Are We Being Prepared This Season In The Baptism Of Holy Spirit Fire?
Good Morning Friends,
During Advent and Lent, purple is often used to remind us of the passion in them. Both Lent and Advent are seasons of spiritual preparation. And it is manifested in our sanctification especially during Advent in how our spirit is lifted individually and collectively with a greater understanding of hope, love, joy and peace. It is a time that reminds us of the Transfiguration and Jesus’ Baptism and the crying out in the wilderness of John as he prepares the way for Jesus’ ministry. Indeed, we too are to prepare our hearts, minds and collective Spirit for what is to come. Are We Being Prepared This Season In The Baptism Of Holy Spirit Fire?
Scripture: As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, “Tell no one about the vision until after the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.” And the disciples asked him, “Why, then, do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” He replied, “Elijah is indeed coming and will restore all things; but I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but they did to him whatever they pleased. So also the Son of Man is about to suffer at their hands.” Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them about John the Baptist.
Matthew 17:9a, 10-13 (NRSV)
In the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was ruler of Galilee, and his brother Philip ruler of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruler of Abilene, during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. He went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah, “The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth; and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.'” John said to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruits worthy of repentance. Do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor’; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” And the crowds asked him, “What then should we do?” In reply he said to them, “Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise.” Even tax collectors came to be baptized, and they asked him, “Teacher, what should we do?” He said to them, “Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you.” Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what should we do?” He said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages.”
As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, John answered all of them by saying, “I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” So, with many other exhortations, he proclaimed the good news to the people.
Luke 3: 1-18 (NRSV)
Message: There is nothing so challenging in our faith in the flesh than to grasp the person of the Holy Spirit. For the Holy Spirit’s effects are seen but the Holy Spirit is invisible like the wind and sometimes ethereal like a dream or vision. And yet we get a glimpse of this power in Jesus’ birth, baptism, life, death and resurrection and the birth of the bride of Christ as well as our collective baptism, life, death and resurrection in our work together as the Ecclesia. And thankfully this Holy Spirit power is manifested in the message of the Gospel, the Power of Scripture, the fellowship of believers, the recognition of our spiritual gifting and the utilization of our gifts in callings and not just in the Christmas dreams of sleep but in the flames of our faith fulfilled each day. For when we are converted, we received a change of mind, and a change of heart. Yet this is not a once and done experience, but an on-going process which will not be completed this side of eternity. For we have been changed, we are being changed, and we will be changed by the Holy Spirit in preparation. Thankfully the Holy Spirit has been made available to us all, so we really need to do is to make ourselves available to the Holy Spirit for the weight of influence it bears on our personal history is massive. You see, I hope, that Jesus has poured out this gift, so we might experience God and be transformed across place and time. And the beauty, so we not get too heady about it, is that God has done this for everyone not just a few. Regrettably few take advantage of God’s gift of God and many try to suppress, stop or stifle the Spirit. The great sin is in grieving the Spirit with a bad attitude marked by bad behavior. And sometimes we just need a fresh vision of Jesus dying for us to open our eyes to just how sinful we really are to each other and to God. Friends, the Holy Spirit is invisible, unpredictable, and uncontrollable. The Spirit comes and goes as the Spirit wishes for God will be what God will be. And yet, the Holy Spirit is caught up with the person of Jesus and the person of the Father as to blur in our minds in a dance so ordered as the courses of the planets in the solar system, and the movement of small particles and waves may just be motivated by love more than the laws of gravity. And that is the mystery for Jesus did away with the old laws and offers us something new if we would believe it. Here the multi-dimensional aspect of the Trinity plays into the experience and becomes a revelation that prompts our belief and gives us strength to go on with a proper attitude of love and so we might see more clearly the will of God. So, the Holy Spirit remains a bit enigmatic and yet I would say that the love of the Holy Spirit sustains us and is manifested in the redemption of Jesus and creates in us, through the Father, a newness of mind that is nothing short of divine revelation. This is not a fleeting and capricious reality but an anchor for our very souls in the only reality of life that really matters. Friends, we are to be on fire for God and the Holy Spirit will help us. But we must choose to join the divine dance.
Pray we embrace the high calling of God in Jesus Christ revealed through the Holy Spirit. Pray we experience the Holy Spirit in the message of the Gospel, the Power of Scripture, the fellowship of believers, the recognition of our spiritual gifting and the utilization of our gifts in callings. Pray we operate as free men and women in Christ Jesus, unhindered by personal fear and guilt yet still comforted and convicted by the Holy Spirit so our love might grow. Pray we seek to match up to the standard of holiness set by God, manifested in Christ and revealed by the Holy Spirit to us. Pray we press on to the goal in peace and harmony with others on the quest. Pray we be in the world but not of it. Pray we are filled with the Holy Spirit. Pray we not quench the fire. Pray we take the direction and guidance and grace of the Holy Spirit seriously.
Pray we not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which we were marked with a seal for the day of redemption. Pray we put away from us all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven us. Pray we be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 