As we know, Easter is the celebration of Jesus’ death and resurrection. Christmas is the celebration of Jesus coming down into the world from heaven as a man to start that whole story of redemption. We do all sorts of things to celebrate these two events – they are key moments in the Christian calendar.

Pentecost is the celebration of the Holy Spirit coming down to us! And I think this deserves just as much celebratory efforts as the other two. Pentecost is celebrated 50 days after Easter, and this is because 50 days after Jesus’ resurrection, the Holy Spirit came to Jesus’ disciples. What is really cool, is that the Old Testament Hebrew people celebrated the Feast of Weeks 50 days after Passover. And the Feast of Weeks was a celebration of the calling of the Hebrew people into a covenant relationship with God at Mount Sinai. And may I say that this is something we should celebrate in our lives – our being called into a relationship with God!

The Jewish people back in Jesus’ time and the early believers would have known about and celebrated this thing called the Feast of Weeks. This particular year when Jesus, the Saviour of the world, died and rose again, during this period of the Feast of Weeks is when something amazing happened to Jesus’ followers. God released His Holy Spirit. (Acts 2:1-4)

Previously to this, they were eager to get out there and tell the world about Jesus, but they had been commanded by Jesus to wait. And the Holy Spirit was what they were waiting for. God knew that their ministry would be ineffectual without His Spirit in them. They were like kites, made to fly, but without any wind yet.

There are many things that the Bible tells us the Holy Spirit enables us to do, including those spiritual gifts listed in 1 Corinthians 12:8-10. And it is interesting to raise the question: are these abilities innate human abilities? Barry Chant in his book Praying In The Spirit asks, had humans not sinned, would it always have been possible to (for example) pray in tongues? (Prayer, specifically, is the focus of his book.) Chant speaks of glossolalia which is the phenomenon of speaking in an unknown language, especially in religious worship. And he argues that glossolalia is actually a natural communication skill that has been lost to us because of sin, and that it is restored in Christ. But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. Romans 8:10.

So the ability is restored in Christ, and now all it needs is for the Holy Spirit to reactivate it. “Praying in tongues, then, is the restored cry of a human spirit brought back to life by the Spirit of God through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” (Chant, 2008)

But what difference does it make whether it’s an outside spiritual ability given to us, or a human ability awakened in us by the Holy Spirit I hear you ask? Well, if we all have the capacity to use spiritual gifts as an innate human ability, there is great encouragement for those who have asked God to enable them to pray in tongues (for example) with no apparent result yet. “When we think of glossolalia as a gift we have to drag down from heaven or somehow pull in from some external realm, we can easily be discouraged. But when we think of it as a capacity lying dormant within us, needing only to be awakened by the Holy Spirit, our faith can rise up more readily. Paul makes it plain that when he speaks in tongues it is his spirit that is praying (1 Corinthians 14:14).”

If we think of spiritual gifts as something imparted upon us, we are tempted to believe that only some will receive them, and perhaps even stop expecting them. Regarding speaking in tongues particularly, given that it is clearly a form of prayer, “it seems hard to accept that it is not possible for every believer to practice it.”

Yes, Paul does say Do all speak in tongues? (1 Corinthians 12:30), but context tells us here that he is referring to the use of tongue-speech for public use in church services, not private, personal prayer language.

Taking the example of speaking in tongues again, when this happened to the disciples, the Bible tells us that all of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues (glossolalia) as the Spirit enabled them. Acts 2:4

It was the disciples speaking in tongues, not the Holy Spirit. What He did was enable them. “The Holy Spirit does not speak in tongues. We do. We cannot do it without the Spirit’s help; the Spirit will not do it without our co-operation.”

Like Barry Chant’s book, I have also focused on prayer language for this written piece, because the Bible tells us that by speaking in tongues, we edify ourselves in the Spirit (1 Corinthians 14:4). We are restored and renewed inwardly. We are built up in faith (Jude 20). We are spiritually strengthened. It is the direct communication of our spirit with God’s Spirit. We can’t understand what we’re saying, but it is meant to have spiritual benefit, not intellectual benefit.

