Holy Spirit Coming by He Qi

This past Sunday was Pentecost Sunday. On this day, we remember the story told in Acts 2:1-21 which tells the story of the Holy Spirit coming upon the first Christians.

When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

Jesus had promised that this was going to happen just a few days earlier when he said, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

But, Pentecost Sunday is not just about remembering something that happened a long time ago. It is about “re-living” the experience of Pentecost and “re-encountering” the power of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit was not just given to the first few Christians. The power is available to every person that follows Jesus today. In the Apostle Peter’s Pentecost sermon, he says, “The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”

On Pentecost Sunday we are invited to experience life in the power of the Spirit. We are called to remember that the mission of growing the Kingdom is too big and too important for us to accomplish on our own power. The first Christians were told to wait for the empowerment of the Spirit before they began the work of being witnesses to the world. The work was that important – they needed POWER beyond their own strength. The mission continues and we need the power too!

So, how do you need to encounter the power of the Spirit? What are you giving your life to you desperately need a power beyond yourself?

A Prayer from the Revised Common Lectionary:

Living God,
you have created all that is.
Send forth your Spirit to renew and restore us,
that we may proclaim your good news
in ways and words
that all will understand and believe. Amen.

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Today, in the Christian Year calendar, is Ascension Day. This is the day that we remember when Jesus, risen from the grave, is taken up to be seated at the right hand of God the Father.

Acts 1:9-11 1:9 “When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. While he was going and they were gazing up toward heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. They said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”

Luke 24:49-53 “And see, I am sending upon you what my Father promised; so stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and, lifting up his hands, he blessed them. While he was blessing them, he withdrew from them and was carried up into heaven. And they worshiped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy; and they were continually in the temple blessing God.

After Jesus had been raised from the dead, he spent 40 days with his disciples, teaching them and preparing them for the mission that was to come. Jesus was not only training them about kingdom living, but he was preparing them for the Holy Spirit that was to come upon them and give them power for the work. Ascension Day marks the beginning of the waiting for the Holy Spirit. We are not meant to do the mission on our own strength, we need help!

Jesus has been given all authority and power (Matthew 28:18, Ephesians 1:21-23). And now, Jesus lives in us and we are “clothed with power from on high” for the purpose of continuing the work that Jesus started. Jesus may have physically left this earth, but we has not abandoned us. Ascension Day reminds us that we are here for a purpose and that Jesus has given us a mission.

I think the core messages of Ascension Day are that:

• we have not been left to ourselves – Jesus ascended into heaven, but he is there as our intercessor, constantly praying for us (Hebrews 7:23-25)
• we have not been left alone – Jesus ascended, but he now lives in us by his Spirit. Jesus did not abandon us, he is always with us (Matthew 28:20).
• we have not been left helpless and without direction – Jesus has given us a mission, and has given us his power and presence to accomplish that mission (Acts 1:8-9)

And I think the hope we find in Ascension Day is:

• Jesus is with us. Immanuel – God with us, is still with us. He lives in us as we find our life in him
• Jesus is praying for us. As he is at the right hand of God, he is continually praying for us
• Jesus has promised us power. Part of Ascension Day is preparing for the Holy Spirit to come upon us (The Day of Pentecost in 10 days).
• Jesus will come back.  “This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”
  

So, as we remember and reflect on this day, I also encourage you to begin the waiting and anticipation for Pentecost Sunday. Waiting teaches us that we desperately need God’s help to accomplish his work.Similar Posts:

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Lent is not just about giving up something for the sake of giving up something. As with all fasting, we say “no” to habits or things in order to say “yes” more deeply to Christ.

One of today’s Scripture readings (Amos 5:6-15) tells us to “seek the Lord and live” to “seek good and not evil”. Now, the things that we choose to fast from may not be inherently “evil”, but if they are preventing us from living the full abudant life that Christ came to give us, then perhaps we should consider saying “no” so that we can say “yes”.

