Live by the Spirit (4) Asking

This weeks focus is on "Asking the Holy Spirit what he wants you to do today, sometimes it is only one thing - the Spirit rarely overwhelms us with demands"

It seems novel doesn't it? To Live by the Spirit you listen to it. So why do I find it hard to say to God - “send your Holy Spirit” or “Speak Lord your servant is listening?”

But remember "To be controlled by human nature results in death; to be controlled by the Spirit results in life and peace." Romans 8.6

Perhaps the answer is in conquering our human nature. Again I would say this is not about turning our lives into a joyless dry landscape. The fruits of the Spirit are love, peace and joy. So it stands to reason that when we live more by the Spirit we have more and more of these things in our life. But in order to get to that stage we need to take instructions "to develop a listening ear" for the sweet sound of the Lord's voice on our life saying "this is the way walk in it." With the London 2012 Olympics playing out on our TV screens at present it is easy to draw the comparison to the training of athletes. Listening to an interview yesterday I heard described the training regime of a medal winner in swimming. In order to win you need to get in the water daily.... I would say to you "wade in the Spirit's water daily."

So in your prayer time pause and let the Spirits voice find it's way to you in the peace. Give up the idea that the dialogue with God can happen in a five minute slot that you assign to him first thing in the morning before you brush your teeth! Our God is a very demanding lover and wants more of you than that. What you need to do is give in! Let him have a say in your life - no longer block him out. To block out is from your human nature and is a way of holding God at arm's length so that he cannot influence you with his contagious loving kindness.

Of course we need to discern the Spirit's voice when we hear it. But if it is saying things that ask you to be loving, compassionate, or a builder of relationships then you must be hearing the voice of our God who saves. The one who builds and never diminishes us. The Spirit will never ask us to break or destroy, that voice is the deceiver's voice and the deceiver wants the opposite of what God wants.

You might say how will I know if I get it right? The answer is in the doing. If God tells you to phone a friend and listen to them for half an hour. If you obey and get it wrong God will still honour the fact that you obeyed.

I had the honour of meeting a sweet Benedictine monk once. His name was Fr Ian Petit and he was one of the pioneers of the Charismatic Renewal in the Catholic Church. He was such a kind man. He was fond of reminding us that the scripture doesn't say  "listen Lord your servant is speaking" it says "speak Lord your servant is listening."

We need to dare to believe that God has a purpose and a plan for our lives. That he wants more of us than what we currently give. That he will bless us when we take steps in faith. We need to dare to believe in the loving kindness of "the heart of our God" and let it influence our actions. You can do no wrong by trying to bless another person's life if you do it with kindness and grace.

We are all fellow pilgrims on a journey into the heart of God. I pray that I can remember that. Pilgrims share the good things that they have with others on the journey and don't hide their bread from one another.

Dear Lord, let me listen to your voice. Send again your Holy Spirit to my life, renewing it and refreshing it. Let me be gentle. Amen

Live by the Spirit (3) - Time spent in the Word

Time spent in the Word feeds our spirit and challenges us.

Sometimes God uses something earthly to teach you something heavenly! I remember in the 1970s in a Café style meeting when a young woman insisted on reading the bible to me, passage after passage, eventually literally sitting on my feet whilst she did so. She prayed that the Holy Spirit would fill me with a love for the Word. Her insistence and prayer has been answered. But it amuses me that God had to use an attractive woman to get my attention so He could get the point through to me.

Now God may not be using that luxury this day with you but chances are he will find some way in your life of speaking to your heart.

Let me assure you that it is my lived experience that there is power in the Word of God, the kind of heart changing power that can only come from God himself.

For the sake of clarity I will explain that when we talk about the Word we mean "the Word of God" or the Bible. Christians believe that the bible is inspired by God - inspired in the sense that God has breathed spiritual power into it. It is a Spiritually true account of humankind's faith journey. But even more than that it tells of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus the Son of God. It gives us his teaching and many other messages, prayers and insights that can help us in our every day life. It is also God's instruction manual for a fulfilled and happy life.