Paul says in 1 Corinthians 14:4 I wish that all of you could speak in tongues… and I know why he says this. Drawing on my own experience, I am overwhelmingly grateful for this ability that God’s Spirit has awakened within me through the resurrection of Christ. When prayer with my mind is too hard and I don’t know what to say, my spirit deep within me can reach out and pour out utterances to God in a way that my mind cannot fathom. The limits of my cognitive thinking is no barrier to connect with God. This is wonderful! And this is why Paul wishes everyone spoke in tongues.

If you have been waiting on the Lord for this ability, with no apparent result yet, I encourage you to keep reaching out, keep on asking the Holy Spirit to awaken it within you. The Holy Spirit came at the first Pentecost – He has already been ‘released’ to the world. Just like Jesus came once for all, I believe the Spirit has come once, for all, and for all time! We have been given the gift, we just need the Spirit’s help to unwrap it, if you like. I believe we were created to have the Holy Spirit dwell within us, (Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you? 1 Corinthians 6:19) and God wants us to use His power in our lives and to extend His love to the world!

The third day of the Adelaide Test witnessed a heart-warming gesture from Australian vice-captain Steve Smith who was seen tying the shoelaces of West Indies debutant Shamar Joseph. The visitors were struggling against the Aussie attack and were 9 down for 110. Joseph, who was batting on 11, noticed his untied laces and got some assistance from Smith who was fielding at slips.

Interestingly, Smith was dismissed by Joseph off the very first ball of his Test career. It was the 9th over of Australia’s first essay when Joseph was deployed into the attack. The 24-year-old bowled a good length delivery while Smith looked to defend the ball which was angling back towards him. It took a thick outside edge and got deflected towards the slips where Justin Greaves took a great catch diving towards his left.                 

That was the headline and excerpt from the report on news18.com But for the sake of any non-cricket followers out there, let me rephrase…

A debutant player from the West Indies, (Shamar Joseph) bowled out one of the world’s best batsmen, the star player, (Steve Smith) on his first ball. Then in the following innings, when Shamar Joseph was batting, his shoelace came undone. Again, if you’re unfamiliar with the sport, just to be clear, wearing cricket pads (leg guards) makes it rather difficult to bend down to do anything, let alone complete an intricate task such as tying shoelaces. As you can probably imagine, you’d have rather an awkward, fumbling, nuisance of a time doing it.

In a remarkable act of sportsmanship, Steve Smith walked over, bent down, and tied Shamar’s shoelaces.

That’s one of the things I love about cricket. It’s really the only ball sport I have any interest in following. There aren’t many other sports out there where this level of sportsmanship is displayed. It’s tremendous!

I was sharing this with Mark Harrison, who I must give credit to for seeing this display on a deeper level.

What we have here is a picture of the gospel. On one side of the picture we have the debutant – you, me, human-kind (sinners), and on the other, we have the star player – Jesus Christ.

The debutant bowls out the star > The sinner crucifies Christ.

The star bends down and ties the debutant’s shoelaces > Christ stoops down and dies for the sinner.

Philippians 2:6-8
6 Who, being in very nature God,
    (Jesus) did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
7 rather, he made himself nothing
    by taking the very nature of a servant,
    being made in human likeness.
8 And being found in appearance as a man,
    he humbled himself
    by becoming obedient to death—
        even death on a cross!

Romans 5:8-10

8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! 10 For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!

I was once given a small leaf of paper by our sister, Hedy with a list of six things to ‘beat the Summer heat’ – with a spiritual twist. In reflecting on each one, I searched for scriptures to make sure each were aligned with God’s word. And so if you’re feeling a bit hot and bothered by the dry Summer weather, these tips might be just what you need! (Notice it says how to beat the heat – not just survive. Through Christ – we are overcomers, amen!)