So, I encourage you to enter fully into this season of Lent (even if you never have), and prayerfully ask God to reveal what in your life you should abstain from so that you can more fully enter into the life he wants you to live.

Today’s Scripture readings from the Book of Common Prayer

LENT BONUS:

Lent: Inquiry and Instruction

By Robert E. Webber

Question: What is the meaning of the word Lent?

Answer: It has no religious meaning like Advent or Pentecost. It comes from an Anglo-Saxon word, Lencten, meaning “spring.”

Question: Why do we observe Lent?

Answer: The purpose of Lent is to provide a time for us to enter into the suffering of Jesus and to go with Him to the tomb.

Question: How can we do this?

Answer: The experience of the people of God who have gone before us is that we best identify with Jesus by adopting a discipline of prayer, fasting, almsgiving.

Question: How should we pray?

Answer: Our prayer may be a spiritual meditation on Jesus Christ–His teaching, His suffering, His death on our behalf.

Question: Why should we fast?

Answer: Fasting is an aid to prayer. Years ago Augustine wrote, “When a man imposes on himself the burden of fasting, he shows that he really wants what he is asking for.” Christians fast in order to pray more intently.

Question: What is the purpose of almsgiving?

Answer: We give alms to the poor and needy because it is a specific expression of the brotherly love produced by prayer. The closer we are to Jesus, the more we care for our neighbor.

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As you probably know, Christmas is more than just a one day remembrance of Jesus’ birth. It is that, but it is also so much more! The event of Christmas, the Incarnation, invites us into a new way of life and gives us a foundation for our spirituality.

The word Incarnation means to be “embodied with flesh”, or simply “in flesh”. In John 1:14 it is said that “the (God’s) Word was made flesh” in the person of Jesus. To have an Incarnational Spirituality means two things:

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1. Our spirituality imitates the humility of the incarnation of Jesus

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2. We put “flesh” to our spirituality and see that our whole life is spiritual in God’s eyes.

In the Incarnation, Jesus performed the most humble acts of all time. Philippians 2:5-11 tells us that he stepped down out of heaven and became a human being. God knew that we humans could not reach him on our own, so instead of letting us go he came down to us. This is the ultimate in humility and it calls for those who want to follow Jesus imitate it. Philippians 2:3-5 (which precedes the telling of Jesus’ humility) says that we should have the same mind and the same attitude of Jesus in this way. Christmas is an opportunity to be reminded of the Christian call to humility. Humility has got to be one of the hardest virtues or fruits to obtain, but we must remember that we don’t become humble by trying to be humble,. We become humble by doing things (like service or simply putting yourself in the other persons shoes) that will naturally and progressively make us more humble.

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Second, Christmas reminds us that all of life is spiritual. God became FLESH. He became a real live human being! In this, God shows us that our human life, though it is tainted and corrupt in many ways, is valued and is spiritual. Very often we have the tendency to disconnect our everyday life from our spiritual life, but the Incarnation calls us to an integration of the two. Our everyday life matters to God. Jesus didn’t begin the ministry that we read about in the Bible until he was 30 years old. That means for 30 years, God lived a “normal” life just like you and me. He worked, had family and friends, and did all the things a person of his time would do. But, we can be sure that he didn’t just “do” these things without any thought while he waited for the right time to begin his more “spiritual” work. If this time in his life didn’t matter to God, than he wouldn’t have gone through it. But, it did matter and our everyday normal life matters. Incarnational Spirituality invites us to begin to see every aspect of life as spiritual and interconnected.

Christmas is much more than a one day celebration, it is a yearly invitation to live incarnationally. And it is not just a remembrance of Jesus birth, it is also a reminder that God is with Us (Emmanuel). Robert Webber said that, “God united himself with humans in order for men and women to be united with God.” This is what Christmas is truly about! As you continue to celebrate, remember these things and begin to live the message of Christmas every day.

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Merry Christmas!

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Last year, I put together a little Advent devotional that can still be used this year. You can download it here (just disregard the 2007 dates).

