Recipes forLiving Holy Spirit

In the 2002 Disciplines (pg. 68) the writer tells of a performance given by youth. One person was supposedly preaching, "Jesus died for your sins!" To which another youth asked, "Yeh, but what has he done for me lately?"

The Holy Spirit is what Jesus has done for us lately. When he was about to leave his disciples, he assured them that although he would not be with them in the way he had been. Even better, he would send his Spirit "to be with you forever. You know him because he abides with you, and he will be in you."1 Jesus could be only one place at any one time, but his Spirit could be everywhere at all times. When Jesus was on earth, he could delegate power but when he was gone, his Spirit would fill the disciples with power. It happened, and indeed they were able to do all that Jesus did and more.3 It is revealed throughout the book of Acts. Jesus said,"To be with you forever." The power has not lessened. Jesus continues to guide, direct, and give special abilities to all who believe and accept.4

The Holy Spirit is a member of the Trinity- God, the Father; Jesus, the Son; and the Spirit of the Father and Son.5 The word "trinity" is not used in the Bible but inferred. In Jesus' closing words in Matthew's Gospel, he commissions his followers to go and make disciples, "baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." In the closing of2 Corinthians, Paul wrote, "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you."6 This is to say that while God is one7, God has made himself known in three ways- in nature, in history, and in experience.

The hymn "Holy, Holy, Holy" speaks of God in three persons. The Holy Spirit is often referred to as "the third person of the Trinity." An explanation has related this to the early Greek theater with which people of those centuries would have been familiar. They were accustomed to various characters playing several roles. What distinguished one from another was the use of masks, "persona." The audience recognized the role being played by the mask that was worn. It is not our word "person" that comes from it. The "persona" was the mask. Thus, God in three "masks," God playing three roles, is the Trinity. In the Old Testament God is Creator, involved in the history of the Israelites; in the New Testament God is revealed in Jesus. But it would all be history without the continuing presence -the experience - of the Holy Spirit.

Each member of the Trinity has always been and always will be. "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the

surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters."8 The Old Testament · acknowledges the work of the spirit in two men who prophesied- as Samuel anointed Saul, the first king of Israel; in Ezra's prayer reminding his hearers about God's blessings on them, and in Isaiah’s testimony.9 The spirit is mentioned also by Elihu in his criticism of Job, and by a psalmist. 10 in the New Testament the Holy Spirit was part of the angel's announcement to Mary, he anointed Jesus for ministry, infilled and led Jesus, and was his prompter. 11

John the Baptist acknowledged that his mission was to prepare the way of the Lord. He preached repentance for the forgiveness of sins, and baptized many people who came out to hear him. Jesus also came for baptism and John differentiated between his baptism with water and the baptism of Jesus, which would be the baptism with the Holy Spirit. 12 What is the baptism with the Holy Spirit? Tommy Tyson, leader at Conferences on the Holy Spirit, defined it as an experience or an event in a person's life by which they come to know, or become more constantly aware of the presence, the person, or the power of the risen Christ.

After Pentecost, Peter closed his sermon with the exhortation and the promise, "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are far away, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to him."13 The section dealing with the church illustrates how instrumental the Holy Spirit was in its formation and the promise of the continuing presence would indicate that the body of Christ14 still has this access.

The reluctance to receive the Holy Spirit has in some cases been caused by impressions left from "Holy Roller" days when recipients were known to react in extreme ways. There are many factors involved. There is the "atmosphere" of evangelistic meetings which sometimes lead to emotional highs. There are also the expectations that the evidence of receiving the Spirit would be such manifestations, which must have been the case at the first Pentecost. 15 But notice the way the Spirit came to Saul (Paul). 16

The Holy Spirit is the spirit of God who created us individually and gave us free will. Is it not more consistent to think of him as respecting what has been God-given and building on rather than overpowering that? The Holy Spirit is the spirit of God who is love! 17 The Holy

