There is no better time for a kid than Summer Camp,
and Montlurehas kicked-off! 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 and am excited to bring this year’s theme at Montlure: Power Up in
the Spirit. The second day’s lesson draws from Acts 2, which says in part:
Suddenly a sound like the blowing
of a violent wind came from heaven
and filled the whole house where
they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy
Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as
the Spirit enabled them.
What strikes me in these verses is the sense of
passion Luke conveys. It is not just a wind from heaven but a violent wind, both to destroy former
ways and to build new creation. It is not just tongues for speech to reverse
the Babel curse but tongues of fire
to burn up the detritus of human alienation in order to purge the way for true
community.
What strikes me in these verses is the sense of
totality Luke conveys. It is not just the house but the whole house, as if more than the people but all of creation is
included in God’s work of re-creation. It is not just the apostles but all of them, as if Luke is loath to allow
even one saint to be forgotten or, worse, allowed to refuse the call of God
upon them.
What strikes me in these verses is the sense of
utter and absolute dependence upon God that Luke conveys: as the Spirit enabled. This is a foundational conviction of Reformed
faith: God first, then we respond to the movement of God. In Acts, the Spirit
speaks, then the disciples preach; the Spirit enables, then the work begins.
Passion. Fiery, burning hearts. Being totally and
completely devoted to God in any, all and every aspect of our lives. Utterly
and absolutely dependent upon God, seeking only to step where God leads, only
to act as a response to God’s call, yet convinced that if God has called then
we are able, for God has made us able. Does this describe your life? Your
church? Your presbytery?
I will answer this last question: no, it does not.
But thanks be to God! We have room to grow as a presbytery! And you have room
to grow as a church! And as an individual! May we throw ourselves on God’s
mercy, trusting in his love, seeking to listen to the Spirit’s nudges that will
lead us into joyful mischief that launches us toward sacred conundrums that
cause us to learn anew of our absolute and utter dependence upon God, and that he is faithful to enable us to
do all things through the Spirit’s power.
Pray on these things,
Brad
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