Tuesday, June 30, 2015

Day 30: Church Jesters

I think most organizations--including the church--are tempted to avoid criticism as much as possible. After all, who likes to be criticized? So organizations have the danger of engaging in "groupthink" which the Oxford Dictionary of English defines as, "the practice of thinking or making decisions as a group, resulting typically in unchallenged, poor-quality decision-making." Things seem to run so much more smoothly when everyone agrees and there isn't any conflict or disagreement or criticism. But there is a heavy penalty over time that will be paid if we avoid these.

 A few years ago several of us were part of a "Sticky Faith Cohort" held at Fuller Seminary in Pasadena, CA. One of the speakers talked about the importance of valuing what dissenters and persons on the margins had to say. He said that you need to listen to them for they often say things that need to be said that no one else will say.

Levison states that it is the Holy Spirit that may be behind these people and the fact that we receive criticism is not an indication that the Holy Spirit has abandoned us. The Holy Spirit uses the criticism as a means of correcting our course.

It isn't always easy, but I try to remind myself of this when criticism occurs at our church and ask God to give me an open mind and heart.

Monday, June 29, 2015

Day 29: Building Community

Notice that today the verb to which he switches is "building," and in this devotion the Spirit is building community. I chuckled at his story about writing a paper at seminary and W. D. Davies response. He does accurately capture the truth in community building and maintaining when we writes at the beginning of the second paragraph, " When it comes to building community, it's easy to fall off the ass."

He states the core of this devotion in the last paragraph at the bottom of page 108: "We gain two essential insights into inspired community from this story. First, healthy community demands communal leadership. Community isn't the work of one man, one woman. The weight is just too heavy for his or her shoulders. And second, Community demands constant tending, sometimes eve a redo."

Sunday, June 28, 2015

Day 28: Driven Out

Frankly, I would rather bask in the knowledge of my being a beloved son. As I mentioned in yesterday's post, that term has a powerful meaning for me. But God wants to solidify that reality by sending us out--testing us, building spiritual muscle. It is much easier to believe when things are going well, but much harder to believe that when things appear to rapidly go down hill.

Has God driven you out into the desert? How did you respond?

Saturday, June 27, 2015

Day 27: "You are My Beloved Son"

The passage for today's devotion holds a special place for me. Many years ago I read a book written by Henri Nouwen, The Life of the Beloved, in which this was the central passage. In it, Nouwen is writing to a friend who is not a follower of Jesus but who has asked him to share something about the spiritual life. Nouwen writes,

"Our many conversations led me to the inner conviction that the words, 'You are my Beloved' revealed the most intimate truth about all human beings, whether they belong to any particular tradition or not....The greatest gift my friendship can give to you is the gift of your Belovedness. I can give that gift only insofar as I have claimed it fro myself. Isn't that what friendship is all about: giving to each other the gift of our Belovedness?"

As someone who was quite critical of himself, I found this book was so liberating. It helped me on my own journey of discipleship and a sense that God really did love me--I didn't have to earn God's love. So when I read today's devotion, that is the first thing that came to mind.

Levison notes the intimacy of these words as well: "How intimate these words are! But they aren't' just God's tender embrace. They're tough talk, too, that will shape every single moment from now on." If you know that you are truly loved, even cherished, then the tough assignments are easier to do, I think.

I like the way that Levison shows, though, that Jesus' belovedness led him to prayer, continuous prayer. His belovedness didn't short circuit his prayer life or cause him to take his Father's love for granted. It led him deeper into prayer.

Have you understood and accepted your belovedness in Jesus? Has it led you more deeply into prayer?

Friday, June 26, 2015

Day 26: Not by might, nor by Power...

Levison chooses another familiar passage for today's meditation. I can't identify with his sense in his younger days that he didn't believe that the Spirit works through politics and social programs. Maybe I believed that when I was really young, I don't remember, to be honest. But I did learn in my 20's the notion of the "brokenness of truth" and "general grace" which gave me the theological and intellectual space to understand that the Spirit works in a wide variety of ways, through a wide variety of people, and the people through whom God works don't need to be believers--frequently they aren't.

