Good Morning Friends,
Today we reflect on the ministry of Jesus Christ and connect the work he did two thousand years ago on the other side of the world to our lives today. Our pastor at Moorings Presbyterian explained on Sunday that when asked if he has been saved, he replies that he was saved when Jesus died on the cross, he is being saved through the power of the Holy Spirit now and will be saved when Jesus returns. The focus this morning is on the process of the Holy Spirit as we press against the spiritual evil of the world and ponder what exactly we are being saved for beyond having our sins forgiven. The whole business of forgiving our sins and redeeming us has got to go back to how and why we were created in the first place. So, this morning we consider the work of the Holy Spirit connecting Jesus’ work of earning our forgiveness on the cross delivered through our relationship with the Holy Spirit and ultimately a baptism of fire that will save us for eternity when Jesus returns as part of a new creation. You see, the purpose is deeper than we might first imagine, and it has got to be about being who we are created to be in God’s image and how God sets us back on that path. And for today it is about the freedom to be who we were created to be and the process of our recreation. It is about the distribution of power but also the purpose of spiritual power. Let me give you some examples of what is happening. When we turn on a faucet or shower and get water for a drink or bathing it is really kind of amazing. We typically do not think about how water gets to us, but perhaps we should for there is relationship between how we get water and how we are connected to the power of the Holy Spirit. A faucet turned on for the first time after many years of being unused is usually rusty or dirty. An unused old organ pipe is likely out of tune. Sometimes the plumbing and airwaves get clogged. So too there is a connection to our very breath and the words we speak related to our very sanctification in sharing common sacraments. We do not think much about the sacraments, but we should. We do not think much about breathing until we cannot catch our breath. We do not think much about salvation until we face the baptism of fire at the foot of the Cross of Jesus. So, breathe deeply so you can feed the fires of our faith. But first you may want to do a safety check. Are Your Pipes Clear?
Scripture: Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such hostility against himself from sinners, so that you may not grow weary or lose heart. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.
Hebrews 12:1-4 (NRSV)
“I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. .Father, I desire that those also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory, which you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. “Righteous Father, the world does not know you, but I know you; and these know that you have sent me. I made your name known to them, and I will make it known, so that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”
John 17:20-26 (NRSV)
“I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! I have a baptism with which to be baptized, and what stress I am under until it is completed! Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division! From now on five in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three; they will be divided: father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”
Luke 12:49-53 (NRSV)
When Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered around him; and he was by the sea. Then one of the leaders of the synagogue named Jairus came and, when he saw him, fell at his feet and begged him repeatedly, “My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well, and live.” So he went with him. And a large crowd followed him and pressed in on him. Now there was a woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years. She had endured much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had; and she was no better, but rather grew worse. She had heard about Jesus, and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, for she said, “If I but touch his clothes, I will be made well.” Immediately her hemorrhage stopped; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. Immediately aware that power had gone forth from him, Jesus turned about in the crowd and said, “Who touched my clothes?” And his disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing in on you; how can you say, ‘Who touched me?’” He looked all around to see who had done it. But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling, fell down before him, and told him the whole truth. He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.” While he was still speaking, some people came from the leader’s house to say, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the teacher any further?” But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the leader of the synagogue, “Do not fear, only believe.” He allowed no one to follow him except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James. When they came to the house of the leader of the synagogue, he saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. When he had entered, he said to them, “Why do you make a commotion and weep? The child is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him. Then he put them all outside, and took the child’s father and mother and those who were with him, and went in where the child was. He took her by the hand and said to her, “Talitha cum,” which means, “Little girl, get up!” And immediately the girl got up and began to walk about (she was twelve years of age). At this they were overcome with amazement. He strictly ordered them that no one should know this, and told them to give her something to eat.
