Good Morning Friends,
One thing I have learned in life is that the sharing of a friendship in Christ can be a powerful experience. Of course, it does not have to be limited in its scope to a special population or a particular church congregation or prayer group as is often the case. There is a universal practical usefulness of Christ in all ministries and places, but I think in particular the work of the Holy Spirit can be notably effective in the lives of the poor, displaced and disenfranchised. Of course, we are to rejoice in the power of helping others on the journey wherever and with whomever we are with, but perhaps especially in a collective way on Pentecost and the remembering of the birth of the church for the benefit of the like of those Jesus came to save. Of course, many do not celebrate this day that marks the expansion of human’s engagement with God. Oh, God has always been engaged with humans, but it is taken to a new height with Mary’s birthing of Jesus and Jesus’ Spirit birthing the church. It is a time we are to joyfully receive the Holy Spirit with an overflowing that is shared for a purpose. And sometimes we are blessed to participate in a purpose for others so they too can contribute to a flourishing community of love. Now some may wonder if they have enough peace to give away, and some may read scripture in the hopes of having more and that brings us to today’s focus about this power of peace and its source. So, What Can We Learn From The First Pentecost And The Days Leading Up To It?
Scripture: Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the law. Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit.
Galatians 5:16-25 (NRSV)
and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you. So then, brothers and sisters, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh— for if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, “Abba! Father!” it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ—if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.
Romans 8:8-17 (NRSV)
When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.
John 20:19-23 (NRSV)
When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability. Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. Amazed and astonished, they asked, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs—in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.”
Acts 2:1-11 (NRSV)
Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking by the Spirit of God ever says “Let Jesus be cursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except by the Holy Spirit. Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.
1 Corinthians 12:3b-7, 12-13 (NRSV)
Now the words, “it was reckoned to him,” were written not for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be reckoned to us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was handed over to death for our trespasses and was raised for our justification.
Romans 4:23-25 (NRSV)
Message: Today we look at a major, all in, theme of the Bible. That Jesus was willing to die for the church should tell us something. The theme is that Jesus is God and became one of us so that we might learn by his example that absolutely nothing will be accomplished without the Father and Spirit’s powerful presence and that includes the work of the church too. This is a key to a great worship life, but there is more to it than the resurrected Jesus appearing to His disciples just before pointing out the holes in His hands to Thomas. Jesus has risen but for a purpose. For here, in this dynamic, we are to rediscover the happy fellowship of those who follow the way. We feel it in our hearts, and it shines in our faces. It burns in our desires. Here we are empowered to witness to others that forgiveness is indeed attainable…that doubt is natural but can be overcome. For here when we gather together in His name, He is in our midst. Here our purpose becomes clear. We are to give in to the joy of this day…we are to embrace the surprise of Shalom…. that when Christ is with us, we can be whole. We can be at peace with our past, present, and future. Here when Jesus is saying “peace be with you,” He is giving us the Holy hope we so desperately need in our continuing journey with the living Christ to abide in the power of the Holy Spirit. Unbelief cannot be victorious over evil. Unbelief cannot please God. So, that is why Jesus the King comes to confront us in our unbelief and in His presence and testing we can become stronger and can rediscover the power of faith. It is only when it is beyond our abilities that we can measure our faith. It is only in the anguish we are brought to our knees in prayer and then raised up with Jesus. It is only when we become aware of our spiritual shortcomings… Only when we honestly struggle with our powerlessness can our faith grow. Trials, difficulties, and defeat can all lead us to discover Christ’s faith in us…birthed. As we reflect on the historical and liturgical realities of Pentecost several deep lessons suggest themselves. At the heart of it is that we can never have enough of God. We may feel we are filled to the brim and yet we still need to seek to be filled the more. The disciples spent three years with Jesus, and they saw firsthand the miracles and the Words of God. And even though Jesus was enough, the disciples were to experience the transformation in the coming of the Holy Spirit. What happens is that each person of the Trinity leads to the other. God comes to us in so many different and unexpected ways. At Pentecost it was the howling wind hurtling down from heaven and tongues of fire. But it can also be the sharing of bread and wine or an inspirational word. The thing is that each person of the Trinity points to another prompting us to experience God more fully in a way that is both intensely personal and also communal. Think of Mary birthing Jesus and of Jesus birthing the church by filling each of the apostles with the Holy Spirit. But it was also quite a communal experience in the broadest sense possible changing the way we share in the purposes of God… better together. In the days leading up to Pentecost, the apostles are active in preparation. They formed a community. They devoted themselves to prayer. And they chose a new apostle to fill out their complement of twelve, after the death of Judas. Although the ways we prepare to receive God might differ, we can emulate them on a fundamental level in loving our neighbor, loving God in prayer, and remaining steadfastly in service to the Body of Christ, in which we too prepare and wait for God to intervene. And the thing is that on this side of heaven we never really stop preparing and waiting.
And So, rejoice this Pentecost in the message that Peter gives that converts so many. Rejoice in the second chance given and in the corporate consecration acknowledging the coming of the Holy Spirit. Know that the someone who denied Christ, changed and we can too. Know that because Jesus comes to those who are honest about their doubts and sins and helps us all face them so we might grow deeper. So, do not stay in the land of doubt. Press on to higher ground and experience God’s power through greater faith. See and believe so that we might together be victorious with Christ, so we might believe enough…trust enough… to give peace away only to discover there is so much more. So, let us prepare for the coming of the Spirit and all its surprises but always a Savior announcing that His Peace will be with us. We are no longer to be dominated by fear but are to grow in faith led by the Spirit of God. In Romans 8 Paul makes it clear that he believed that living life in the Spirit was the best course of action. He encourages us to set our mind on the things of the Spirit because those led by the Spirit are led by God and can complete our assigned missions successfully. Living in the Spirit is a lifestyle that we choose over and over, every day. Seeking God’s Spirit is a discipline of overcoming sin while experiencing the persistent joy, comfort and conviction of the Paraclete. For above all the fruit of the Spirit is born out of a relationship with the divine. Living in the Spirit is living out God’s love. That is how we are to be guided individually and collectively.
Pray that our deepest desire is that Jesus will be in our midst…. the middle of our lives. Pray that Jesus makes us peaceful…surpassing everything we can expect. Pray that Jesus makes us joyful…rejoicing in the victory on the cross and the victory of the Holy Spirit bringing us into harmony. Pray that Jesus makes us useful…witnessing to others the good news in our lives. Pray that Jesus makes us powerful… creating in us the very breath of our existence. Pray we never forget the message of peace. Pray we share with one another the healing and wholeness that God has shared with us through Jesus Christ His Son.Pray we trust in Jesus. Pray we learn to value those things that He values. Pray that our scars make us real, believable, and trustworthy. Pray that in the scars of life we discover peace. Pray that in the scars of life we discover a growing faith. Pray that in the scars of life we discover healing. Pray that in the scars of life we discover honor. Pray that in the scars of life we discover love. Pray we live in the Spirit. Pray that the remembrance of the first great revival at Pentecost prompts another revival in us.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 