I didn't know that Martin Luther King, Jr.'s famous speech happened under the banner of the text. I do enjoy the stories and '"tidbits" that he shares in his devotions.

Thursday, June 25, 2015

Day 25: Inconspicuous

Today's text from Isaiah 61 is the text from which Jesus quoted when he spoke at the synagogue in Nazareth (where he attended growing up) at the beginning of his ministry. You can find the story in Luke 4:16ff.

Remember that his theme is leading, so the focus the last three days has been on leadership. He writes, "In today's reading from Isaiah 61, the Spirit's work goes deep, rather than wide, to the oppressed, the imprisoned, the bottom-feeders." Two paragraphs lower he writes, "Inspired leaders don't need to be conspicuous to be effective." That is the heart of today's devotion to me. To do things inconspicuously is counter-cultural behavior. We revel in self-promotion, posturing, letting the world know how good, beautiful. smart, talented, ___________ (you fill in the blank) we are. We post it on facebook, twitter about it, instagram it.

Christian clergy I think are particularly tempted by being conspicuous. The phrase that comes to mind is one coined by Henri Nouwen many years ago: downward mobility. Christians need to follow Jesus, who was downwardly mobile: "Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being form in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death--even death on a cross" (Philippians 2:5-8). May God give me the grace to lead inconspicuously!

Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Day 24: Silent Suffering

Once again Levison picks out a well-known passage and illuminates it for us. Like yesterday's passage, I hadn't ever studied this one. But he makes no bones about the leading of the Spirit led to the silent suffering of the servant. He writes, "The servant's word is an inspired whisper." Hmmm, "an inspired whisper."

I had never heard of the story of Janusz Korczak, had you? I found it deeply moving and am glad that he shared the story. I ask myself if I am willing to follow the Spirit into silent suffering if that is the way the Spirit leads. What and illustration!

Tuesday, June 23, 2015

Day 23: Stumps and Shoots

Today's devotion begins the section on leading.

I am quite familiar with the scripture passage that forms the basis of Levison's thoughts today, but I have never done a study on this passage, or at least haven't done so in a very long time. In any case, I have wondered about the "shoot...from the stump of Jesse" phrase. I have a number of stumps in my backyard and over the years Beth and I have had to cut the shoots down eventually. Frankly, we have found them kind of annoying. I wondered why Isaiah used this imagery instead of using the imagery of planting a new tree. A shoot is never going to compare with the growth of a new tree.

Levison answered my question with this devotion. The key lies in his italicized sentence found on page 86. He asks, "What then, does inspired leadership consist of?" He answers: "The ability, not to restore the glory days, but to generate, from the ruins, harmony and wholeness, safety, too, in the days ahead."

Near the end of the devotion Levison challenges us: "There may be times in our lives when the Holy Spirit prompts in us hope for a restoration of the glory days. This is not one of the. Now the Holy Spirit anoints someone--perhaps even you--to lead a frightened people into a daunting future." My question is the same as his: "What will you do? What can you do?"

Monday, June 22, 2015

Day 22: Weakness and Power

This particular devotion spoke to me and my own struggles. I can totally identify with Levison when he says, "I don't want grace; I want healing. I don't want weakness; I want strength. I want power that looks, well, like power." I want to feel powerful, not weak! I hate feeling weak. I want God to come in and right all the wrongs and crush the evil and empower the good. I want God to prevent Dylann Storm Roof from carrying out the murders at Emmanuel AME in Charleston! And to do it with power, like a lightening bolt from heaven!

During my devotions several days ago I came across the following quotation form Thomas a Kempis:

Jesus has many lovers of His heavenly kingdom, but few bearers of His cross. He has many seekers of consolation, but few of tribulation. He finds many companions at His feasting, but few at His fasting. All desire to rejoice in Him; Few are willing to endure anything for Him. Many follow Jesus as far as the breaking of bread, but few to the drinking of the cup of His passion. Many reverence His miracles, but few will follow the shame of His cross. Many love Jesus as long as no adversaries befall them. Many praise and bless Him so long as they receive some consolation from Him. But if Jesus hide Himself and leave them but for a brief time, they begin to complain or become overly despondent in mind."

