Coming of the Spirit

Friends of Faith:

Appropriately for our family the next two weekends of celebrating the Ascension and Pentecost bring to fulfillment the Easter season and the gift Jesus left us here on earth – the Holy Spirit, His guidance and Our protector.

Jesus said to his disciples: "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 always, the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot accept, because it neither sees nor knows him. But you know him, because he remains with you, and will be in you. Jn 14: 15-21

While a greater majority may seek success, fame and fortune of this world, we forget or don’t yet know or understand, that it is not anything of THIS world that will give the greatest reward, but rather it is seeking to be Holy in God’s world that will give us the greatest reward, eternal life.

But the world does not willingly accept that it is not its own creator and boss. And reliance on God and resting in the Spirit are mostly foreign in our culture.

And yet, we are, more than ever, in this world, in need of the guidance of the Spirit and a renewed commitment to listen to and follow His commands.

Beloved: Sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts. Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope, but do it with gentleness and reverence, keeping your conscience clear, so that, when you are maligned, those who defame your good conduct in Christ may themselves be put to shame. For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that be the will of God, than for doing evil. 1 Pt 3: 15-18

And while speaking the truth and striving to bring others closer to Him may mean that our character may be insulted by those who say we are “do gooders,” or “know it alls.” Or we may suffer the consequences, rudeness and chastisement of slander and character defamation despite our good intentions. It is still better to suffer for doing what is right, if it is the will of God, than to give in to worldly causes and/or political correctness.

If we look at what divides us as humans today: being called a Christian, seeking to protect human life and the dignity of marital love between one man and one woman, even the sanctity of keeping Holy the Sabbath – these are exactly the truth of God which are under the most attack and create much of the mental anguish and physical suffering we as His baptized faithful feel in our world today.

There is so much noise, there are so many lies, that it is extremely difficult to sort one from another, regardless of our human strength or perseverance.

So it becomes all that much more important to rely on the Spirit to guide us, console us, and protect us in EVERY decision we make. And It is these very graces that our family looks forward to on Andy’s ordination this week and as we lead up to Stan’s ordination in July.

Come Holy Spirit, Come. Fill us with Your grace and Your power. Anoint us with Your love. And may we be gifted with Your hope, joy and peace. Amen.

Let the Spirit guide you and may you be blessed with an ever more abundant Spirit. Thank you all for your prayers for those being ordained this Easter season.

Blessings,

Charlotte

Monday Morning Reflection

Tomorrow Never Comes

Friends of Faith:

Don’t put off until tomorrow, what you can do today. Now is the time.

“Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin.” Mother Teresa

Yesterday’s readings were all about God providing… for today’s needs. But in my human nature, I am always searching for tomorrow’s desires instead of thanking God for the blessings he is providing me today. AND instead of using those blessings for God’s call, I often find myself responding that I will make time “tomorrow.” 

“Today somebody is suffering, today somebody is in the street, today somebody is hungry. ... We have only today to make Jesus known, loved, served, fed, clothed, sheltered. Do not wait for tomorrow. Tomorrow we will not have them if we do not feed them today.” ― Mother Teresa, The Joy in Loving: A Guide to Daily Living

“But now, listen to what I am about to state in your hearing and the hearing of all the people. From of old, the prophets who were before you and me prophesied war, woe, and pestilence against many lands and mighty kingdoms. But the prophet who prophesies peace is recognized as truly sent by the LORD only when his prophetic prediction is fulfilled.” Jer 28: 7-9 (emphasis added)

So, am I so busy planning for a tomorrow that will never come that I am missing the peace and the joys of today? And, am I so busy helping myself that I am failing to help others who are searching for and waiting to be fed – with my smile, with a kind word, with the fulfillment of a need which opens their eyes or ears and speaks to them of Jesus’ presence?

Right now I am praying for patience until our building is released so that we can go in and recover, then demolish, and then rebuild. But I realize as I pray for patience I often find myself more focused on asking for what I can’t have, then for speaking about all that I do have – offices and space to operate out of, family and neighbors sent to help out – blessings of gifts and provisions too countless to even fully acknowledge, blessings of peace I won’t fully recognize until the predictions of a new building are fulfilled.

So while it is often tempting to focus on and ask for tomorrow’s gifts, it is today that I am needed, today that needs me, today that I can make a difference and it is for today that God provides.

“What will separate us from the love of Christ? Will anguish, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or the sword?  No, in all these things we conquer overwhelmingly through him who loved us.  For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things, nor future things, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Rm 8: 35-39

And what separates me from answering God today? It is only me and my desire to make my own answers for tomorrow– sin caused by greed, fear, and a lack of trust because I am trying to have control, provide and protect myself instead of giving God an opportunity to rule over death, life, powers, principalities and time.

“Thus says the LORD: All you who are thirsty, come to the water! You who have no money, come, receive grain and eat; Come, without paying and without cost, drink wine and milk! Why spend your money for what is not bread; your wages for what fails to satisfy? Heed me, and you shall eat well, you shall delight in rich fare. Come to me heedfully ,listen, that you may have life.” Is 55: 1-3

Heavenly Father, Your love is the answer. Help me to rely on You—to be in Your presence and Your peace by saying yes when you ask me to spread that peace and love to others. Help me to filter out the noise of tomorrow, and instead find the patience to enjoy what you provide me today. Make ME an instrument of Your peace. Thank you for the gift of today. Amen.

God will provide – he will give us peace, if we recognize Him, by thanking him for the peace we have today instead of trying to look far into the future. And when we get to the future we will look back and say, yes God has provided the answers, he offered us peace – if only we had taken it, been content and waited not for tomorrow, but had enjoyed all we were given today.

So what good for God have you been putting off until tomorrow? When you stop to think that tomorrow may never come, what is it that you wish you would have done today?

Plan today to give God glory by what you do TODAY,

Blessings,

Charlotte

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