Tag: holy spirit

Trinity Sunday (John 16:12-15)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year CLeave a comment
Holy Trinity, by Andrei Rubley

“I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.” (New Revised Standard Version)

Trinity Sunday is an annual celebration on the Christian Calendar which focuses intentionally on the mystery, power, and beauty of the triune God – Father, Son, and Spirit. All three persons of the Holy Trinity exist together in eternal love, harmony, and unity with each other as one God.

This day is much more than a doctrinal and theological affirmation. It is a reminder that our theological impulses are to have movement toward union with this triune God, to participate in the Divine dance of the Trinity.

The Christian life is oriented toward the Trinity. Christianity is a path, a road, a journey with God. It is a pilgrimage of the soul that demands our time, effort, and courage.

In other words, we are meant to experience God as Father, Son, and Spirit, rather than merely acknowledging the Trinity. Not only are we to know God; we are designed to feel at the core of our being the existential presence of God. What’s more, the Holy Trinity participates within the Godhead to help make that happen within us.

The Trinity we see in the Gospel of John is a presentation of God’s love for us. A gracious window is opened to the mystery of the one God in three persons. This allows us to see and feel that this trinitarian love holds us in a Divine embrace.

In Christ’s Farewell Discourse (John chapters 13-17) love is the dominant theme. Love is what Jesus wanted to leave with his disciples, and to remind them that all things are to be said and done with love. Christ promised the giving of the Spirit as a gift of love, so that we will learn to love ourselves and others.

There is eternal love, unity, and harmony continually flowing from the Father who sent the Son for us and for our deliverance, and from the Spirit who dwells with us in an abiding presence of love. Together the Father, Son, and Spirit develops us as lovers, loving the world just as God does.

The heavenly Father holds us in love so that we will hold the world in love.

Jesus the Son comes among us and reassures us of Divine love so that we will bring love to the world.

The Spirit guides us into the truth of love so that we will display love for one another in front of the world.

As Christians bravely, patiently, and calmly walk the road of the Christian life, they grow more and more in love with God, and therefore, more in love with the world that God loves so much.

There is an interaction between the Father and the Son marked by truth and love. Jesus graciously invites the believer into this conversation. In addition, the Spirit instructs us so that our speech and behavior will emulate the love which always takes place within the Trinity.

The reality of the Holy Trinity helps us experience and feel that God is for us; God is with us; and God is in us.

Sometimes we get hung up on the timing of things. We want what we want now. We don’t understand why God isn’t coming to our rescue. We wonder if God is even around because of this crud-encrusted planet we live on with all of its natural disasters and human destruction.

Yet, let’s keep in mind that the triune God has forever existed. God is constant. Father, Son, and Spirit are continually working in the immediacy of the now. We have been offered Living Water, but the water pouring forth now is not the same as what came before and what is to come – just as the water in a river flows by us, having come from somewhere downstream, and going somewhere else.

Time is irrelevant. All we have is the now. When we hold on to the past and/or have anxiety about the future, we are failing to live in the present. And in this very moment, the triune God is present with you, is in you, and is for you. Live in the now, and not so much in the has been and the not yet.

God only becomes real to us when I am. Then, the great “I AM” is able to dwell with the little “I am” of me in the present tense of now.

Because God is God, there will always be a mystery, because trying to understand the Holy Trinity – the great Three in One – shall forever elude us. We have not been called to understand God; we are called right now to submit to the unfolding of what God wants to reveal to us.

The triune God has shown us that within the Trinity there exists perfect love, harmonious unity, infinite beauty, and great goodness. As people created in the image of this God, we have the capacity to pursue these very same qualities. With God’s enablement, we can be a source of light and hope to a world which needs an experience of Divine love and truth.

God of heaven and earth, before the foundation of the universe and the beginning of time you are the triune God: the Author of creation; the eternal Word of salvation; and the life-giving Spirit of wisdom.

Guide us, O God, to all truth by your Spirit, so that we may proclaim all that Christ revealed and rejoice in the glory he shared with us. Glory and praise to you – Father, Son, and Spirit – now and forever. Amen.

Day of Pentecost (John 14:8-17, 25-27)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year CLeave a comment

Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. 

“Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, but if you do not, then believe because of the works themselves. Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it.

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him because he abides with you, and he will be in you….

“I have said these things to you while I am still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.” (New Revised Standard Version)

The Christian observance of Pentecost is much more than a date on the calendar or a cognitive belief about the Holy Spirit. Pentecost is a powerful reality for believers to be aware of and to live into.

The symbols used to communicate this reality are the elements of wind and fire. They each have incredible potential for both help and harm, life and death. Tornadoes and wildfires bring awful destruction, whereas flame and wind power are necessary elements for life.

There is power in the Spirit. The Spirit of God dismantles and rearranges our lives to make something different or new altogether.

When the Spirit gets involved, nothing is the same again.

The Spirit upsets the status quo, brings energy and ability, heals broken lives, and establishes a truly egalitarian society. The New Testament knows the Christian as one given wholly to the Spirit in order to accomplish the will of God on this earth.

Therefore, this time of the year is hugely significant. Christians attune themselves to Holy Time because it is the age of the Spirit, the blessed opportunity of Pentecostal life and power. 

Jesus promised us an Advocate, the Spirit, and the era of the Spirit is here. We enjoy the very same Holy Spirit as our spiritual ancestors in the faith. This gives us great confidence and security knowing that the Spirit’s enablement, guidance, and power is available to us.

Pentecost flings every single believer into a congregational whole, the church, and lets us know that we are not to be rugged individualists acting alone, but are part of the Body of Christ.   

The Spirit uses us to forge spiritual bonds of kinship, fellowship, and solidarity.  Pentecost throws disparate people together in a unified whole, made up of every kind of language, nationality, ethnicity, gender, and race. We all use the gifts of the Spirit given to us for the benefit of building up one another.

Pentecost and the presence of the Spirit opens up the greatest of possibility in seeing our true selves emerge, and experiencing what is false melt away.

For most of us, we eventually discover that our egos are much thicker and predominant than we realized. And that ego gets in the way of bringing our authentic selves to the world. The Spirit comes along with fire to purify us, and then blows a mighty wind to drive the false self away.

Such true spiritual power helps us discern that issues of power in this world are difficult to deal with because things are not as they appear to be. Operating in the ego, far too many of us puff up ourselves to try and merely appear strong. People who present themselves as large and in charge end up hiding their vulnerabilities and insecurities in favor of keeping up appearances.

Jesus openly talked of real spiritual power, and promised to give the Spirit for our benefit. And Christ laid bear himself, stretching his arms out on a cross in a display of humiliation and degradation – all for us and our deliverance from false power and pesky egos.

If we go looking for earthly power and rely upon worldly power structures, we will likely be as confused as Philip and the other disciples of Jesus. But if we adopt the inner spiritual power provided for us, we find real effective strength which brings us the peace of Christ in any and all circumstances.

Life in the Spirit – spiritual life – happens within the depths of the soul. And it happens when we give up all pretense to alternative power sources, and participate with the Holy Spirit in allowing God to melt all that is false with spiritual fire and blow it all away with spiritual wind.

Pentecost was and is a watershed event. It’s effects are lasting, right up to the present time. Rather than settling for power-substitutes, we can imbibe ourselves of real spiritual power.

Living God, you have created all that is. Send forth your Spirit to renew and restore us, so that we may proclaim your good news in ways and words that everyone will understand and believe. Amen.

The Divine Gardener

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality BlogLeave a comment
The Artist’s Garden at Vétheuil, by Claude Monet, 1881

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23, Common English Bible)

Soon it will be Spring. Many people are already planning for the soil in fields and gardens to be turned over for planting and cultivating.

Healthy plants grow and feed many. They don’t simply occur by happenstance. And neither does things like morality, ethics, and living an altruistic life; they don’t just happen.

Virtue and a good life are the result of solid and robust inner work within the soul.

The daily overall trajectory of personal and institutional life demonstrates whether they are driven by egoistic desires, or influenced from an inner garden of delectable fruit which has been wisely plucked for others to enjoy.