May the Holy Spirit give us the grace to follow the way of the cross!

Sunday, June 21, 2015

Day 21: A Word of Encouragement

I like encouragement. I need encouragement. Not platitudes like, "It will all turn out OK in the end," but something substantial, something even challenging, something hopeful a word of encouragement like Levison describes in the book of Acts. In fact, I would say that encouragement is essential for us to flourish. All of us suffer doubts about our abilities or the path that we are on, and there is nothing like a good word of encouragement to set us straight, to increase our confidence. The word of encouragement may actually lead us to take a different path. What we learn from today's devotion is that the Holy Spirit is in the business of encouragement. 

Saturday, June 20, 2015

Day 20: Preparation Counts

If you hadn't noticed, today is the halfway point of our 40 Days with the Holy Spirit. I hope that you have found this fruitful in your own life. Let me know how you have experienced this so far.

By now one of Levison's main themes is quite apparent: the slow work of preparation is part and parcel of the work of the Holy Spirit. I shared in a sermon several weeks ago about the chaplain that had had a charismatic experience that radically changed his life for the good. But the one thing that he misunderstood was how the Holy Spirit normally works and he would have benefited greatly if he had had an opportunity to read this book. I remember one worship service in which he basically said that he didn't prepare his sermons but trusted that the Holy Spirit would give him what he needed. The result was fluffy sermons for the most part--sermons heavy in upbeat praise, but light in substance.

In my travels in East Africa I have found similarities in some of the worship services I attended. Levison's description of the pastor of the church that he attended in Durham, NC reminded me of some of the evangelists/pastors I have heard over the years. I must admit that I haven't been able to understand much of what is preached, but it felt like a "high-octane" sermons. The one I have in mind occurred in a church service in Arusha, Tanzania and the preacher preached for 2 hours. High energy, and a tremendous amount of repetition. It felt like entertainment, actually. I think this evangelist could learn from Levison's book: "The works of the Spirit aren't just strutting, amen-ing, hallelujah-ing. You can prepare for an experience of the Holy Spirit. You can study in anticipation of the Holy Spirit's work in you life. You can learn what makes you a powerful witness to the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus." So can we all learn from Levison.

Friday, June 19, 2015

Day 19: Spirit and Truth

"God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship him in spirit and truth." I am quite familiar with this verse from John and, in fact, have included it in prayers that I have said in regard to preparing to worship. But I haven't reflected deeply on the relationship between Spirit and truth. I underlined the few sentences where he discussed their relationship: "There can be no Spirit-inspired worship that is untruthful, no truthful worship that is void of Spirit. the two exist in tandem; the absence of one voids the validity of the other. Truth and Spirit. Spirit and Truth."

I have read in the last couple of years that people don't care so much about the truth, at least in so far as it relates to our faith. When I was younger people came to faith in Christ because they believed it was true. Now, the issue isn't truth but relevance or effectiveness, i.e. does it work? Even though it is so un-postmodern, I believe there is such a thing as truth and falsehood, and I want to pursue the truth wherever it may lead me. I remember learning in seminary about the "brokenness of truth." That means that because of sin and our own finite abilities, there are a lot of weeds in the garden and it is difficult to know what the truth is. For this reason we must pursue it with humility for sure, but not give up on its pursuit saying, "No one can know for sure, everyone has their own truth."

Spirit and truth, as Levison states, exist in tandem!

Thursday, June 18, 2015

Day 18: Simeon

I know about Simeon but I didn't know that the prayer that he prayed came from verses from Isaiah 40-55. I have been practicing the Divine Hours, a brief liturgy of prayer morning, noon, and night, and recognize that the prayer said before retiring for the night, Compline, always ends with Simeon's prayer.

Levison's conclusion for this devotion bears repeating, I think. "Simeon is inspired...because he is vigilant, because he is regular in devotion, and because he has studied the poignant prophecies of Isaiah, which he now sees taking shape in a very young Galilean boy who will be a light to the nations. A clear model for receiving the Spirit's guidance rises from regular devotion to learning."