1. Refresh your mind by reading the Bible

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—His good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12:2)

Sometimes we can get ourselves all hot and bothered worrying about what God’s will is and therefore how we should pray. Barry Chant in his book “Praying in the Spirit” speaks of how when he was a young Christian, he agonised over this issue. Questions like what is God’s purpose for me, should I marry or stay single, should I get a job or study? turned into questions like am I walking down the right side of the street, am I sitting in the right place on the bus? But as time passed, he learnt to relax a bit more and trust God. He also pointed out that reading the scriptures while we pray is an excellent mode of prayer. To ‘blend our own personal expressions of honour to God with those of the Bible is a fruitful exercise’. While doing this, we cannot help but start praying according to the will of God and renew and refresh our minds in the process!

2. Face the billowy breeze of the Holy Spirit

The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit. (John 3:8)

Here, Jesus was talking to the pharisee Nicodemus about how as the natural man hears the sound of the wind, so the man born again can hear the voice of the Spirit. He was perhaps talking about the Holy Spirit as a cool breeze which emits from everyone who is born of the Spirit. Wind always blows from one place into the opposite direction (i.e. North to South). And to feel the breeze, we must be standing in the way of its trajectory. To be ‘cooled’ by the fresh breeze of the Holy Spirit, we must stand in the ‘way of God’. Face Him. Look to Him. And not only that, but in amongst other believers. Because the Holy Spirit breeze is rushing through all those filled with the Spirit and if you hang around them, you’re sure to get a nice gust or two!

3. Shower yourself with God’s bountiful blessings.

You’ll notice this one doesn’t say wait for a shower. It says shower yourself. Yes, we can wait around for God to bless us. But if we’re only doing this passively, and not living in any particular way that is pleasing to God or just going about our business, chances are we won’t see those blessings. That’s not to say they aren’t there. What I mean is that you might not experience them, notice them, sense them.

When I think of seeking blessings, I think of Jacob and Esau. (Genesis 27) I have struggled with Jacob’s deception in this story and how God chose to descend His holy people from him. But it is this very fact that makes this story so remarkable. Is it not a picture that God’s grace does not triumph because of us, but in spite of us? It tells of man’s yearning for God, and God’s desire to bless us despite our sin. God's sovereignty and goodness overrule man's wilfulness and wickedness.

I also think of the famous ‘priestly blessing’. In Numbers 6, Moses is instructed to tell Aaron, the high priest, to bless the people using specific words given by God Himself. The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace. (Numbers 6:24-26)

God wants to shower us with blessing. But perhaps we must ‘turn on the tap’, so to speak, and not be afraid to ask for it!

4. Drink from the springs of living water that will quench your thirst forever.

A long drink of cool water is just the ticket when you’re feeling hot and thirsty. But what of our spiritual thirst? We were created as physical beings in need of water to survive, and we were also created as spiritual beings, in need of spiritual ‘water’ to survive.

In Jeremiah 2:13, God says that He is the spring of living water. What God’s people had done at the time was dig ‘their own broken cisterns that cannot hold water’. This is a powerful picture of what we do when we think and act as though we can live our life on our own without God’s help and guidance. We want to store up our own achievements and abilities and not have to depend on God, but what we end up with is stagnant, un-fresh water that becomes a breeding ground for bacteria, mold, viruses, insects, vermin, and disease.

A spring is always flowing. It is fresh. It is clean. It will sustain. It gives life. Jesus tells the Samaritan woman at the well, Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of living water welling up to eternal life. (John 4:13-14)

He told a bunch of people publicly that anyone who believes in Me may come and drink! For the scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from His heart’. (John 7:38) By this He meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. (John 7:39a)

And how can the Spirit, Who is eternal, ever ‘run dry’? And how can He be anything but clean, fresh and life-giving?

So although Jesus tells us that with the Spirit, we will never be thirsty again, we must drink deeply from the Spring daily and be refreshed, renewed, sustained.

5. Break the ice with someone against whom you are holding a grudge.

Coldness is not always a good thing. How about when someone is giving you the ‘cold’ shoulder. Or if someone is being ‘as cold as ice’ towards you. Kindness, friendliness, forgiveness… this is the kind of warmth we like in Summer and all year round.

