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Posts Tagged ‘Holy Spirit’

Handkerchiefs and Aprons

Posted in Advent, tagged , , , , , , , , , on December 5, 2009| Leave a Comment »

I can’t imagine having so much of the spirit of Christ within me to have an overflow. Like Jesus and the woman with the “issue of blood,” when she touched him, he didn’t feel the touch, he felt the power go out him.

Acts 19:11-12
God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them.

And here is Paul, with such an overflow that handkerchiefs and aprons which had come into contact with him curing people. I know there have been charlatans throughout the ages who have sold pieces of garments or cloths saying that they were blessed and prayed over and as a result had healing power. This is not like that. This is the overflow. Paul didn’t touch the clothing and then say, “take this and put it on her wounds to heal her.” It was just overflow.

One of my favorite Christian movies is The Robe with Richard Burton. This idea that Jesus’s garments had power is traditional. To my knowledge, there is no reference in scripture that his robe went on to do powerful healings on its own. But if small items like handkerchiefs that Paul touched were powerful, wouldn’t it make sense that Jesus’s garments would have some of that same overflow power?

Another piece of fabric that has always intrigued me is the cloth that was laid over Jesus’s face when he was interred and then, after his resurrection, it was neatly folded off to the side. [John 20:7] Who folded it? I’m thinking Mary, his mother was there, but of course, that is mere speculation. I certainly don’t think Jesus rose from the dead and then straightened things up before leaving the tomb and folded his face cloth. And I wonder, was there overflow power in that small thing as well? Of course.

How does cloth carry power? I think it’s like aroma. It permeates natural fibers. How often have we heard that people can still smell a loved one’s scent on their clothing. Overflow power works the same way.

2 Corinthians 2:14-15, it says, “But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.”

He’s overflowing into us…. into me. My presence in the midst of others should be a pleasing aroma by the presence of the Holy Spirit. It’s so simple… just be a handkerchief and touch those in need.

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Is It Safe?

Posted in Advent, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on December 2, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Really, aren’t there a lot of things that any one of us would do if we knew we would be safe?

Acts 18:9a
And one night the Lord said to Paul in a vision, “Have no fear… ”

Paul stayed in Corinth over a year and a half because of his vision. He held onto the promise of safety and moved forward with it. He had total confidence in God and in the words he heard spoken in the night.

I base so many of my choices on the fear/safety ratio, and not just physical harm but emotional harm as well. Will I be embarrassed? Will I fail? Will there be someone here who is smarter, stronger, quicker than me? Will I be exposed? Are there people here who look like they might hurt me? Is this place too dark… too loud… too chaotic? Is this situation similar to another situation where I was hurt before? Is there too much change? Is this happening differently than I expected? What if … what if… what if…?

Of course, there are times that everyone should be vigilant. I am not suggesting that we should walk blindly into truly dangerous circumstances or situations without wisdom and common sense. And yet, is it possible that we judge the level of danger too quickly? Is it possible we allow fear to drive us away from someone or something important?

Hundreds of times, scripture tells us not to be afraid, that God is with us. Isn’t this where confidence starts?

What is stronger…. my fear or my trust in God’s safety promise?

Lots of questions today. The key to all of the answers is our confidence in God… “If God is for us, who can be against us?” [Romans 8:31] That means all of my circumstances are in God’s hands… the ones that feel or seem dangerous as well as those that are completely benign.

It is my interpretation of people, places and things that gives them power to make me feel unsafe. If I put all things through the filter of the Holy Spirit, the picture changes. I can actually choose to feel safe.

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Fortune-Telling is Real

Posted in Advent, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on December 1, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Acts 16:16b
… we [Paul and Silas] were met by a slave girl who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling.

This is the part that people miss: there are lots of powers in the world and people who can tap into those sources of power and use them (or abuse them).

Why else would this situation with the fortune teller cause concern? Why does Paul “cast out” the divining spirit from the girl? She was actually proclaiming the truth…. but something was amiss.

