Thought for Today
Isaiah 43:1 But now thus says the LORD, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.
Jeremiah 31:2 Thus says the LORD: The people who survived the sword found grace in the wilderness; when Israel sought for rest,
2 Corinthians 12:9 but he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness." So, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.
Ephesians 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God--
Yup, still thinking this morning about the Holy Spirit and Pentecost. I’ve mentioned previously that I often read from 3 different devotionals each morning. I’m very fond of These Days, but I also read from Daily Devotions with William Barclay and from I Want to Live These Days with You, based on the writings of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Sometimes they parallel each other; sometimes there is no correlation among the 3; other times they prompt me to view an issue from 3 different but complementary perspectives.
I mentioned that the theme for this week in These Days is “The Spirit Among Them.” The daily devotion is titled “Language Matters.” Today’s devotional in Barclay is titled “The Final Proof of Love.” In Bonhoeffer today’s devotional is titled "What is Grace?” I read the 3 devotionals today in the order those titles are presented. My mind immediately began to assemble all 3 around Bonhoeffer’s question and how this whole issue revolves around God’s provision of the Holy Spirit.
Interestingly, the word grace does not appear frequently in the Old Testament. When I did a word search in my Bible software, I only found the word in Psalm 45:2, Jeremiah 31:2 and Zechariah 4:7. Most of the appearances of the word grace in the Bible are in the New Testament. Yet, to me, the entire Bible is a demonstration of God’s gift of grace to God’s people. My Westminster Dictionary of Theological Terms defines Bible as “The canonical writings accepted as normative for a religious faith. In Christianity, the Old Testament (Hebrew Scriptures) and the New Testament comprise the Bible. Theologically, the Bible is acknowledged in the church as a revelation from God.” I believe the Bible itself and all God reveals to us in the Bible are examples of and witness to God’s grace.
In his devotional, Bonhoeffer says of grace, “It speaks of an event beyond all worlds and wants to draw us away from our own world to another. A dark abyss opens up, and a voice commands: Jump across. I will catch you and hold you fast.” As I read that, I thought to add in my mind, God also offers us the Holy Spirit to buoy us across that abyss, to guide us to the other side.
The Holy Spirit, however, is much more than our safety net across the void between this world and “thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Barclay reminds me that God’s gift of the Holy Spirit is transformative in my own life. He wrote, “The fact that Jesus Christ died for us is the final proof of God’s love . . . The saved sinner cannot go on being a sinner, but must become good. Christ’s death changed our status: his risen life changes our state. . .The change of our status is justification: that is where the whole saving process begins. The change of our state is sanctification: that is where the saving process goes on, and never ends, until we see him fact to face and are like him.”
These Days reminds me that, in truth, the Holy Spirit is among us, and language does matter. Pentecost reminds us of all that and more. Pentecost reminds us of God’s love as much as does John 3:16. For me, Pentecost is a reminder that in this world, I am never alone, never abandoned, never without the resources to face whatever challenges this world throws my way. God, through God’s grace has not only offered me the gift of salvation, God has offered me the Holy Spirit to work within me to help me change my state, to sanctify me. Each year, I am reminded that my transformation is an ongoing process. I am reminded of a sometimes-seen T-shirt reading “Be patient, God is not finished with me yet.” Or, maybe another, “Not perfect, just forgiven.”
The Holy Spirit is among us. The Holy Spirit is right beside us to comfort us and to remind us to whom we belong. God has called us all by name, we are his.
Stay safe, be reminded of whose you are, trust God,
Pastor Ray