How much has God forgiven us for? I’m sure it’s not just me who would rather not be judged and condemned for all these things. And so we must not judge and condemn others. Holding a grudge is a bitter taste in the mouth. It is a bucket that carries a heavy burden of anger. It is the dress-rehearsal for revenge and wrath. The foundation of hate. Ephesians 4:31-32 tells us to Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

To let go of a grudge is a choice. Often a difficult one. But we do have the power to choose. This is why holding grudges, along with most (of not, all) other sins is an act of fear, weakness, and timidity. But do not worry. God will provide us with the strength that we need. For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. (2 Timothy 1:7) All we need do it exercise it. When we exercise our muscles, they become stronger. In the same way, by exercising our ‘inner’ muscles and faith in God’s power, we can overcome things that tempt us.

Is there someone you’re holding a grudge against today? Is there someone you can ‘exercise your faith’ with today, and break the icy cold barriers that hinder our spiritual lives?

6. Create a pleasant climate in your home where joy can grow.

What do we do the moment we get home on a hot day? We turn on our air conditioner. Similarly, if it’s freezing cold outside, we would put on our heater. If these aren’t possible, we naturally turn to things that will make us a little more comfortable, like adjusting the number of layers of clothing we are wearing, or doing an activity that will help our body regulate its temperature.

Similarly, we should be aware of and take action to regulate our home, so that it is conducive for spiritual contentment and godly joy. How do we do this? I don’t think any of us have a ‘spirit-conditioner’ in our house with adjustable controls. (If you do happen to have one, please let me know where I can get one!) But we do have God’s Spirit, living and active in us. And we do have God’s word living and active on our hearts.

Colossians 3:8-10 comes to mind: But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.

To me, this seems to be like having a good old clean out! Get rid of the dust, the old smelly things, the things that don’t work anymore, the torn holey socks, the broken Tupperware bowl, the things that only add clutter and stress. Get rid of them! Be renewed! This might be a good start to regulating the climate of the home.

Then, know and understand that every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything. (Hebrews 3:4).

Come back to God in all your thinking. Fix your thoughts on Jesus and commit your home to Him. Further on in verse 6 of Hebrews 3, it says, But Christ is faithful as the Son over God’s house. And we are His house, if indeed we hold firmly to our confidence and the hope in which we glory.

If we acknowledge that we are His house – His temple, honour and trust Him as the Master Builder, then our homes, which are merely wood, bricks, cement, and plaster, will permeate with God’s Spirit, God’s will, and God’s renewing love!

Our Bible tells us not to be afraid but take every thought captive to obey Christ.  As with Adam and Eve, Satan tries to deceive us, telling us that God does not really love us and that we should not believe him but take matters into our own hands, like taking the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden.  This has been the world's response to God. And often Satan will tempt each one of us to disbelieve God and take matters into our own hands, whether it be disputes with our neighbours or family members or those who seem to be attacking our rights.

How should we respond to the Devil's deceptions? I think Paul sums it up well in 2 Cor 10:5. “We take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ”. When Paul was writing his first and second letters to the Corinthians, he was very conscious of the spiritual warfare that had been going on. The Corinthians had been deceived into thinking that they could use the communion meal as an excuse to get drunk. Worse than this, some had been misled into believing that sexual immorality could be tolerated. No, said Paul, you must separate yourselves from those going down that path and they did. An important warning for churches today!

There had been one problem that had not been addressed and that was division over leadership.  False leaders had even attacked Paul claiming that he was bold in his letter writing but weak when present, that he was stealing the collection raised for believers in Palestine and that he was not a true Apostle!  

So Paul defends himself and instructs them how to not be deceived. He says that our weapons as Christians are not worldly but have power to destroy strongholds. So Paul urges the Corinthians not to accept false ideas and accusations but to challenge these ideas with the mind of Christ. This is how we too must examine ideas put before us.  Our response must be to capture our thoughts to obey God and not let our fears or Satan’s deceptions rule our minds and hearts.  Some people and whole churches even are being deceived to follow worldly views of morality and throw away God’s laws.