8 Gen. 1:1-2 NIV, Living Bible, RSV

9 Num. 11:26; 1 Sam. 10:5-6; Neh. 9:20; Isa. 48:16

10 Job 33:4; Ps. 139:7

11 Luke 1:35; Mark 1:10; Isa. 11:2; Luke 4:18

12 Mark 1:1-9

13 Acts 2:38-39

14 Eph. 1:22-23

15 Acts 2:1-8, 12-13

16 Acts 9:3-6, 17-19

17 1 John 4:8

In the May, 2002 issue of Billy Graham's "Decision" magazine is an article that asks, "Why do we need to be filled with the Holy Spirit?" and answers that it is an absolute necessity because living the Christian life is not just difficult, living the Christian life is impossible. The standards that are set for us as God's people are not just high and holy. They are high and impossible." 19

Jesus said, "Be ye perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect."20 "Impossible," we say but would Jesus have asked us to do something we cannot do? The Spirit he left is the Spirit of the perfect Father and the perfect Son to fill us and if we are filled with that Spirit, which is the spirit of love, we will be recreated.21

In the United Methodist tradition is John Wesley's doctrine of perfection. Those being ordained are asked, "Are you going on to perfection?" One young man, feeling very humble at that point, answered "No." The Bishop asked, "Then where in the world are you going?" John Wesley wrote that while we will probably not become perfect in actions or expressions, the issue is to become perfect in love. "By perfection I mean the humble, gentle, patient love of God and our neighbor, ruling our tempers, words and actions."22

Leonard Sweet asks, "If we are so miraculously empowered, why does the church continue to come across like some 98 pound wimp on the beach? Could it be because so few of us have taken this power, unleashed it, and released it into our lives? Just like bodybuilders and other serious athletes who commit a portion of every day to toning their muscles and strengthening their endurance, so Spirit-powered Christians must get into a daily regimen to keep the power flowing...We need to build into every day a time with God in Bible reading, prayer, and service."23

Revelation closes with, "Come, Lord Jesus," anticipating his return. To help us until that time, we might well pray, "Come, Holy Spirit."

20 Matt. 5:48. Old Testament: "Be holy, for I, the Lord am holy." Lev. 11:44

22 John Wesley, A Plain Account of Christian Perfection, Epworth Press, 1952

23 Leonard Sweet, A Cup of Coffee at the Soul Cafe, Broadman & Holman Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee, 1998

An angel ministered to Hagar when she had given up hope for herself and her child...to Elijah when he had fled for his life having been threatened by Jezebel. ..to Jesus after his 40 days of temptation and in the Garden of Gethsemane...and to Paul, who was at sea, in danger of shipwreck.6 These are only a few of the many angel interventions mentioned in the Bible.

It is through knowing about angels that the answer can be found to the question, "Where has evil come from? Did God create evil?" No, at the close of creation God "saw everything that God had made and it was very good."7 God created Lucifer, the highest angel, but God gave angels, like humans, the freedom to choose. Lucifer's high position corrupted him as it has many humans. Isaiah wrote, "How you are fallen from heaven, 0 Day Star, son of Dawn!...You said in your heart, 'I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God. I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will make myself like the Most High."' And the angels who made the same choice are with him. "The angels that did not keep their own position but left their proper dwelling have been kept by him in eternal chains in the nether gloom."8 .

It becomes evident in the Garden of Eden account that here is the basis of all sin. Satan's representative is a snake, the closest to earth of all creatures, and his proposal to Eve was that by eating the forbidden fruit, "You will become like God"- precisely Satan's downfall. 9 This is

1 Broadman and Holman Publishers, Nashville, TN:, 1998

2 Neh. 9:6; Job 38:4-7

3 Heb. 12:22; Rev. 5:11

4 2 Sam. 14:20b; Luke 15:10; 1 Tim. 5:21

5 Eph. 3:10; Matt. 18:10; 1 Tim. 5:21; Heb. 1:14; Acts 7:53; of persons: Exo. 23:23; Ps.
91:11-12; Ps. 34:7; of churches: Rev. 1:20; of nations Dan. 2:21; at death Luke 16:22