Growing in faith, growing in discipleship happens when we are intentional and disciplined in our spiritual practices like praying, reading/studying scripture, worshiping. Like snow falling in the winter, it takes time to accumulate. The spiritual practices aren't dramatic or noticeable over small periods of time, but as we continue in them, the Holy Spirit can use them to lead, guide, and transform us.

Wednesday, June 17, 2015

Day 17: Drilling Down

It is hard to imagine that the text for today's devotion has anything relevant to anything, much less the Holy Spirit. Yes, the text does mention that the Spirit came upon Amasai or in Levison's translation "clothed" Amasai." But, really could this text contain anything from which we could learn?

Apparently. I enjoyed the way that Levison "drilled down" into the text and came up with a gold nugget. I am impressed that he was able to make the connections Amasai and Nabal. I have read the story a number of time's but never came close to making this connection. To me the passage was one of those lists that I try to race through to get to more action!

I find it interesting that the Spirit clothes Amasai to recite some poetry to David. When I think about it, it makes sense since David was a poet. I also found one of Levison's take aways interesting: "The Spirit works through a person who knows history." So the Spirit is able to use our knowledge of history...

Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Day 16: The Holy Spirit and Bean Counters

I found his interpretation of this story novel: I have never heard this take on the story before. I am quite familiar with the calling of the seven deacons to take care of the widows. This is an example of knowing the biblical languages well and it shows how you can get different perspectives if you understand some of the different nuances that words have. As Levison notes, bean counters need to have integrity; you need to know that they are wise and honest. He explicitly articulates one of the major themes of this devotional book, "...the hallmark of the Spirit is not primarily spectacular miracles but he daily, dogged practice of integrity." Amen to that!

Monday, June 15, 2015

Day 15: The Spirit and Teaching

Today's short devotion builds on yesterday's: The Spirit uses the "perspiration" that we use to learn a skill or gain some area of competency. He notes that in the case of Bezalel and Oholiab the Spirit not only used their skills, but directed them to teach others. Some words that come to mind in this regard are "mentor," "apprentice," "disciple." The Spirit didn't direct them to do everything, but to teach others their skills.  A passage that comes to mind from the New Testament related to this is II Timothy 2:2: "You then, my child, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus; and what you have heard from me through many witnesses entrust to faithful people who will be able to teach others as well."

Sunday, June 14, 2015

Day 14: Small Things Matter

Today's devotion was the theme of my sermon today so if you are interested in finding out what I said, go to our website and check out the sermon tab.

The quotation that I found the most compelling in today's devotion was, "The skills we have practiced, the wisdom we have gained little by little--these expand dramatically when the Spirit in us inspires and equips us for challenging, demanding tasks." The Holy Spirit uses the things that we have learned, gained skill in, worked at when no one was watching, in the effort we expended to gain competencies. If we haven't learned or gained skill, the Holy Spirit isn't going to magically anoint us with it. But the Holy Spirit can "expand dramatically" those skills that we have learned over time. 

Saturday, June 13, 2015

Day 13: Lessons from Joseph's Life

Notice that today begins the "Practicing" section of the 40 Days.

Levison is giving another example about how the Holy Spirit does not just sweep into a person and magically do something for which the seeds have not already been sown. As Levison states, God used Joseph in a powerful way, but the wisdom and discernment that Joseph used was developed under less than ideal circumstances.

I can identify with the sentiments Levison shares in the last paragraph. "I want to be a person with the Spirit of God in me. I just don't want to do what it takes to be that person. I want wisdom the easy way. I want a burst of inspiration, but I don't want to serve stints in prison--or any other hopeless, hapless, endless, seemingly useless years of waiting and boredom and aging and deteriorating..."

I, too, pray with Levison the prayer at the end of the devotion.

Friday, June 12, 2015

Day 12: Abba! Father!

For me personally understanding that I am an adopted child of God has had a powerful impact on my own faith and life. When I was younger, even thought I intellectually believed that I was loved by God and saved by grace, the way I actually lived my life was one of working and earning. Yes, I prayed to God as Father, but honestly my attitude and actions belied that I really believed that God loved me like a parent loves a child.

But slowly over time, I began to understand and accept this reality--that I am God's beloved, adopted child. Actually, I came to this realization through reading Henri Nouwen's books in my late 30's and early 40's. I find this enormously comforting and hopeful as I live the Christian life in my own faltering way.

