It’s not often that we think of ourselves as prisoners of Christ.  The term prisoner has such a negative overtone that we try to rid ourselves of any notion that we would be prisoners — somehow locked up like we were convicted of a crime.  But to be imprisoned by Christ is another thing altogether.  To be held captive by the love of God who gave his life for us is not a negative or a horrible situation.  To be imprisoned by Christ is to know where God is each and every hour.  It is truly to know that God is always with us and that we are always with God.  It is to know that even if we are called to suffer, we experience that suffering within the grace of God.  It is the Spirit of God that feels our pain, suffering with us as Christ suffered, and yet is glorified in that suffering as Christ is glorified.  To be imprisoned is to be so closely connected to God that we acknowledge that our God is watching over us at all times.  It’s why David could say, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, thou art with me.”  It’s an imprisonment that allows us to know that there are no circumstances in which we aren’t always connected to God through Christ and the Spirit.  It’s in its entire relationship what it means to live with faith — to always have an awareness of the presence of God by the Spirit.

• When have you felt the presence of the Spirit of God at times when you’ve least expected it?
• How does knowing that God is present with you at those times assure you that God is there with you and not far away?

Todays Prayer

Today’s Prayer —
Gracious God, empower me to experience the fullness of Your Holy Spirit so that as Christ’s prisoner, I always know You are here.

         The faith community is constantly bombard with questions about the reality of God.  They would like us to point to God so that God might be seen with our eyes.  That we look for God to be revealed in tangible places that we can point to and see with our eyes is — in some ways — a curiosity of the mind and spirit.  It’s not that we all believe that God can’t be found.  It’s that we have yet to believe and act as if God is present within us.  The entire act of giving ourselves over to Christ is an invitation to invite people to discover that God is alive and has taken up residence inside each of us.  And yes, it is God’s Spirit that has filled us.  But it is the indwelling of that Holy Spirit that is present to engage people who don’t know God to discover the reality of God in us and to live a life worthy of what it means to be so intimately connected to the Spirit of God.

         Perhaps, unlike Paul, we have yet to become prisoners in the lord, doing what God would have us to do — living a life worthy of the calling to which we have been called — into a loving relationship with the fullness of God revealing itself in our love for one another.  And maybe it’s not that God is hard to find.  But maybe God is so hard to find because we’re searching for the Spirit of God everywhere else but inside of us.  And until we can become prisoners for the Lord, those who choose another way, will always be searching for something that is already right here with us.  God is everywhere present.  So, of all the places the wholeness of God can be found, God is also here — in the fullness of God’s Spirit — seeking to become a living reality alongside us and living inside each of us leading, guiding, and helping us to live lives worthy of the Lord’s calling.

• How would you help others understand that the wholeness of God is with you helping you to live a life worthy of being called a Christian?
• As you examine your calling, what can you do to more greatly exhibit the presence of God in your life?

Todays Prayer

Today’s Prayer —
Holy and loving God, through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit we have now realized and experienced the fullness of Your presence in all of its glory. Let us so live that Your full glory may be revealed in each of us.

         The absence of the Holy Spirit from humanity was a long dry season.  To believe that God would use the words of Jesus to quench the parched dry spiritual throats of those thirsting for relief was something that had been desired for centuries.  In his presence, he represented the very Spirit of God present among the people.  And his ability to quench the spiritual thirsts of people is as powerful today as it was when he spoke those words.  And yet, there are still those who would rather die of thirst than trust that Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit are the answer to their life’s dilemma.  They continue to deny who he is and drink from the source of His Holy Spirit to find the relief that we all need.  We only need to come and drink, quenching our thirst for spiritual water, able to meet the diverse needs of any and all who are willing to come.

Todays Prayer

Today’s Prayer —
Holy God, refresh my spirit by the presence of Your Spirit dwelling within me. Let me drink as I have need, realizing that only You can quench my thirst.