Years ago I was at a men’s meeting discussing worldly matters.  At one stage a man attacked my view of things. He said; “You always answer referring to God or the Bible.  Don’t you have any thoughts of your own?!”  Well of course I had, but I had taken these thoughts captive to obey Christ.   So this is how Paul urges us to respond.  I was describing this at another meeting when someone said “You are asking people to track the pattern of their thinking! This is well known in the medical world but you cannot expect ordinary people to understand that or practice it!”.  Yet that is what our Bible tells us to do. What are you thinking and what is the direction of that thinking? Interrogate yourself! If it is unreal and dark, pull yourself up and say, “No that is not true and going down that path does not honour the Lord!”  Let us take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ!

Prayer: 

Heavenly Father, we give thanks that you have saved us through Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross and sent the Holy Spirit to help us in spiritual warfare. Grant us your strength, wisdom, and clarity of mind that we may trust and obey you and fight against deceptions from Satan and the world.

Amen.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. (Matt 5:9) One of the many roles as a teacher is to be a peacemaker. Some days just seem to be filled with little people’s problems and me trying to fix them. So, if I’m making peace all day long, that means I’m going to be really blessed right?

Well… let’s explore what being a peacemaker actually means. According to the dictionary, it is: freedom from war, hostilities, strife, or dissension. Or, a state of being tranquil or serene. Some people might say that peace is tolerance, and readiness to give way to others. But this is not what God brings to the world, or even what the world needs. It’s only part of the picture. True peace requires a complete change of nature, and it comes from God alone. It is reconciliation with God, and with each other through Him.

So what is a peacemaker? It is not merely someone who ends hostilities, is tolerant, and is ready to give way. It is someone who promotes the kingdom of God, reconciles adversaries, extinguishes hatred, unites those who are divided, and promotes true understanding and spiritual love. There is a big difference between the two. The first group of people are more passive and what you would call peacekeepers, not peacemakers.

Being tolerant is good with respect to our dealings with people, but it doesn’t change anything. It doesn’t usher the peace of God into the world. It’s keeping the peace. Agreeing to disagree. It seeks to keep everyone happy.

Peacemakers understand what true peace is, that it is spiritual and not just a political seeking. But why should we pursue peace and seek to share it around? There are a number of reasons the Bible gives:

1. To be holy in order to see the Lord. Heb 12:14 says, “Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.”
2. To gain righteousness. Jam 3:18 says, “Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.”
3. Because it pleases God. Rom 14:17-19 says, “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit, because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men. Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.”
4. It is our calling. 1 Cor 7:15 says God has called us to live in peace.
5. To be called a child of God. Matt 5:9 says, “Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called children of God.”

Why do we want to be called children of God? Apart from the obvious, (that we want to live eternally with Him and become heirs of His kingdom) He simply desires us to be. Eph 1:5 says, “He predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will.”

It’s interesting to point out that making peace, is not always going to look peaceful straight away. Jesus Himself stated (in a different context) that He did not come to bring peace, but a sword (Matt 10:34). While Jesus came to bring peace between God and humans, not all humans will readily sign up for ‘Team Jesus’, and so there’s bound to be conflict between humans. There has to be some wrestling, some ‘to-and-fro’ if we are to arrive at true peace. In this way, it is easy to see how being a peacekeeper is simply not enough.

To become peacemakers, let us look to Jesus, the ultimate example of how to live our lives. In 1 Pet 2:23 it says, “When they hurled insults at Him, He did not retaliate; when He suffered, He made no threats. Instead, He entrusted Himself to Him Who judges justly.”

It is so easy to retaliate. It’s what our human nature instantly wants to do when we have been hurt or attacked in some way. But it is not up to us to judge and punish those who wrong us. It is for us to walk away and pray about it, and God will deal with it in His way. Easier said than done, and how often do we put it into practice? It really is something when Jesus didn’t retaliate to the things that were done to Him. Why is it so hard for us? Why, in the heat of the moment, can’t we do it? Well, we can… by the Holy Spirit!

Galatians 5:16-18 says, “So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh… But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law of sin.” And to be Spirit-led is to be a child of God (Rom 8:14-15).

So be a peacemaker, not just a peacekeeper. Be active. Be the one to reconcile, love, and forgive on purpose, pray for your enemies as well as your friends, and by doing these things, you will usher God’s true peace into the world, promote the kingdom of God, and of course, become sons and daughters of the living God.