I would also like to point your attention to another Advent resource called the Advent Conspiracy Scrooge film

. Check out this video:

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This Christmas season, don’t be sucked into the rush and chaos of what so much of Christmas has unfortunately become. Take time this year to embrace this season for all it means and is meant to represent. This is the time when we remember and celebrate the coming of Jesus into the world to rescue us. The world has never been the same, so don’t let this time slip by – celebrate the coming of Jesus and look with expectation to his return!

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I’d love to hear about how you celebrate so please feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments.

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Good Friday

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On the Friday before Easter we celebrate and remember the day Jesus was crucified and laid in the tomb.

We call this day Good because of what we know it leads to and what it means. However, we also remember the great suffering and tremendous sacrifice of this day. This is a day of great tension between the suffering Jesus experienced and the joy that we have knowing that Jesus’ death has brought us from death to life.

On this day we are invited to reflect on the death of Jesus. Indeed, there has been no more important death in history!

A meaningful practice on this day is to take communion. As you eat the bread and drink the cup, be reminded of Jesus’ words, “this is my body given for you” and “this cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you”.

Scriptures:
Matthew 27
Mark 15
Luke 22:66-71 , Luke 23:1-56
John 18:28-40 , John 19

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In those famous words, “It’s Friday, but Sunday’s coming!”

Saturday

Traditionally, Saturday is meant to be a day of rest, reflection, and preparation for the Resurrection. Take time this day to rest and pray as we prepare for that Great Day – Resurrection Sunday!

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The term “Maundy” comes from the Latin Mandatum Novum which means “new commandment”. It was on this day that Jesus said these words, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” He says this just moments after setting for them an example of servant-love by washing their feet. ( John 13:15-17 , John 13:34-35 )

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One main focus of this day is Jesus’ call and command to be servants. He shows us the way by the washing of his disciples feet and ultimately in the giving of his life. We meditate on the “new command” that Jesus gave and examine our lives according to this call to love one another.

We are also invited to remember Jesus’ journey to the cross as he prayed in the garden a prayer of agony and sorrow (Matthew 26:36-46). We see in this prayer Jesus’ humanity and his heart that is totally given to the will of His Father. Jesus willingly surrendered himself knowing what awaited him.

Scriptures:

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John 13:1-17
John 13:34-35
Luke 22:14-30
Matthew 26:36-75

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Traditionally, the preparatory season of Lent continues until the Wednesday before Easter. Then comes what is known as “the Three Great Days” that lead to that wonderful Easter day.

With this in mind, here are selected Scriptures for Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday:

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Monday – Isaiah 42:1-7 , John 12:1-11

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Tuesday – Isaiah 49:1-6 , John 12:37-38, John 12:42-50
Wednesday – Isaiah 50:4-9 , John 13:21-35

Spend some time reading and meditating on these Scriptures and focus on what they tell us of Jesus Christ as the obedient, suffering servant who will bring victory through the sacrifice of his own life.

On Thursday we will continue forward…

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Meditation 3 – Looking Within

The final part of our Advent reflection is to look within. We have looked back at the first coming of Jesus, looked ahead at the Second coming, and now we look at the coming of Jesus into our own lives. This is a time to reflect on where we stand right now with Jesus and how we need His redemption to work in us.

Readings:
Psalm 63:1
Psalm 130:7
Philippians 2:12-13
Colossians 1:13-15
1 John 1:6-9

Reflection:

Advent is a time of longing for redemption. Prior to Jesus birth, the Jewish people were longing for their Messiah to appear; but, today we, acknowledging that Jesus has come and is the Messiah, long for His redemption in our lives. With this in mind, Advent becomes a time when we can identify the things in our lives that need to be redeemed by our Savior.

Those that follow Christ know that throughout life, we must continually allow Christ to work in all the areas of our lives that need to be changed. Throughout our life, we are to constantly ask God to search our hearts and identify things that hinder our life with Him. “Continue to work out your salvation,” as Philippians 2:12 says.