When I was younger, before I stepped into the waiting arms of a loving God, I was intrigued by all things supernatural. I pursued the entire spectrum of “experiences” from astral projection to channeling to communicating with the dead. I read books about the “point of power” and “creating my own reality.” I practiced. I didn’t just want to use magic, I wanted to be magic.

I suppose it’s a blessing I wasn’t very good at any of these things. I had an insatiable interest but no natural talent. In the end, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have turned to Christ if I had been more successful… if I could have “done it all” on my own. If I could have manipulated the world around me to satisfy my own dreams and schemes.

The major mistake people make with supernatural power is thinking they have the wisdom to use it. Like “Bruce Almighty,” folks end up acting like a children in a candy shop…. and ultimately, they over-eat and over-indulge with little understanding of the repercussions. Power used only for selfish ends becomes self-destructive. But of course, any person with that kind of power doesn’t see or believe it.

Personal power is rarely used with others in mind. Whatever power I was seeking was for myself. I wanted to use it to direct and control my life. I was not interested in helping, loving, or transforming the world around me except for personal gain. It was all about me. I wanted to be the center of my universe.

It is those with power, whether supernatural or circumstantial, who must submit their power to God. The more powerful the person, the more difficult it is to let go.

Here’s another trap I fell into: once I became a follower of Jesus, I also discovered there was a “Christian” version of power…. acts such as casting out demons, healing with a touch or a word, or prophesying the future. Can God use a person to broker these things? Sure. Is it real? Absolutely. But it is not intended that we seek power for itself. My call is to seek a deeper and more intimate relationship with God and Christ Jesus … power becomes a by-product. Power used without the wisdom and direction of God is no different from all that other supernatural stuff.

Oh yes, it’s real. And so are miracles. Who is the giver?

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Giving Up Circumcision

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , , , on November 16, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Acts 15:5
Then some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, “The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to obey the law of Moses.”

Circumcision was one of the most important signs or acts that a Jewish man did. It went way back and it was sacrosanct. And yet, here was Jesus turning something else inside out. I mean, at this point in all the conversions, there were even Pharisees who had become believers. The Pharisees were taught to obey the law to its “nth” degree. And yet, here was Paul, who had also been a Pharisee, saying that gentile believers did not need to be circumcised just because Jewish believers were circumcised. That’s huge!

The question that comes to my mind is how many customs and traditions have Christians developed over the years that are just like circumcision? For some it’s baptism of a certain type, for others it’s speaking in tongues (or other manifestations), for others it’s going to church, for others it’s communion specifics, for others it’s designations of priest or pastor to sanctify various things, for others it’s certain social issues, for others it’s sexual orientation, for others it’s certain types of prayers… you get my point.

If God pours out the Holy Spirit on someone who does not match our rules and customs, what then? Is it any different from giving up circumcision?

Jesus turned the Jewish world upside down… but I think Jesus is still turning worlds upside down.

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Really Full or Ready to Empty?

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on November 8, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Acts 13:9-10a
Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked straight at Elymas and said, “You are a child of the devil…”

This incident happened on the initial leg of Paul’s first missionary journey in Cyprus. Apparently, it is on this journey that Saul changes his name to Paul, which historians surmise he did to be more accessible to the Greeks. And it is here that he and Barnabas encounter a sorcerer named Elymas who opposed them when they sought to speak to the proconsul that Elymas had been serving up until then.

But what is of greater interest to me is this phrase about Paul being “filled with the Holy Spirit.” As far as I can tell, this particular phrase, or ones similar to it, are only mentioned a dozen times in the New Testament. And yet, this is a phrase that many contemporary Christians (particularly Charismatics and Pentecostals) bandy about as a frequent experience marked with outward expressions like tongues, laughing, shaking, and the like. Don’t misunderstand me. I’m not saying these expressions of the Spirit are not authentic, I’m just not sure they represent being “filled” as in filled to overflowing.

