Summer Spirit: Spirit Nudges

There is no better time for a kid than Summer Camp, and Montlure kicks off this week! Pray for Stephanie Hamilton! Pray for the counselors! And pray for the all the children and youth who will be blessed by getting away from their routines in order to get into Jesus.

This year I will serve as chaplain for the senior high camp. I am excited by this opportunity and welcome the chance to be in relationship with these young disciples who bring passion, energy and vision to the Church and our call to be God’s people for the sake of the world.

This year’s theme at Montlure is “Power Up in the Spirit.” The first day’s lesson draws from John 14:25-27, which says in part:

The Advocate (Counselor, Teacher, Comforter, Helper), the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Peace I leave you; my peace I give to you…let not your hearts be troubled or afraid.

Reading this passage anew I am reminded of the universality of the promise: all followers of Jesus will be offered the gift of the Holy Spirit. That means you, me and everyone in our churches is offered God’s Spirit. Second, I am reminded of the intimate leading of the Spirit’s work as Advocate / Counselor / Teacher / Comforter / Helper. This means we should expect God to be personally involved in relating to us, but what happens if we do not notice the Spirit’s teaching, the Spirit’s counsel, the Spirit’s comfort, the Spirit’s “nudges”?

Are we noticing the Spirit’s nudges in our churches? Are you noticing them when you listen to a sermon and sense God’s invitation to act in a certain direction? Are you noticing Spirit nudges as you prepare and deliver that sermon? Are you noticing Spirit nudges as you get coffee in the foyer after services – who is God calling you to greet and welcome? Are you noticing Spirit nudges during a Session meeting, as a new idea is proposed that may not be the way you’ve done it before but very well may be the way God would have you move forward today?

Are we noticing the Spirit’s nudges in our communities? Are you noticing the opportunities to bless others throughout your day? Are you noticing the young parent overwhelmed with more young kids than hands, and how you can offer blessing? Are you noticing the pockets of poverty creeping into a neighborhood where it had not been before? Are you noticing the opportunities for your church, as a faith community, to bless others in your neighborhood?

Spirit nudges are always God’s blessing to us even if they often lead us into a joyful mischief that launches us toward sacred conundrums that cause us to learn anew of our absolute and utter dependence upon God. In such moments when our absolute and utter dependence on God is our only option, may we find solace in the words of Jesus: “Peace I leave you; my peace I give to you…let not your hearts be troubled or afraid.”

Pray on these things,

Brad