6 Gen. 21:14-19; 1 Kings 19:5-7; Matt. 4:11; Luke 22:43; Acts 27:21-24

7 Gen. 1:31

8 Isa. 14:12-14; Jude 5-7

9 Gen. 3:5

the nature of all sin, then and now. God has known each of his created from the beginning. You are "fearfully and wonderfully made...In (God's) book were written all the days that were formed for (you) when none of them as yet existed."10 The choice has been given whether you and I will follow God's plan or fall to the same temptation that was too strong for Lucifer/Satan, and "become god" of our own lives. Morton Kelsey wrote, "It is easier to be god than to have one."

Interestingly, evil personified as Satan was not a part of early Jewish thought. He is named in the book of Job, which is perhaps the oldest book in the Bible, as one of the heavenly beings.11 The Jews attributed all power to God. "The Lord kills and brings to life; he brings down to Sheol and raises up. The Lord makes poor and makes rich; he brings low, he also exalts... He changes times and seasons, deposes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding." God had power over evil spirits. "The spirit of the Lord departed from (King) Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord tormented him."12

In 598-597 B.C. the people of Judah and the city of Jerusalem were taken into exile to Babylonia. It was that culture that attributed evil to the figure of the devil, Satan, and Jesus acknowledged him, as did the New Testament writers. Jesus spoke of failure to accept the God given role as "falling." He said, "I saw Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning." Of Capernaum, where Jesus made his home and did marvelous works, he declared, "Will you be exalted to heaven? No, you will be brought down to Hades."13

It was the devil whom Jesus resisted in his temptation. It was evil or unclean spirits that were at the heart of peoples' infirmities, and Jesus drove them out. It was the devil, Satan, whom Jesus defeated on the cross. 14

If it is easy to disregard this evidence and attribute reality of angels to a long-ago past, please read on: In the summer of 1992, the plan for the Osceola United Methodist Sunday School was to combine all adult classes and have "mini-courses" on various topics. Laurie Clark suggested that I do one on angels. The recruiter who called to ask me to do this concluded with, "I don't know where you will find material." I had already gathered the foregoing information and when I mentioned to various people what I would be doing, often they would respond. "Oh, let me tell you what happened to me!" Person after person told of an experience he or she had with the unseen world in a time of their desperate need, but they had been hesitant to tell anyone for fear of being considered strange. These are a few of the many I collected:

Before moving to Osceola, Rich Stephens and Mary, who became our church secretary, lived in Oklahoma. Mary applied for a job in Bartlesville, and was on her way to an interview in territory unfamiliar to her. At a T-intersection, she turned the wrong way, and as she started back she had a flat tire. In her words, "What would I do? I was in the middle of nowhere. My interview was in 15 minutes. I was in heels and dress clothes. I considered walking but there was nowhere to walk to." At that moment, she heard a vehicle coming up behind her. "Oh no!

10 Ps. 139:14, 16

11 Job 1:6

12 1 Sam. 2:6-7; Dan. 2:21; 1 Sam. 16:14

13 Latter chapters of II Kings; Luke 10:18, 15.

14 Matt. 4:1-11; Mark 1:23-26; Luke 7:21; Rev. 12:9

I confess that I imagined the worse. I didn't know if I wanted the driver to stop but I was desperate and flagged him down."

The driver was a lady who said that she was from Skiatook on her way to a meeting in Barnsdall. She offered to take Mary to a phone and when they turned a corner, here was a rural home that Mary hadn't noticed. The family was home. They allowed her to use the phone to call Rich who came and took her to the interview. "When I turned to thank the lady, she was gone! She had simply vanished! At that point I could see for miles in every direction and there was no sign of her! I got to the interview on time. It went well, and I got the job. Later I looked up the towns of Skiatook and Barnsdall. Both are south of Bartlesville, so there is no explanation for why she was on the north side of the city, on a road to nowhere."