The Word helps us to "Live by the Spirit" because it reveals to us day by day the truth about God. To know more about God is to love him more. To know him is to understand him.

To start dwelling in the Word you could experiment with praying with the scriptures open in front of you during your prayer time. What works for me is to read a passage out loud and then pausing praying for the Spirit to speak to my heart. I then re-read it looking for key phrases that speak to my heart. Quite often there are one sentence phrases in scripture that sum up the passage or open up it's meaning. Some psalms have several. SO find in your passage one of these passages and say it out loud a few times, dwelling on it's meaning for you. An example would be "where your treasure is, so too is your heart" which is from Matthew 6:19-24.  Ask God what he wants to tell you in the sentence you have selected. Examine the different meanings it could have.

Debs and I tried this with Psalm 68 the other day and we each got different things out of it and shared with each other. It led to quite a special time of the Spirit speaking to us. I for example reflected on the phrase that says God is  "a father for the fatherless" - which has been true in my life. I grew up in a household with an absent father. From time to time in my life God has provided for me men who have had a father role with me. Good men, it has to be said, who could speak in wisdom to my life. Debs had "Summon your power , God; show us your strength, our God, as you have done before." Sometimes we find things that encourage us. At other times things that challenge us. At other times steps to take in faith.

May Jesus be present to you today. May your life receive the blessing of Christ - the Holy One of God. May his gentle peace be with you, refreshing and renewing you. Amen

Live by the Spirit

Those who live as their human nature tells them to, have their minds controlled by what human nature wants. Those who live as the Spirit tells them to, have their minds controlled by what the Spirit wants. To be controlled by human nature results in death; to be controlled by the Spirit results in life and peace.(Romans 8:5-6 GNT)

I have been giving some thought to the renovation of my personal life. Asking myself what does it mean to walk daily in the Spirit. Without being antsy fancy just thinking what could be better in my life? However remember God doesn't require us to be a stuffed shirt or without humour. If the three most important fruits of a Holy Spirit led life are Love, Peace and Joy then glumness has no place in Christianity!

What follows though is a rough guide to walking in the Spirit... when followed it will inevitably promote growth in the things of God and in our personal life. Try these components together for three months and I guarantee that your interior life will change. I said previously that I had learnt over the years that Christianity is a relationship and not a religion. Well, listed below is what will help that relationship with God grow. Furthermore your relationships with others will also change.

• Regular daily prayer time changes us. Remember "to pray is to change" 
• Time spent in the Word feeds our spirit and challenges us. Read the bible because it is the "Word of God" and contains God's message for us which is relevant for all even to this moment
• Asking the Holy Spirit what he wants you to do today, sometimes it is only one thing - the Spirit rarely overwhelms us with demands
• Give up judging other people! 
• Ask God who you should be forgiving (also think about who you have offended and go to them asking to be forgiven) 
• Live in community! This is harder if you are housebound but if possible spend time with other Christians. Find people who are trying to grow up in the Lord and be with them. (it says in Proverbs "iron sharpens iron" and this is the community effect, it sharpens us so that we are more alert to the things of the Lord) 
• Meditating on the Our Father. There is a reason why Jesus told his disciples to pray using this prayer read/say it often and you will start to get why

All components to be taken daily as the master physician Doctor Jesus has directed us. Start out with at least 10 minutes a day and then eventually build it up to thirty minutes or more each day. Components can be taken in any order but a good way to start is by reading a psalm out loud. Always talk to Jesus as you would a friend. Give time to listening too because in our pauses God can inspire us Follow this blog for the next seven weeks and I will talk in more detail about each of the steps above. But don't delay start today!

Dear Jesus, I desire my life to be different - renew in me your Holy Spirit so that I may grow in the things of God. Send your peace to my life. Give me a listening heart. Amen