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Pentecost

Being On Fire Can Make Us Bold

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What Is It That Lights Your Fire?

Stepping out into the unknown can be scary. Whether it’s starting a new job, speaking in front of a crowd, or sharing our faith. Pastor Lisa’s message over the past several weeks has focused on Pentecost. This is when Jesus shared the Holy Spirit with His followers to give them direction and courage to share His message with the world.

When the Spirit came to them it showed up as flames of fire.

Peter was always pretty bold, but became bolder in his ministry after this fiery experience. His message to the Galatians in chapter 5 verses 13-17 told them that they need to quit using their following of Jesus to be an excuse to do anything they wanted. He told them that the Spirit and their desires were enemies.  

The Spirit would give them the power to avoid those desires.

Fire is purifying. It is used to separate good metal from bad. We need to expose ourselves to the fire of the Holy Spirit so that we might be better than we are without it (Psalm 12:6).

Living our lives in the Spirit is not a list of dos and don’ts. It is changing who we are. It is a new and purified way of living.

Living a life on fire with the Spirit gives us the boldness to be who God intended.

It gives us the strength and courage we need because we don’t have to do it alone.

What is it that lights your fire?

Is it the world or the Holy Spirit? Choose wisely.

How Do We Explain What We Don’t See?

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Some Things Are Just Hard to Explain

Life is full of things that are hard to explain. Things that happen without any clear understanding or tangible concrete evidence. I can’t explain how this computer that I’m writing this post on works, but it does. It’s amazing how this happens.

Pastor Lisa started a sermon series on Pentecost this past Sunday. Pentecost is a Christian holiday that happens 50 days after Easter. It commemorates the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the followers of Jesus while they were together in Jerusalem.

“Suddenly there was a noise from heaven like the sound of a mighty wind! It filled the house where they were meeting. Then they saw what looked like fiery tongues moving in all directions, and a tongue came and settled on each person there. The Holy Spirit took control of everyone…”

Air is something that we can’t see or touch, yet we are surrounded by it. We know it’s there. We can feel it when it blows. When it blows hard we can see the results.

We can’t live without air.

This is how the Holy Spirit is described in Acts 2:1-4: A noise from heaven like a mighty wind filled the house where they were meeting.

God is one of those things that we can’t see. This can make it hard to explain. Like air, we can see and feel the results after He has blown through our lives.

Then they saw what looked like fire settling on each person. This was the visible presence of the Holy Spirt. We might say the followers of Jesus were on fire.

We hear the phrase “being on fire” used to describe someone or something that is performing exceptionally well. Someone who was full of energy and passion. This usage became popularized in sports where commentators would use it to describe athletes who were performing at their best. From there, it spread into other areas such as business and entertainment.

We need to be on fire for Jesus.

It can be hard for some people to accept that God is real because they can’t see Him. This requires faith and trust. These things can be hard without tangible proof. Yet we accept that the sun is going to come up each morning and that we will have air to breathe.

The evidence of the unseen shouldn’t be overlooked.

Extraordinary Things are Done Every Day by Ordinary People

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You’ve Been Given Everything You Need to be Extraordinary, It’s Up to You to Use it

This past Sunday was Pentecost. This is the Christian commemoration of the coming of the Holy Spirit, celebrated the seventh Sunday after Easter. The coming of the Holy Spirit happened suddenly and came in a strong wind and fire, Acts 2:1-21.

The people who were together when this extraordinary thing happened, were just ordinary people. These followers of Jesus were feeling lost and alone after Jesus left. They no longer had their leader. How would they go on?

This small group of ordinary people are the beginning of our Christian faith. They are the core of the Church today.

These ordinary people did extraordinary things.

They didn’t think they had what it took to do the mission before them, but they did. Most of us feel this sense of inadequacy when we look ahead to our own missions.

It is amazing what long-range effect the little things we do, both good and bad can have. We rarely know what long term affect we will have and how those things will affect the future. Seemingly irrelevant things can make a huge impact.

In the book, The Butterfly Effect, Andy Andrews tells how the decisions you make and the way you treat others impact the world. This short book is a powerful story about a decision one man made over a hundred years ago, and the ripple effect it has on us individually, and in the world, today.

God will not ask you to do anything more than He knows you can.

Just like Jesus’ followers, we’ve been given the things needed to accomplish our mission. –

  • Power – Nothing is impossible with God. We’ve been given the strength needed to do the things we are supposed to. The power has been promised to us. It is available…not delivered. It is up to us to access it and use it.
  • Purpose – Just like the disciples were given their purpose on Pentecost, we’ve been given a purpose. Like power, this doesn’t work without our participation. We need to open our ourselves to God’s vision and do something. Without a vision the people parish, Proverbs 29:18.
  • Presence – The Holy Spirit is God’s presence in our lives. This is us inviting God in, to be an active part of our everyday lives. Once again, we have a responsibility, if we aren’t open to It and accepting of It, we won’t get It.

It is up to you every day to use your gifts and abilities doing ordinary things, letting God turn them into something extraordinary.

Give Light to the World by Spreading “The Fire”

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You Can Choose What Fire That Will Be

Even if you’re like me and don’t watch the news, you’re most likely aware of the chaos going on. Buildings being burned and businesses being destroyed in protest of the man who died while being detained. Protesting of injustice is one of the foundational building blocks this country is built on.

In 1773 the American Colonists protested being taxed by the British Parliament’s taxation without representation. This protest was directed at the British company that was being allowed to sell tea without being taxed. The protesters didn’t burn the ships or destroy their neighbor’s business…they threw the tea into the harbor.

Even a small fire can light a dark path.

If you’ve ever used a lantern you know how much light a small flame can produce. A match, when lit will give light, but only for a short time. A large candle might burn for 10-12 hours. A fire in a fireplace will continue to burn as long as we keep putting wood on it. We have to be careful, even the small fire of a candle if not controlled, can burn a house down.

This past Sunday Christians celebrated Pentecost. This commemorates the Holy Spirit coming to the followers of Christ. In Acts 2:1-4 it is described as “…a noise like a strong wind, blowing from heaven and filling the whole house…something like flames of fire were separated and stood over each person…” Fire is used throughout the Bible as an example of light in the dark to help us see.

In Shep Jordan’s Monday Morning Moment this week, he shares the importance of Pentecost. That ‘Fire’ that came to Christ’s followers is still available to us today. We can tap into this power and use it to light our path as well as those around us.

For fire to burn it has to have fuel.

We can fuel our fires by reading the Bible, praying, through fellowship and worship. If we don’t fuel our fires they will go out. We need to keep those fires lit so that those around us can witness what light from the Holy Spirt looks like.

The song “This Little Light of Mine”, written in the 1920s by Harry Dixon Loes, explains it well. “This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine. Hide it under a bushel, no! I’m gonna let it shine. Don’t let Satan blow it out! I’m gonna let it shine. Let it shine till Jesus comes! I’m gonna let it shine.

Fuel your fire with the Holy Spirit and let your light shine.