•      I limp in circles … because of old hurts (too many of them self-inflicted).
•      I’m often slow … because of the unnecessary burdens I carry.
•      I’m regularly bogged down … by the quicksand of sin, pride, depression, and guilt.

I’m a lousy traveler!

Fortunately, God offers better. Instead of a slow, lost, rambling, bogged-down path, God gives us the Holy Spirit. And the Spirit’s path, as today’s lesson says, is level.

In Christ’s Love,

A guy who – in addition to liking level paths –

likes what Jesus says about this journey too:

“My yoke is easy and my burden is light”

(Mt 11:28-30)

Apr 26 - Acts 4:10

Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, …

“Let it be known to all of you, and to all the people of Israel,

that this [once lame] man is standing before you

in good health by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth,

whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead.

Acts 4:8,10

We read this verse yesterday, but we focused on verse 8 (the filling of the Holy Spirit). Today, I want to focus on verse 10 (Jesus, the Spirit, and the Holy Trinity).

Here’s the context:

•  Shortly after Pentecost, Peter and John are entering the Temple in Jerusalem.
•  A lame man cries out. He’s begging for money.
•  Peter says, “3:6 I don’t have any silver or gold for you. But I’ll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, get up and walk!”
•  Scripture says the man was “7 instantly healed” and went into the temple, “8 walking, leaping, and praising God.”
•  This caused a stir.
•  Peter and John were arrested.
•  And today’s verse is Peter’s testimony.

What does Peter say? In two short verses, Peter begins to testify to the wonderful mystery of the Holy Spirit! (Do you see Father, Son [Jesus], and Holy Spirit all mentioned here?!)

•  God-the-Father is the King. He creates life and re-creates life, “rais[ing Jesus] from the dead.”
•  God-the-Son is the healer too. He still works upon this earth (even after his resurrection and ascension into heaven). But think about healing. What is it? It is creation and re-creation – one of the Father’s roles. Therefore, the Father and Son, while distinct, are also one in purpose. And when we call upon the name of Jesus, both Father and Son answer, creating and re-creating together.
•  To be more theologically precise, the healing and working on earth BY God-the-Father is THROUGH God-the-Son. For example, when we pray TO the Father, we prayer THROUGH the Son, who intercedes for us. When God-the-Father heals – not that he can’t do it himself – but since the coming of his Son, he now chooses to work THROUGH the name, role, and authority of Jesus upon this earth.
•  Then God-the-Spirit is involved in this wonderful drama too! Since Pentecost, God chooses to work all through BY the Spirit’s power. For example, Peter, BY the power of the Spirit (verse 8), is starting a sermon, a proclamation. And what about us? When we pray, it is BY the power of the Spirit, THROUGH the interceding Son, TO God-the-Father who sits on the throne.
•  This is how God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) choose(s) to act. Kingdom power on earth is BY the Spirit, THROUGH the Son, and FROM the Father.

In Christ’s Love,

a guy who hopes

he did justice

to that mystery!!!

Apr 25 - Act 4:8

Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, …

“Let it be known to all of you, and to all the people of Israel,

that this [once lame] man is standing before you

in good health by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth,

whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead.

Acts 4:8,10

Peter was filled with the Spirit on Pentecost day. His life was forever altered. But now, in chapter 4, he’s filled again.

Wait! What does that mean?

•  Does the Spirit come and go? (No.)
•  Or do we leak? (That’s much closer to the truth!)

Let me give you an analogy …

When I eat out for breakfast, I often order a cup of coffee. It is my “possession.” While I’m at the restaurant, I partake of this liquid gift freely and joyfully. Even better, I am entitled to a fresh filling whenever I want.

But a strange thing eventually happens. If I sit at the breakfast table too long I eventually start putting my hand over the coffee cup whenever the waitress comes by. A small bladder and the caffeine shakes limit my desire to keep consuming.

Apply those images to the filling of the Spirit.

•  From the moment I believe, the Spirit is my “possession.” (More accurately, I am His possession! But his indwelling is given as a permanent gift to all who believe.)
•  I may partake of the blessings of the Spirit freely and joyfully. And I am entitled to a new and fresh filling whenever I want!
•  But, if that is the case, why don’t we always experience more love, joy, peace, patience, Spirit, and power, if we’ve been promised it?
•  It’s because we regularly put our hands over the cup of our heart when the waitress (the Spirit) comes by. And we say, “Not now.”

What do I mean by that?

•  Sometimes I want to do what I want to do. So I put my hand up and say, “Not right now, Spirit.”
•  Sometimes I am tempted by fleshly desires. So I put my hand up, pretending to cover God’s eyes, as if that keeps the Spirit from seeing.
•  Sometimes I don’t really want to forgive … at least, not yet. So I shake my finger at God, saying, “Don’t you understand, I’m justified in my anger.”
•  Sometimes grief and losses harden my heart. It’s like a hard shell forms over my cup of blessing, keeping me from receiving more light, joy, Spirit, and faith.

Pain in life puts up barriers. Sinful desires put up barriers. Lust, greed, pride, and stubbornness put up barriers. And while the Spirit is dwelling within me – entitling me to endless refills of hope, grace, and power – I, nevertheless and too often, put my hand over the cup of my heart. I limit the amount, not God.

Again, this is not an occasion for guilt, it’s an invitation to call upon the waitress – the Spirit of God – and tell him you’re thirsty for more and more living water.

In Christ’s Love,

a guy who drinks his coffee

with cream and sugar

(and wants his Spirit

with truth and grace)