Author Hope McDonald confirmed that angels may appear ordinary human beings. Another friend, Linda, believes that she had just such an experience on a routine trip to a gas station. It was a terrible time in her life. She had been abandoned by her husband who had become involved with his receptionist. Their two children were not coping well. In the small town where we all lived, it was common knowledge and gossip for adults and school children.

Linda was not accustomed to being concerned with details of car care. On this particular day an attendant she had not seen before filled her gas tank then asked if he should check the oil. She agreed and he checked further telling her that her brake fluid was dangerously low. She told him to take care of it and greatly appreciated this degree of service she had never experienced before. She made a mental note to make sure that he took care of her needs from that point on but she never saw him again. She considers him an angel who prevented a possibly lifeendangering situation.

I have a young friend who has set challenging goals for herself. After graduating from college, she set off for New York to make a career for herself. She has done well but along the way there have been many disappointments, frustrations, and hours of loneliness. One day she was desperately low in spirit and prayed that God would give her some kind of communication so that she might know she was not as utterly alone as she seemed to be.

About that time a friend called to ask her to come spend the evening. She agreed, caught the subway, and took one of several vacant seats. Beside her was a man reading a newspaper. She noted only that he was foreign-looking. They rode in silence as was customary but suddenly he nudged her and said, "Read this." He pointed to a one-frame cartoon that showed a disheveled,· discouraged-looking man sitting outside a door on which were the words, "Help Wanted." The caption read, "Anyone who has not succeeded has not really tried."

My friend was about to turn to the man but just then they reached the 42nd Street stop. He folded his paper and left the train, but as he reached the door, he turned to her and smiled and disappeared into the night. Was this an angel sent by God to answer her prayer? Whatever the explanation that was what he did.

There are persons for whom angels have become visible in the form artists have depicted them. A friend recently widowed took flowers to her husband's grave on their wedding anniversary. She glanced up and saw, just beyond a tombstone, a beautiful angel. Just at that moment a car drove up and when she looked again, the angel was gone.

The book Angels on Assignment tells the experiences of a pastor, Roland Buck, who was occasionally visited by two angels. Their message was that these are the end times and God appointed him to take a message to the world. The bottom line is, "God cares." Things may look dark but God wants us to know he is in control.

Of particular interest are the signs that the end is near---“people will be lovers of them- selves, lovers of money, boasters, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy...lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God..."15 The angels told Pastor Buck that Satan is aware of this and is making a desperate attempt to overthrow God's reign and thwart his desire. He is doing this by destroying what is dearest to God's heart- the home. (Look around.)

The most climactic moment of my preparation for the mini course was when I was asked, "Would you like a photograph of an angel?" This led to my having, on the wall of my home, a gorgeous color photograph of a gigantic angel. The background story is that a local girl had graduated from college with a degree that prepared her for social work. She took a position in an inner city, where she felt that God wanted her to be. However, she became a victim of much crime. She was physically and emotionally exhausted as she drove home to spend some time with her family and re-examine her life's choices. Was this really what God wanted her to do? She obviously had not been protected - where was God when she needed him? Was God a reality or just a figment of her own wishful thinking?

It was an unusually bright night, and as she drove past a pond, she was impressed by the night sky reflected in the water. She had a new camera which she was only learning to use. It had no flash attachment but she decided to stop to take a picture of the reflection. When it was developed, it was interesting enough that she sent it to a photography contest and won a prize. It was only when the magazine printed it that she began receiving letters asking if she had noticed the angel. Like others who may not see it at first glance, once the angel figure emerged, it became the focal point. Without question, she was being watched over as she traveled. Since that time, her life has turned around. She did not return to the city but has found ways to serve her Lord through other ventures.

If we would choose to have angels in our lives, suggest that we simply be watchful. Were you or I spared from what could have been an accident? Did it just happen to happen or was there divine intervention? Are there coincidences, or are situations arranged by unseen hands that nudge at the appropriate time. If we go to bed with an unsolved problem on our minds and know the answer when we awake in the morning, do we take the credit or is there more to the story?