 “A good tree doesn’t produce bad fruit, nor does a bad tree produce good fruit. Each tree is known by its own fruit. People don’t gather figs from thorny plants, nor do they pick grapes from prickly bushes. A good person produces good from the good treasury of the inner self, while an evil person produces evil from the evil treasury of the inner self. The inner self overflows with words that are spoken.”

Jesus (Luke 6:43-45, Common English Bible)

The Apostle James learned well from his Teacher when he said:

My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree produce olives? Can a grapevine produce figs? (James 3:12, Common English Bible)

The soul is a garden which must have a faithful gardener to continually attend to it. There is a constant need for paying attention to the plants through consistent weeding, watering, and nurturing the seeds placed in good rich soil.

If we will but only allow it, the Holy Spirit of God can be our Divine Gardener, being the elements we need for growth, maturity, and a good life which produces good succulent fruit for many to enjoy.

Apart from the Spirit’s warming, watering, and protecting, people can easily degenerate into all kinds of illicit thinking and behavior such as immorality, moral corruption, doing whatever feels good, idolatry, substance abuse, casting evil spells, hate, fighting, obsessive behaviors, violent anger, competitive opposition, conflict, selfishness, group rivalry,jealousy, and lying.

The Christian virtues which flower and produce the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control occur through a close intimate connection with the Divine Gardener. 

Our Divine spiritual Gardener knows that all things are connected – that below the surface the roots of every plant become connected with one another. There is really no such thing as a person who is disconnected from the rest of humanity.

The Artist’s Family In the Garden, by Claude Monet, 1875

Thus, the Apostle Paul, having also learned well, understood that there are not spiritual “fruits,” but only spiritual “fruit.” That is, the nine virtues Paul mentioned are the “fruit of the Spirit,” not “fruits.”

In other words, all virtuous words and behavior are connected with each other. When a person or an organization has the Divine Gardener attending to them, all nine of the Christian values are a collective basket of fruit which cannot be separated from one another.

So then, if we look at the list of spiritual fruit in the New Testament book of Galatians and say something like, “Well, I’m pretty good at kindness and goodness, but I don’t have much peace or patience,” then what this really means is that we are likely doing kindness and goodness from a different place than by means of the Holy Spirit.

Because when the Spirit is manifested in us, we exhibit spiritual fruit. We cannot separate the nine spiritual virtues any more than we can separate the Trinity. They’re all one spiritual fruit, cultivated and produced within the inner person by the agency of God’s Spirit, our Divine Gardener.

Perhaps we need to consider what is happening in the ground, underneath the surface, which is the shadow side of our lives that no one sees.

For example, it could be that we are driven far more by our ego and our anxiety about most things than about genuine altruism and love. The results of our actions and words may look the same or similar, but the motivation might be far from truly altruistic.

Any sort of “fruit” will simply not last if our actions spring from a place of ego control and worry – because it is not of the Spirit.

Both persons and institutions must mortify (put to death) the deeds and the weeds of the sinful nature.

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. And the life that I now live in my body, I live by faith, indeed, by the faithfulness of God’s Son, who loved me and gave himself for me.

The Apostle Paul (Galatians 2:20, Common English Bible)

The Spirit will always have us in the good rich soil of Christ, so that when we are planted and receive the proper amounts of spiritual sun and living water, we will most certainly produce a hundredfold crop.

Then, we learn to make proper and right judgments about what is happening in our world. We are able to see the thief in the garden who cares only to pick fruit he has neither planted nor cared for, having no intention of sharing anything, but instead seeks to amass a gluttonous basket for his own self.

There is a great need for virtuous living, ethical sensibilities, and wise discernment among everyone in this world.

We are now observing what happens when a people are ignorant of how true righteousness, justice, goodness, and peace are grown and developed in any culture, society, and government. Fools are allowed to roam the garden, and they make a complete mess of things.

Let us all do our part in ensuring that genuine spiritual fruit is produced, coming from the true self. Disconnection, destruction, and chaos are the fruit of a bad tree. Then, it is only fit to cut down and thrown into the fire.

Jesus said:

“Every good tree produces good fruit, and every rotten tree produces bad fruit. A good tree can’t produce bad fruit. And a rotten tree can’t produce good fruit. Every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. Therefore, you will know them by their fruit.” (Matthew 7:17-20, Common English Bible)

Therefore, beware, watch out, and be wise in the way your own soul is cultivated, and how you discern the souls of others.