For this final meditation, we want to look at our lives and invite God to search our hearts. We all have areas or things in our life that need to be redeemed and changed by God. Jesus has come to redeem not only our souls, but our entire lives.

Exercises:

1. On a piece of paper write, “Powers that hold me in their grip.” List everything that you can think of from which you would like to be set free. These may be bad habits, undesirable relationships, a job that is stifling and unrewarding, a bad temper, jealousy, envy, dishonesty, or any blockage to living by the spirit of joy, temperance, and generosity. Commit it to the one who comes to set the prisoners free, turn it over to Christ in prayer, and ask the one who is to come into your life to take over this problem up into himself.

2. Take a look at your daily life. Ask God to reveal an area of your life that needs to be more fully devoted to Him. Write down what God brings to your mind. Reflect on and write down ways in which you can, with God’s help, allow this part of your life to be given to Him. Now commit this to God and ask for His help.

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Please feel free to share you thoughts in the comments.

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Meditation 2 – Looking Ahead

We began Advent by meditating on the first “coming” of Jesus, we continue now by turning our hearts and minds to the return of Jesus; the “Second Coming”.

Take some time over the next week and a half to study the following scriptures, read the material, answer the reflection questions and practice the exercises. You may consider doing this as part of a small group or in your family devotions.

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John 14:3
Acts 1:9-11
1 Corinthians 15:51-52
1 Thessalonians 4:16-18
Titus 2:11-13
2 Peter 3
Revelation 22:20

Waiting:

Jesus himself spoke of his return in the Book of John. He told the disciples that he was going to prepare a place for them and that he would come back to get them (and us). And as Jesus ascended in Heaven after giving the disciples their mission, angels also testified to the fact that He would indeed be back (Acts 1:11). Lastly, Jesus says in the final words of the Bible, “Surely I am coming soon.” (Revelation 22:20).
The Bible is clear that Jesus is going to come back to this earth and finish what he started; the Story is not over!.

The fact that Jesus is coming back provides us with hope. In the end, evil does not win, God does. This great hope tells us that we need not surrender to evil. Though the clouds may seem dark today, the future is bright! Jesus is coming back and will deal the final blow to evil and will establish his Kingdom forever!

This great hope offers to us optimism about life. When Jesus returns, he will bring wholeness to those who love and follow Him. There will be no more pain, no more sin, no more tears or death. Knowing that He is going to return and make all things new (Isaiah 65) helps us to look at this life in a whole new way.

From the song Sing to the King by Billy Foote:

For His returning we watch and we pray
We will be ready the dawn of that day
We’ll join in singing with all the redeemed
‘Cause Satan is vanquished and Jesus is King

Reflection:

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1. When you think about the Second Coming of Jesus, what do you feel? Hope? Fear? Confusion? Why do you think you feel this way?

2. Do you tend to have a pessimistic (negative) or optimistic (positive) outlook on life? Why?

3. How does Jesus’ return give us hope?

4. What area in your life can you apply this hope to?

5. How should we live while we wait for Jesus’ return? (see Matthew 25, Titus 2:11-13, 2 Peter 3:11-15)

Exercises:

1. When you encounter the effects of evil and sin in this world, take a moment to think about the return of Jesus and thank Him that when he returns these things will be no more.

2. Tell someone about Jesus’ return. Do as 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 says and encourage someone with these words. If you share with someone who is not a Christian, listen to the leading of the Holy Spirit and consider sharing with them the good news of Jesus.

3. Read Matthew 25. Think of specific ways of how you can, as you await the return of your Master, do what these verses tell us.

4. Read 2 Peter 3:8-10. According to these verses, why hasn’t Jesus returned yet? Take some time and reflect on the answer.

As you take some time over the next week and a half to work through the scripture readings, reflections questions, and exercises please feel free to share your thoughts and comments on what God is teaching you.Similar Posts:

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