And if angels are real, what of the evil spirits? I cast my vote for their reality as well and believe they are invited into our lives by negative thoughts and actions - lack of love in all its dimensions - uncaring, unforgiveness, resentment, greed, and all else that Jesus warned against. Think about it.

THE BIBLE

This is without a doubt the most incredible book that ever has been written. “Scripture offers us lasting wisdom in an ever-changing world."1 It is a most astonishing fact that two thousand years have gone since Jesus was on earth, perhaps another 1,250 since God gave the commandments to Moses on Mount Sinai. Considering all the changes in cultures and practices over the course of all that time, how can it be that the Bible's basic wisdom is still valid? It is!

The Bible, of course, is not a book but a collection of books written by various authors over the course of several centuries, and yet there are common threads or themes that can be traced throughout the books. One of them is the “covenant" relationship between God and God's people. A covenant is a contract or a testament and thus the division into the Old and New Testaments are actually the old and new covenants God has made with God's people.2

In the Old Testament is the law and history of the Jewish people. The term Judea Christian is often used in referring to our faith. The books that we have are far from the only set of law or histories that have been written, but we have accepted those of the Jews, and believe that the covenant made with Abraham and his promised offspring refers to Isaac and Jacob, in stead of his son Ishmael.3 Therein lie the roots of the on-going conflict between Jews and Arabs.

It is interesting to note that the word "Jew" refers to both a race and a religion, and that their religion and their government were one. Thus the law (contained in the first five books of the Bible) is both civil and religious, and the history (from Joshua through JI Chronicles) is the record of the nation's formation. Also included is their song book (Psalms), a section called Writings (which includes wisdom in Proverbs and others through Song of Solomon), words of their prophets (from Isaiah through Malachi), and in the New Testament is the fulfillment of. God's promise of a new covenant. "A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit will put within you...and you shall be my people, and I will be your God. I will save you from your uncleannesse’s..." This was accomplished through the blood of Jesus. The New Testament is the account of his life, death, resurrection and ascension, and the emerging of the church as the ongoing ministry of his followers.4

Because the Bible is a library, it is unlike other books in which we begin at the beginning and expect them to be sequential. My learning to read it with depth was in steps. First, in a weekly Bible study I learned to read less with the intellect and more with the spirit or feeling. What were the circumstances the author is addressing? What is he attempting to say? Years later the second step was the advice not to read it as history but in the present tense and consider that everything that was true then is true now, and the third step was reading it not as something that one time happened to someone else, but to look into it like a mirror to see my own life reflected there. See what this approach does to the first chapters of Genesis.

Creation: The Biblical account of how the world came to be is not concerned with how, what, and when, but with who and why. Who brought it about? Who brought me about? Why

1 Stephen Prentice, March/April 2002, Upper Room Daily Devotional Guide

2 Noah, Gen. 9:11-13; Abram, Gen. 17:1-3; Isaac, Gen. 17:19b; the Israelites, Exo. 19:5.

3 Gen. 17:4-8; 28:13-14

4 Ezek. 36:26-29; 1 Cor. 11:23-25; the Acts of the Apostles and letters by apostles

Temptation: Adam was not only the first man, he is every man and Eve is the ''mother of all"- that is, she is a type of you and me. We are not paying for their sin, each person is accountable to God.7 Satan appeared to Eve in the form of a serpent, the closest to earth of all creatures, but temptation comes in a variety of forms always to challenge us to defy God's rule in our lives. "You will be like God,'' that is, you will have authority over your life. Life will be centered in you!8

Compromise: And Eve (and we) succumbed. She ate the fruit, and her earthiness, which Paul Called "the flesh" is revealed as she saw the fruit which delighted her eyes and overcame her awareness of having been made in God’s image. And she gave some to Adam and he ate (we influence one another). Then, in the cool of the day when God came to fellowship with them, they realized their guilt, attempted to cover their shame, and hid. When confronted, they each blamed the other

Consequences: Life was not as it had been. They knew evil, as you and I know evil best when we have given in to temptation.10 We touch the hot stove we have been warned not to touch, and the result is pain. But there is another kind of pain- the pangs of conscience which often come "in the cool of the day" when we face ourselves and God.

