Guided by the Spirit

 John 14:23-29

Acts 16: 9-15

 We hear again in our John passage about Jesus promising the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in Christ’s name. Here the Spirit is referred to as the Advocate that will teach you all things and remind you of Jesus teachings.

 In the book of Acts the Spirit is active in directing the apostles. Paul is directed in our passage through a vision to go to Macedonia. There they find the businesswoman, Lydia, who is said to be a worshiper of God. Paul in his preaching shares the good news of Jesus Christ and this God worshipper is receptive to believing in Christ, another part of the Trinity. She is baptized and asks him, if she is found faithful to the Lord, to stay at her house. So, Paul has a strong convert who will have a home church to reach others in Macedonia. All this happened since Paul was receptive to the Spirit. He shared the word of the Lord with Lydia and all he preached to in Macedonia.

 Jesus again in John talks about love, but this time love for himself and the Father and how to show it. Those who love Jesus will keep his words. He goes on to say that these words come from the Father. By keeping his words – the Father’s and Jesus’ – the “we” in this verse will make their home with us – this is done through the Holy Spirit.

 The disciples are troubled about Christ leaving them – so he assures them that he leaves them peace that the world cannot give. Peace that we are saved from our sins. He also assures them he will come again, but if they absolutely loved him, they would be happy – rejoice – that he will be with the Father again, because the Father is greater than him. He tells them this so when it occurs, they will believe.

 Christ did rise again. He did go to the Father and then came to see the disciples. The Holy Spirit was sent to them at Pentecost and those who believed like Paul were able to be guided by the Spirit to a woman who was open to believe.

 May we show our love for Christ by keeping his word and be emboldened by the Spirit to reach out to those who need the love of Christ. Amen

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Join Me on a Lenten Journey

For those of you not familiar with Lent, it is a season of forty days, which begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Holy Saturday. Lent comes from the Anglo Saxon word lencten, which means "spring." The forty days represents the time Jesus spent in the wilderness, enduring the temptation of Satan and preparing to begin his ministry. Lent is a time of repentance, fasting and preparation for the coming of Easter. It is a time of self-examination and reflection. Today, Christians focus on their relationship with God, often choosing to give up something or to volunteer and give of themselves for others. Easter comes early this year. Many of us not brought up in this tradition can still embrace its emphasis of focusing on the gifts Christ has brought into your lives and finding ways to share the love of Christ to others. This emphasis of love goes along well with the beginning of Lent this year, Ash Wednesday, falling on all days – Valentine’s Day. So whether or not you plan
Read more

Setting Your Hope in God

 Disclaimer: Paul talks about the Rapture in this passage a concept I still struggle with. I believe that once you die you go direct to the Lord, so bodies awaiting till the rapture to rise is hard for me to grasp. I can see how Paul was comforting the Thessalonians here but was his concept correct? Add any comments you wish to this bafflement of mine. That said, I wrote this per the text. What do you all think? Psalms 78:1-7; I Thessalonians 4:13-18   The psalmist in Psalms 78 is not only telling his current audience to listen to his teaching but to pass it on from one generation to the next. Just like he has heard it from his ancestors, he asks the Israelites to teach them to the coming generations. They are to teach them to the children yet unborn so that these children will teach their children. Why? So, they should set their hope in God, not forgetting God’s works. Fast forward to the New Testament where Paul is passing on this hope to the Thessalonians. The question these bel
Read more

Do What they Teach, Not What they Do

  Matthew 23: 1-12; I Thessalonians 2:9-13   Jesus when he talks about the scribes and the Pharisees in Matthew 23 basically says: “Do what they teach but not what they do.” What he questions most is their motivation. They do what they do to be seen by others. They wear fancy robes and love to have the place of honor at banquets and the best seats in the synagogues. They love to be greeted with respect. All this Jesus sums up in the word pride or not being humble. He states then that those who exalt themselves will be humbled and those who humble themselves will be exalted. Years later Paul writes to the Thessalonians telling how he did what Christ had instructed. That he was humble leading a life worthy of God, his motivation being for God’s glory not his own. He tells that not only are the Thessalonians his witnesses of this but God also. They have seen how pure, upright, and blameless his conduct has been. He encourages the Thessalonians to do the same. To live a life worthy of
Read more