For the Christian, the season of Lent is the best and most appropriate time to focus upon spiritual disciplines which help connect us with Christ and with one another.

Daily attention to the garden of our soul prepares us for Holy Week by participating with Jesus in both his crucifixion and resurrection. All that is wrong and sinful in this old fallen world is put to death, and a new life of virtuous and altruistic living is enjoyed.

And the beauty of it all is that it will organically spring from the depths of a well-cultivated soul garden. The Divine Gardener stands ready with both hose and hoe to bring about the fruit of the Spirit.

Soli Deo Gloria

A Prayer of Reception and Resistance (Warfare Prayer)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog2 Comments

Almighty God, blessed heavenly Father:

I bow in worship and praise before You. I take upon myself the yoke of the Lord Jesus Christ. I take up His words and ways, His person and work, and cover myself with His very life as my protection. (Matthew 11:29-30; Romans 13:14)

I surrender myself to You, gracious God; completely submit every area of my life to Christ; and listen to the Holy Spirit. Therefore, I now take a stand against all the work of evil and every satanic stratagem that seeks to hinder me in my prayer life. I address myself only to You, true and living God, and refuse any sinister involvement of demonic forces in my prayers. (Matthew 23:12; Mark 9:7; Ephesians 6:11)

Whatever you ask for in prayer with faith, you will receive.

Jesus (Matthew 21:22)

As a blood-bought believer and adopted child into the family of God, I take up the authority and position graciously given to me because of the work of Jesus Christ on my behalf. Therefore, Satan, I command you, in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ, to leave my presence with all of your demons. I bring the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ between us. (Ephesians 1:5, 20-22)

Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith.

1 Peter 5:8-9

Blessed Holy Trinity – Father, Son, and Spirit – I worship You alone. I recognize You are worthy to receive all glory, honor, and praise. I renew my allegiance to You and humbly ask that You, Holy Spirit, enable me and strengthen my faith in this time of prayer, and throughout this day. (Ephesians 6:10; Revelation 4:11)

I am thankful, heavenly Father, that You have loved me from eternity past; and that You sent the Lord Jesus Christ into this world to die as my substitute. (Ephesians 1:4, 7)

I am thankful, merciful Christ, that You came as my representative; and that through You I am completely forgiven. Blessed Father, You have adopted me into Your family; You have assumed all responsibility for me; You have given me eternal life; You have given me Your perfect righteousness, so that I am now justified and free. (Ephesians 1:3-14)

I am thankful, gracious God, that in Jesus Christ, and through the Holy Spirit, You have made me complete. You have offered Yourself to me, to be my daily help and strength. Open my eyes that I might see how great You are and how complete Your provision is for me this day. (Matthew 20:33; Romans 16:25-27)

I am thankful, Lord Jesus, that the victory You won on the cross and in Your resurrection has been given to me; and that I am seated with You in heaven. Therefore, I take my place with You, Lord Jesus, and recognize by faith that all wicked spirits, and even Satan himself, are under my feet. I declare that the devil and his demons are subject to me in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 15:54-57; Ephesians 1:22-23)

I am thankful, mighty God, for the armor You have provided. Today, I put on the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the sandals of peace and the helmet of salvation. I lift up the shield of faith against all the fiery arrows of the enemy; and I take in my hand the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God. I choose to use Your Word against all the forces of evil in my life. I put on this armor and live and  pray in complete dependence upon You, blessed Holy Spirit. (Ephesians 6:13-17)

I am thankful, Lord Jesus, that You disarmed all power and authorities, triumphing over them by the cross. Therefore, I claim all victory for my life today. I reject all the insinuations, accusations, and temptations of Satan.  I affirm that the Word of God is true. I choose to live today in the light of God’s Word. (Colossians 2:13-15)

Everyone who asks, receives.

