The Holy Spirit of God is a truly powerful force.  She is the fundamental source of access to God, our creator.  (I use She because the Hebrew word for spirit is ruach and is feminine in gender).  God’s Holy Spirit is the one power that collectively unites us with God in a way that removes those human-made barriers that have kept us apart as a human family.

         I once served alongside a part-time secretary during a season of church transition.  We needed temporary help, and through a temp agency she came to work with us.  She was Jewish, and in the course of conversation I told her that, before I came to know the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, I had lived as a heathen.  I shared that through Christ I had come to know God in a new and life-giving way.  Her reply stayed with me. She simply said, “I’ve never been a heathen.”  She did not speak with pride or contempt, but with the quiet assurance of someone who had always understood herself to belong to God through her heritage.  In that moment, I sensed the gentle truth of the Spirit: the real difference between us was not whether God was present, but how the Spirit, in grace, tears down the walls that separate us and draws us together as one.

         It was the Spirit of God’s grace present in Jesus Christ that abolished the law with its commandments.  And it was put into effect as God shared the Holy Spirit with each of us regardless of the law and its commandments.  It came only by grace through faith and the faithfulness of God’s promises.  This was only possible as Jesus took on the role of God’s perfect sacrifice for all humanity demolishing the hostility created by those who were inside —near —  and those who were outside — far off.  His act of love bridged the gap of separation from God and truly made us one in the Spirit and one in the Lord, allowing us to experience the fullness of God.

• How has your reconciliation to God through grace helped you to know that you are now a part of God’s family, totally accepted?
• What does it feel like to realize that you are totally loved by God through God’s grace in Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit who embraces you?

Todays Prayer

Today’s Prayer —
Almighty God, You have empowered me by Your Holy Spirit to experience all of You. Enable me to always know the fullness of the unity of Your life in me and my life in You.

         The idea of becoming Christ-like — of reflecting a unified spirit of love for one another, sympathy, humility of mind, and a spirit of caring and compassion are growing edges for most people.  It’s especially true because it calls for a reversal in mindset of almost everything we’re taught growing up.  Growing up, we’re taught to stand up for ourselves.  Upon being united with Christ and the Spirit, we’re expected to stand up for Christ.  We’re previously taught to hate our enemies, yet the way of Christ tells us to love our enemies and to pray for those who abuse us.  The way of Christ is so vastly different from what has become a traditional expectation of culture that it pushes and pulls us in a direction that is uncommon for us.  And yet, that is the challenge that we face as God’s people representing Jesus Christ.  Putting the whole package of God together in these human vessels is what allows others to see, and experience all of God.  Blessing others is our gift to the world.  Inheriting God’s blessing is God’s gift to us.

• How has embracing the Holy Spirit and the fullness of God’s being challenged you to become more Christlike?
• What are some of your continued growing edges as you continue your journey to become more Christlike?

Todays Prayer

Today’s Prayer —
Gracious God, let my life be a blessing to everyone I encounter as a reflection of a Christlike Spirit so they may know the unity of Your Spirit through kindness, mercy and grace.

         One of our greatest challenges in the Christian faith is putting aside our divisions about our personal lives (political, denominational, ethnic, racial, sexual, gender, age, etc.) and our Christian life (the life worthy of the gospel) so that we can stand unified in the Spirit of Christ without those divisions.  It seems odd that we have not adopted our commandment to deny ourselves — those things which keep us separate from fully following Christ.  It is possible for us to disagree about certain things (strategies, priorities, goals, etc.) while at the same time working together to enable others to know and experience the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit.  Yet, we must first come to a place of understanding that our God is not divided but realized in God’s full reality — that God the creator, Jesus Christ the Son, and the Holy Spirit are all in agreement.  Our role is to join with our God in the unity of the Spirit and to begin living out the unity of the Spirit of the God we profess.

• When have you experienced the church (individually or collectively) working together in the unity of the Spirit of Christ without division?
• What were the benefits of working together through the power and unity of the Spirit with others?

Todays Prayer

Today’s Prayer —
Holy God, empower me to put aside my personal agenda so that my life reflects the unity of the Spirit and the grace under which I am imprisoned.