Mark 5:21-43 (NRSV)
Message: Because the Holy Spirit causes us to change our lives, and to summon our family and friends to the Christian way of life, conflict often emerges in relationships. The Holy Spirit is always alive in this tension but may not always intercede in the ways we desire to avoid pain. Sometimes fire burns down and sometimes the Gospel is not sweet and easy. Reconciling brings more tension than most can tolerate. For not everyone around the world has a Kingdom of God mentality. That is why being generically nice and radically merciful can sap one’s energy and drain us spiritually and even bring a cognitive dissonance so strongly as to make us ineffective. Sometimes we need to adjust our thinking. Thankfully God knows all about this challenge and has given us a grace that is greater than the challenge before us. The bad news is that typically God’s grace cannot help us until we are desperate enough to receive it. And so, we oscillate in our emotions for a reason. For in our exuberance if we think we do not need grace we are doomed. Here we need to remember that there is always tension between the way things are, and the vision God has for us in this life. When we lose that vision, we lose our enthusiasm and boldness but sometimes it might be for a good reason. So, know that if God has set us apart to proclaim His message, He will invite us to allow Him to work out His will in us. Do not be embarrassed. Conform to Christ’s image, learning that the Holy Spirit within us is bold, sensible, and loving…comforting but also convicting us to be better. Friends, there is a division between those who choose Jesus and those who out of their own free will do not and there is a tension between them. Jesus is still the Prince of Peace but for those that reject Jesus they are not likely to be at peace at all. Well, there is a division and a challenge but, I think that we do not necessarily need to know music theory before we can be moved by great music. But the musicians need to know what they’re playing and how to play it and that goes for singers too who use their voice. But it is ultimately most important for those who teach in church, and those who commend the faith to outsiders, to grapple with the meaning of Jesus’ death and get clear and clean about the message for there is a history of thinking made popular by the mediaeval paintings and philosophers over the ages that portray God as angry with us, and that this anger is all poured out on the innocent Jesus. People can get a twisted message. But the famous John 3:16 passage doesn’t say ‘God so hated the world that he killed his son’, but ‘God so loved the world that he gave his son’. We need to get the story right and the Holy Spirit guide us in what the Bible actually says otherwise we might get off track. The story in our heads needs to conform to scripture. Our pipes need to be cleaned.
And So, the Holy Spirit uses something a lot like pipes to deliver the holy life-giving power of Christ. The Holy Spirit is what powers us up when we need to recharge our spiritual batteries and to live victoriously for Christ’s cause. The thing is that the Spirit empowers but also divides and so here the depletion and restoration of energy is expressed in the ways we live and how we demonstrate our faith. The problem is that people want transformation and the power of God in their lives. So, our faith needs some adrenaline in our veins for the sharing of the Gospel, for it is usually best when fired up. And yes, we desperately need to kindle the Spirit that flames the spread of the Good News with power and energy. So, consider the job of the Holy Spirit in delivering our Salvation though the Word of God in Scripture and the sacraments such as baptism and the gift of the Lord’s Supper and acts of kindness and in our commitments to each other. The Holy Spirit has promised to work through all these pipes to bring us the healing fire of Christ’s baptism on the cross. That is how forgiveness gets from Jesus on the cross to us. The Word of God, Holy Baptism, and the Lord’s Supper are like great big pipelines of grace that pour God’s love and forgiveness into us the moment Jesus died and when the Holy Spirit guides us and will in the Kingdom to come save us for eternity when Jesus returns if we but believe.
Pray we watch out for those who cause divisions and create strife that diminishes our experience of Christ’s love and grace. Pray we piece…peace together in the promise of a purpose. Pray the sacraments of our faith, in the power of the Holy Spirit, sanctify us in the fire of Christ’s baptism on the cross. Pray we reassure our heart that God is with us. Pray we respond to the needs of others. Pray that when we are tested, we fight with faith. Pray we find joy in our times of trouble. Pray that we speak with words of encouragement. Pray that we share the good news. Pray that we fight the good fight with love and truth. Pray that we wait for the power and guidance of the Holy Spirit to come and meet our deepest needs. Pray we live victoriously and are filled to overflowing in the power of Christ’s grace. Pray that we daily soak up the truth of scripture. Pray we realize that God’s Word divides believers and unbelievers. Pray that we do not delude ourselves into thinking we are in control of our own lives and our own destinies. Pray still that we will make good decisions. Pray that all the factors that influence us converge in a way so that Christ would be glorified in our lives. Pray we are sanctified. Pray we replicate holiness by identifying with Christ at his death, burial, and resurrection. Pray we have peace in our hearts while we are still disturbed by the ways of the world. Pray we multiply God’s love for us by taking what is broken and divided and joining it together in a new way. Pray our pipes are clear… our thinking clear as we take our direction from the Holy Spirit through clearer understanding of scripture and not the idolatry of the world. Pray we are clear and clean so we might reflect God’s love into the world and reflect creation’s worship back to God. Pray that the power of love overcomes the love of power as we press against the evil of the world.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 