I think that true fullness would, by its very nature, pour out on others. Most of the “filled” examples in scripture are followed with a time of emptying by speaking and prophesying, literally speaking for God. Anything else is probably less than full. I just think we have diminished the impact of what it means to experience the Holy Spirit in this way.

I have used the phrase myself. But now, I think I have been merely touched by Holy Spirit. Whatever experience I had was just a breath of the Spirit compared to being filled. There is so much more. If a person is actually filled to overflowing, something happens… something changes. Power is exercised and by its very nature, it is according to the direction of God for the sake of another. Someone else is changed, not so much the person who is filled.

I am ashamed to say but I believe I have sought these “infillings” for myself and not for others at all. Oh, it sounds so pious, to seek the Holy Spirit and to go deeper into the things of God. But really, isn’t the whole point of my faith supposed to be to touch others?

So many traditional church folks are afraid of the “postmodern” movement because it is so inclusive and yet, there is one thing the emergents and postmoderns have over a lot of the other Christians… they “get” the “relationship” message. They are loving and serving others as a natural outpouring of their faith and their walk “in the way of Jesus.” They are living with and serving the poor and the unlovely. They are not trying to get more filled… they are trying to empty. They are pouring themselves out for others.

Clearly, I am still holding on too tightly to what I have. I am afraid to empty myself because I don’t really trust God to keep me filled. Forgive me.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

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Who is at my door?

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on October 31, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Acts 10:17, 20
While Peter was wondering about the meaning of the vision, the men sent by Cornelius found out where Simon’s house was and stopped at the gate….”So get up and go downstairs. Do not hesitate to go with them, for I [God] have sent them.”

The servants of the centurion, Cornelius, were the last people that Peter would expect to see at the door of the house where he was staying in Joppa. He hadn’t even processed the meaning of the vision he had with the great sheet coming down out of heaven filled with “unclean” foods for a Jew. In the vision, he heard plainly from the Holy Spirit, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.” [vs 15] And not just once did he see and hear, but three times. And right on the heels of the vision, the gentiles come a-calling.

So, who is at my door? Who is the most unexpected guest? Certainly, if a Muslim terrorist came to my door and asked to hear about Jesus, I would be shocked. How could this be? Or what about a primitive from some tribe in a third world country or a homeless man or woman? A gay man or woman? A transvestite? How did they even know to come to me? How did they even hear about Jesus at all? And who am I to do anything else but invite them in?

God touches who God touches and it may surprise us along the way. I don’t think we should assume anything. It is God who changes a heart and it is only after the heart becomes soft that a person’s choices can change.

I think we need to stop creating cookie-cutter Christians and stop looking through the peephole before we open the door. Our job is simple: open the door and tell our story.

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Message of Ananias

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , , , on October 27, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Acts 9:15
But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man [Saul of Tarsus] is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel.”

Usually, the story of Ananias is used to illustrate the unwilling messenger who is obedient ultimately and delivers the message of God. Courageous Ananias spurns reason and goes to the appointed house to lay hands on the most notorious anti-Christ of the time, Saul of Tarsus. I believe he went with fear and trembling, but he went with faith.

One thing, however, that Ananias does not really do: he doesn’t tell Saul the whole story. Oh yes, Ananias lays hands on Saul who then receives his sight. And this laying on of hands brings the anointing of the Holy Spirit. But Ananias does not drop the bomb that Saul (eventually changed to Paul) would be the one to carry the name of Jesus to the Gentiles. This would have been a huge deal–a shock!

At this point in the story, the Gentiles were not anywhere in the equation. Ananias was really the first to hear and record this fact: the Son of God manifested for everyone, not just the Jews.

That is no less true today.

The way of Christ is not a mandate but an opportunity. It’s far-fetched and far-reaching. It’s not about race, nationality, or religion. God is sovereign and His Son no less so.

Oh, if we could just walk the essence of His message. Truly, the lion and the lamb could live together.

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