How about you? Do you talk a good game like I did when I was younger about God's love, but in reality do you live as though you are a slave, or at least not a beloved child?

I really liked Levison's prayer at the end of this devotion which ends with:

Holy Spirit
I'm not asking you to cause death or life to disappear
But to hearten me with the love of Christ
with a love for Christ.
Amen.

Thursday, June 11, 2015

Day 11: God's Primal Love

When I begin a task or learning some new discipline, I want to do it well. I don't like being mediocre. Nothing wrong with that. But, I have this habit of not cutting myself any slack. Over time it can become burdensome. This applies to the spiritual life, as well. Many years ago when we embarked on the discipleship model church and embraced the six marks of discipleship, some people felt like it was too much work. The intent of the six marks of discipleship is to help school us in the life of faith in Jesus Christ so that we can grow in maturity and faithfulness. But it is easy for the practice to slip over into a joyless obligation, rather than a challenging practice that enhances our walk with God.

For this reason I was glad to read Levison's caution in the devotion for today about not letting that happen. "I don't want you, as a child of God, to spend any part of these forty days thinking of prayer as one more obligation to cross off your list. Let prayer today be for you a deep sigh, a contented breath. Because, when all is said and done, God's passion for you isn't  a response to your expert attention to obligations. God's passion lies in a primal love for us, sons and daughter who respond in faith with only one word that matters: Abba!" Amen to that!

Wednesday, June 10, 2015

Day 10: Big Changes Begin with Small Disciplines

In case you're keeping track, today marks the 1/4 mark through the 40 Days with the Holy Spirit. I hope that you have been encouraged, challenged, and stimulated with it.

The key to this devotion to me is the sentence that I used as the title of this post: "Big changes begin with small disciplines." Maybe I might add "...small disciplines applied repeatedly or consistently." Prayer was a central part of Peter's life, trying to follow in the path of Jesus: it wasn't a one off event.

I like the way he summarizes what happened in Acts 10.
1.  Discipline--prayer--precedes the presence of the Spirit.
2.  Deliberation--puzzling--precedes the presence of the Spirit.
3.  Direction--a word of the Spirit--follows prayer and puzzling.


Tuesday, June 9, 2015

Day 9: Scorpions and Snakes

This devotion caught my attention. I found it very challenging. Levison's use of the text confronts us with our proclivity to want and expect things to be nice and easy. I underlined most of what he wrote on page 32, but I found this quotation strikes too close for comfort: "I pray too casually to grasp the urgency of oppression and unvarnished poverty, where hope is bare-boned and despair tyrannical. I pray too superficially to confront the reality of the dark night of the soul."

An observation that I have made before is that I find that our prayers are always concerned with safety. When I travel to Africa where things are much less safe, I don't hear nearly as many prayers for safety. I am not against asking God for protection, but I think that we need to balance that request for courage, about which I hear very little in prayers that we normally pray.

Of all the prayers so far, this prayer I found by far the most convicting, especially the first stanza:

Holy Spirit
I dangle my toes in a pool of piety
Not much risk there
It's still light, joyful, tranquil...

Wow. I wonder how many of us if we were totally honest with ourselves would find this true in our own lives? And do we have the desire for God and the courage to pray the second stanza?

Take me deeper into the dark
desert nights
desolate days
despair

The purpose of course, is to go to the far side of this "Where I'll collapse into the goodness of God."

I am reminded of John Wesley's prayer:

I am no longer my own, but yours.
I put myself wholly into your hands.
Put me to what you will, rank me with whom you will.
Put me to doing,put me to suffering
Let me be employed for you, or laid aside for you
Exalted for you or trodden under foot for you.
Let me be full, let me be empty
Let me have all things, let me have nothing.
I freely and heartily resign all to your pleasure and disposal

And now, glorious and blessed Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
I am yours and you are mine. So be it.
And the covenant now made on earth,
Let it be ratified in heaven. Amen.