Jesus (Matthew 7:8)

Heavenly Father, I choose to live in obedience to You and in fellowship with You. Open my eyes and show me the areas of my life that do not please You.  Work in me to cleanse and purify me from all ground that may give evil a foothold in my life. In every way, I stand into all that it means to be Your adopted child. (2 Corinthians 7:1; James 4:8; 1 John 1:7, 9)

Blessed Holy Spirit, I welcome all of Your ministry in my life. By faith and in dependence upon You, I put off the old person and stand into all the victory of the crucifixion where the Lord Jesus Christ provided cleansing from the sinful nature. I put on the new person and stand into all the victory of the resurrection and the provision Christ has made for me to live above sin. (Colossians 3:1-17)

I put off the old nature with its myopic selfishness, crippling fear, and deceitful lusts. In its place, I put on the new nature with its love, courage, righteousness, purity, and honesty. (Romans 13:12-13; 2 Timothy 1:9)

In every way, I stand into the victory of Christ’s ascension and glorification, in which everything was made subject to Him. I claim my place in Christ as victorious with Him over all the enemies of my soul. 

Blessed Holy Spirit, I pray that you would fill me. Come into my life, break down every idol, and cast out every enemy of my soul, because I belong to God! (1 Corinthians 10:14, 21; 1 John 4:18)

I am thankful, wise God, for the expression of Your will for my daily life as You have shown me in Your Word. I, therefore, claim all the will of God for my life today. (John 17:16-18)

I am thankful, blessed Holy Trinity, the God whom I serve, that You have blessed me with every spiritual blessing in Christ; and that before I chose You, You chose me. (Ephesians 1:3-4)

I am thankful, gracious God, that You have given me new life into a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. (1 Peter 1:3)

I am thankful, merciful God, that You have made provision for me so that today I can live filled in the Holy Spirit with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, and self-control. I recognize and affirm that this is Your will for me. (Galatians 5:22-26)

So, therefore, almighty God, I reject and resist all the sinister attempts of evil, and of every wicked spirit to rob me of the will of God. I refuse today to believe any feelings of failure and worthlessness; and I hold up the shield of faith against all the accusations, distortions, and insinuations that Satan would put into my mind. I claim the will of God for my life today. (Ephesians 6:16)

In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I completely surrender myself to You, heavenly Father, as a living sacrifice. I choose not to be conformed to this world. Instead, I choose to be transformed by the renewing of my mind. I pray You to show me Your will. Help me to walk in Your way today. (Romans 12:1-2)

I am thankful, powerful God, that the weapons we fight with are not the weapons of this world, but have divine power to demolish strongholds, arguments, and every pretention that sets itself up against the knowledge of God. I take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. (2 Corinthians 10:3-5)

Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

James 4:7

Therefore, in my life today, I tear down the strongholds of Satan and smash the plans of evil that have been formed against me. I demolish the strongholds of Satan against my mind; and I surrender my mind to You, Holy Spirit. 

I affirm, heavenly Father, that You have not given me a spirit of fear but a spirit of power, love, and self-discipline. So, I break and smash the strongholds of Satan formed against my emotions today. I give my will to You. I choose to make right decisions of faith. I smash the strongholds of Satan formed against my body today; and I give my body to You, recognizing that I am Your sacred temple. (1 Corinthians 3:16, 6:19; Ephesians 2:19-22; 2 Timothy 1:9)

Heavenly Father, I pray now, and throughout this day, that You strengthen and enlighten me. Show me the ways that Satan is hindering, tempting, lying and distorting the truth in my life. Help me to be the kind of person that pleases You; to be aggressive in prayer and in faith; to think rightly; to actively practice Your Word; and, to give You Your rightful place in my life. (Matthew 4:1-11; 2 Corinthians 2:10-11, 11:14; 2 Thessalonians 2:9-10)

I now intentionally and volitionally cover myself with the life of the Lord Jesus Christ. I pray that You, blessed Holy Spirit, bring all the work of Christ’s crucifixion, resurrection, ascension, and all Your powerful work of Pentecost into my life today. (Acts 1:8)

I surrender myself to You, merciful God. I refuse to be discouraged, because You are the God of all hope. You have proven Your power by resurrecting Jesus from the dead. Therefore, I claim this victory over all evil and satanic forces in my life. I pray all of this in the Name and through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ with thanksgiving.  Amen. (Romans 5:1-6, 15:13; 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Peter 1:21)