Disobedience (sin) separates us from God but God still has the last word. To replace the inadequate fig leaves, God sacrificed his animals and made for them garments of skin. 11

Read in this way, the first three chapters of Genesis reveal the_ nature of God, of humanity, and of temptation; the definition and consequences of sin, and the Christ-like sacrifice to cover sin. "He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.12

Another step in understanding the Bible came when I attempted to rewrite the gospel in

terms little children could understand. It suddenly occurred to me that what we often fail to consider is that there are two parts of us – the body and the soul, and it makes a difference whether we consider that we are a body and have a soul, or we are a soul that has a body. To which do we give precedence?

When we become acquainted with Biblical characters we see many whose concentration was solely upon the body. Jacob was able to trick Esau out of his family birthright and his father's blessing for a meal of stew. Samson, to whom God had given exceptional strength, fell in love with Delilah, a girl of the Philistines, who were enemies of the Hebrews. Time and again he allowed himself to be tricked, and, in spite of knowing she was unfaithful, he finally confided in her the source of his strength. The men seized him, cut his hair, blinded him, and forced him to grind mill in their prison.13

Is this a mirror? You and I were made in the image of the divine Lord and given a body. We were made, in fact, "a little lower than the angels." Have we, too, traded away that which is eternal for that which is temporary- the soul for the body? Have we been enticed by enemy force, compromised ourselves and used our talents to win favors of those who may trick and . deceive, betray and leave us, at the cost of our souls? Do we feel ourselves spending our days chained to daily drudgery, going round and round in tasks that were not God-designed?14

It behooves us to realize that although we spend a major portion of our time and money feeding, dressing, entertaining, and comforting the body, it will drop off at death and the soul will go on. "We brought nothing into the world so we can take nothing out of it," Paul wrote to Timothy. "All our days pass away under your wrath; our years come to an end like a sigh... they are soon gone and we fly away...the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the breath returns to God who gave it."15

Even though it is not generally recommended that the books of the Bible be read in sequence, a group benefitted greatly from a study of the Genesis to Revelation series. In eight years, between 1983 to 1991, we went verse by verse, chapter by chapter, book by book through the entire Bible. That study revealed some fascinating truths that are permanent and observable: (1) that life is progression and continually evolving. Whatever else Paul was inferring, he stated that it is not the spiritual that is first but the physical and then the spiritual. 16 This is true in our personal lives as well as Biblically. In that study we came to see that the Old Testament is not irrelevant but actually lays the foundation for and gives a greater depth of understanding of the New. Jesus testified of its importance. He based his life's mission on Isaiah 61:1-2, which he quoted in Luke 4:18-19. He declared that his life would fulfill the Old Testament prophesies.17 The depth of significance of his dying as the sacrificial Lamb is in the institution of the Passover.18

When read from cover to cover, the group discovered the progression from the physical to the spiritual, or the concrete to the abstract. The manna was the food God provided as the Israelites were on their trek to the Promised Land. In the New Testament, Jesus said of himself, "I am the bread of life."19 When they thirsted, God provided water from the rock; and Paul said, "The Rock was Christ," who promised to give living water.20 The tabernacle of the wanderers became a temple in Jerusalem, but in the New Testament, Paul wrote "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you?"21

In the physical life, we are born and progress from infancy to childhood, to adolescence, to adulthood and, hopefully, maturity. The spiritual life follows precisely the same pattern. Jesus said, "Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God...Ye must be born again.” 22 Paul wrote to the church in Corinth that he must address them as infants, for they were not ready for the meat of the gospel; but the goal is to reach spiritual maturity. 23 May it be the goal of every Christian to grow to maturity in love, which John Wesley called "going on to perfection."