Monday, June 8, 2015

Day 8: Praying

In the introduction of the book, Levison points out seven verbs that he will use to guide the direction of the book, verbs that lead "from deep within to the world outside." These words are: breathing, praying practicing, learning, leading, building, blossoming. The devotions for the first week came under "breathing," and this morning's devotion begins the section on praying.

It seems to me that one of the themes that is emerging is the activity of the Holy Spirit, but not in the attention-grabbing, flashy miracle-making way. The Spirit is active, but working behind the scenes quietly. In today's text, Levison focuses on the Holy Spirit leading Jesus away from "tripping over success" at the disciples return and reports about their own positive results and drawing Jesus "toward babies and not the wise, the weak rather than the strong."

It is easy to be drawn off track by success. It is tempting to take the credit for ourselves, to try to impress the successful and powerful, and to lose sight of who we are and from where we have come. Today's reading is a good reminder to me to keep my focus on God and God's goodness and to let the Spirit through prayer keep me close to God.

Sunday, June 7, 2015

Day 7: Breath and Sex

It would be an understatement to say that today's text and devotion is counter cultural. To suggest that any prohibition to sexual behavior other than consenting adults, is an affront to many people. Yet if we understand that our bodies belong to God, that there is no dichotomy between the physical and the spiritual which he says in this devotion, then we understand that God is concerned about everything, including our attitudes and behaviors concerning sex.

I wasn't expecting the connection he made between breath and sex, but I thought it was a creative way of seeing the relationship. I particularly liked the paragraph on the top of page 26 that begins with,  "Here, too, is where breathing and a healthy sexuality come together: both are disciplines to develop." I'm not sure that most of us think of either of these as "disciplines to develop," and yet I liked the way that he compared them. What do you think of his comparison, his argument?

Saturday, June 6, 2015

Day 6: Breathing

Before Michelle was born Beth and I took some birthing classes to prepare us for her birth. One of the things about which the teacher continually reminded us was breathing. Beth was to practice deep breathing and my job was to coach her. When the time to deliver arrived, things went much faster than anyone expected and when I tried to coach her and remind her about breathing, let's just say that it wasn't well received at that point. The thought was there but the execution wasn't because of the pain.

I have become more aware of the importance of breathing with the diaphragm and not the upper chest as I have practiced contemplative prayer. Breathing properly is important for singers, and for maximizing oxygen intake for strenuous athletic endeavors. Spirit-breath, the term that Levison uses in his book has helped me in my spiritual life. Jesus breathing on, or "into" as Levison notes, alerts me to God's ever present nearness. Sometimes when I become aware of my breathing I am reminded of the Spirit's closeness, and how dependent I am on the Spirit.

How about you? Does Levison's devotion this morning on Spirit-breath have any impact on you? 

Friday, June 5, 2015

Day 5: The Valley of Dry Bones

I love the passage that Levison chose for this devotion, Ezekiel 37:1-10. Sometimes it is referred to as "The valley of dry bones." It encourages me when things look bleak, even dead. But I have never before thought about it in the way that Levison has described it. Rather than focus on the whole process as he does, I move from the the deadness and dryness of the bones quickly through the clattering of the bones, the growing of ligaments and sinews, etc. and on to the end when all of the bones have become living bodies. Never before have I thought, "How difficult the process of regeneration can be." The sentence that really caught my attention was the one that ended the paragraph about starving children and what it takes for them to regain the sense of hunger and thirst: "They are resurrected, but the midwife of new life is overwhelming pain." Wow. "the midwife of new life is overwhelming pain."

Frankly, I would rather skip the pain and experience new life with pain's absence! I don't like pain. I want to skip the steps. How about you? Going through the slow and painful progression to new life requires perseverance and the will to succeed and above all, God's grace. Yet in the end, it is worth it. I have experienced a lot of pain to become proficient at sports I have played, and clinical training in which I have engaged. While I didn't enjoy it while I was in the midst of it, as I look back, I am glad for having gone through it.

His prayer at the end of the devotion beautifully captures the essence of the devotion, I think.

