With Memorial Day Weekend
and Pentecost falling on the same Sunday this
year, I felt the Holy Spirit didn’t get
all the attention He deserves. I love to practice
Lent—the forty days leading up to Easter
Sunday—with a special focus on the life
and ministry of Jesus. I find pondering the
next 50 days until Pentecost just as important
if not more vital in my spiritual practice.
Not many churches give attention to Pentecost
Sunday. I think it’s mainly because we
are a little perplexed by the Holy Spirit, and
often misjudge His work in our lives.
The Holy Spirit is definitely not anything to be afraid of. It’s easy to
understand why so many of us misjudge or fear the Holy Spirit. Questioning was
definitely the response of the people in town who witnessed the presence of the
promised Holy Spirit for the first time on earth. Acts 2 tells us that the God
Seekers in Jerusalem that day were either perplexed or making fun of those in
the upper room who were filled with the Holy Spirit, accusing them of being drunk.
Peter preached a sermon quoting Joel 2:28-32 and explained God’s love and
meaning for sending first Jesus and now the Holy Spirit. A startling 3000 people
were baptized when he finished.
I think the best time on earth to be a God Seeker is now since the Holy Spirit
has been sent to dwell in our hearts. We miss out on the fuller picture of God
if we only think of Him as Jesus or Creator. I’ve been reading an inspiring
book written by Calvin Miller about the prayer practices of the Celts. I have
been stirred to apply their practice of praying to the Triune God in my daily
prayers. It has been so stimulating to my prayer life to think of God in all
three persons. I begin my prayers by praying to:
- Almighty God who created
me and has a purpose for my life, the One who
asks me to call Him Daddy.
- Jesus, the One who fully
obeyed God’s difficult instructions and
was willing to be separated from God while
bearing the sins of the world, so that I was
made fully righteous the day I believed in
His work.
- Holy Spirit who dwells
in my heart and empowers me to obey and serve
God just as perfectly as Jesus did.
By doing this I get a better
grasp of Who I’m talking to in prayer.
I can’t tell you how much impact this
way of praying has had on my prayer life. I
highly recommend Calvin Miller’s book The
Path of Celtic Prayer—An Ancient Way to
Everyday Joy (Intervarsity Press, 2007).
I can attest that praying in this way has brought
me to everyday joy.
Although there is no way my finite mind can
fully conceive of Who God is while I live here
on earth (1 Corinthians 13:12), I’m relating
to Him a lot better when I take time to ponder
what He has revealed of Himself in the Trinity.
When I accept this revelation and conceive of
Him as the Trinity, I can’t overlook the
reality that I am now part of that divine union
through the Holy Spirit!
The Holy Spirit is the most comprehensive evidence
of God’s love and commitment to His work
in creating me. I miss out on so much when I
don’t fully embrace the wonder of my Triune
God whose presence, relationship and power astound
me and leave me overwhelmed by joy. In the name
of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit!