"Bring me back, Holy Spirit
back to life
back to living
back to hope
Amen"

Thursday, June 4, 2015

Day 4: Be Still

I wasn't a squirmy kid like Levison, so I have never had a problem with Psalm 46:10, "Be still, and know that I am God." I looked up the word, "still," in the dictionary and found that the adjective definition is "not moving or making a  sound,' and the definition for the noun form is "deep silence and calm." I like the noun definition a lot and love to experience deep silence and calm in God's presence.

Nevertheless, I was intrigued by the Hebrew word that we translate "still" being defined as "let go, abandon." I am more ambivalent about "abandon" because the first connotation for me is to "be abandoned" which I don't like or want to experience. However, when I think of it as "abandoning myself into the arms of God," I draw comfort and hope.

Once again, Levison helps us see the work of the Spirit from a different angle. The Spirit works quietly behind the scenes over a long period of time or in his words, "the Spirit is a reservoir of wisdom that suffuses Daniel's character over the course of three generations and two empires."

Wednesday, June 3, 2015

Day 3: Not What I Expected

I wasn't really sure where he was going in today's devotion. The passage from Job certainly isn't one that I would have thought about for a devotion on the Holy Spirit. Frankly, I never really understood Elihu and where he was coming from until I read this devotion. But it didn't seem all that relevant until the last two paragraphs. And what he says cuts against the grain of commonly held notions of how the Holy Spirit works. Being overwhelmed and feeling out of control are commonly associated with the Holy Spirit, I think, not quietly reflecting and thoughtfully speaking. I liked his closing sentence: "A lesson hard learned, held deep within, then divulged in a whisper--this too is the sound of Spirit-breath." Amen!

Tuesday, June 2, 2015

Day 2: Not Your Normal Thinking about the Holy Spirit

Levison certainly doesn't sugarcoat life in the Spirit. Unlike many who preach the health and the wealth gospel, Levison doesn't create the expectation that because we have the Holy Spirit in our lives things will be easy or that we will experience success, at least in terms of the way the world views success. I found the following quotations bracing:

"Here is the bare-bones expression of faith: the Spirit of God inspires us even--especially--at the      doorstep of death..."

"The Spirit in Job is not the power of victorious living--at leas not victorious living in the sense of     escape from illness and poverty and grief. The Spirit in Job is not the source of abundant life--at     least not the abundant life with a permanent smile full of bright white teeth and all the trappings       of security and success. The Spirit in Job doesn't manufacture what's astonishing--miracles and healings and brilliant sermons--at least not for this exhausted human being."

I don't think that these are the kinds of words that we want to hear, and especially when we think about the Holy Spirit. We want to hear about miracles, success, amazing stories. We are tempted to think that what Job experienced, the sense of exhaustion, of barely having breath as a sign of the presence of the Holy Spirit.

Are you winded? Can you say with Job, "As long as my breath is in me and the spirit of God is in my nostrils, my lips will not speak falsehood, and my tongue will not utter deceit"?

I want to be able to live the prayer that Levison prays:

      And when death around me
      When heath drops away

      Let me breathe out God's truth
      Let me sing, soft but strongly, God's praise.

Any thoughts?




Monday, June 1, 2015

Starting at the Beginning

I must confess that when I think of texts about the Holy Spirit the book of Genesis doesn't come to mind. Yet that is exactly where Levison begins his book on the Holy Spirit and it works for me--it makes sense.

The first thing that he notes is that the Spirit brings order out of chaos. I like that. I don't like it when I feel like my life is in chaos, or my house is in chaos because it makes me feel out of control. On the other hand, as I read this, I was thinking of some manifestations of the Spirit I have read about where it almost seems that the moving of the Holy Spirit creates chaos. I'm thinking of Pentecost where the coming of the Holy Spirit certainly stirred things up. Maybe it is more accurate to say that where things become rigid or stagnate--our theology, faith, etc.--the Holy Spirit doesn't create chaos but shakes things up and it can feel chaotic. Any thoughts about this?

What do you think about Levison's observation that the first act of the Spirit in the bible is to "hover"? "When we first meet theSpirit, we encounter the majesty of  bird of prey plucking its young and carrying them to safety. The threat of chaos is simply no match for the eagle's presence." I have never thought of the Spirit in this way, but I found his metaphor of the Spirit like an eagle helpful.

I really liked his prayer...