Wednesday, June 15, “May I receive a double portion of your Spirit.”
Bug Light So. Portland start of the Eastern/Green Trail
Picture by Fred Prince
Our Blog is inspired by The Holy Spirit.
Interesting how the Holy Spirit works in my life. I read the readings, and my mind was blank.
The first reading was about Elijah being taken up to Heaven.
The Gospel reading was the reading we use on Ash Wednesday,
Do not perform righteous deeds in front of others,
Do not say your prayers to impress others,
Do not look gloomy when you fast.
All of the above separate the Christan from the “World.”
We are called to live our lives so that only our Father can see what we’re doing.
Great readings, but my mind was blank. This is not a great way to start typing a blog.
Before we started typing, my oldest son Mike called, and we talked for twenty minutes.
He asked me about the readings. I told him the first reading was about Elijah being taken up to Heaven, and Elisha asked for a “double portion” of Elijah’s Spirit, the Holy Spirit working in my life, as you will soon discover.
Elijah responds,” If Elisha sees Elijah taken up to Heaven, then Elisha’s request will be granted.”
Elisha does see Elijah taken up to Heaven, and when he leaves the site where this happens, he uses Elijah’s mantle to part the Jordan and walk across on dry land.
Mike then said on Wednesday, a few years ago at Mass, they had the same readings as today, and Mike, for the first time in his life, asked for a double portion of blessings for that day.
Later that day, Mike and Conner, Mike’s grandson, age seven, went golfing at Whisper Lake and, after fifteen holes, decided to call it a day.
On the way back, Mike noticed a swimming pool on the right and pointed it out to Conner, who, trying to see the pool turned the steering wheel hard right, and they hit the curbing.
The golf cart started to flip. Conner bailed out.
Mike grabbed the wheel and tried to keep the cart from flipping.
Mike failed to stop the cart from flipping.
The cart flipped on Mike and landed on his right leg, and the pressure of trying to hold the cart upright was enough to tear Mike’s shoe in half.
Working on adrenaline, Holy Spirit, they lifted the cart off his leg. Besides a blown-out shoe, Mike and Connor each had a skinned knee, which was their only injury.
Amazing, no broken bones, and no stitches required.
DOUBLE BLESSING!
“For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” Luke 11: 10
Earlier, I asked the Holy Spirit to give me the words the Holy Spirit wanted me to type for this blog.
I received my answer with a beautiful story of a prayer answered;
Mike’s “double blessing,” they both walked away with just a skinned knee,
My blessing is hearing a remarkable story about the power of prayer.
And we pray today you will ask for a “double portion” and start, if that is the appropriate word, on building a relationship with the Triune God.
“The nine” We pray you will grow in the Love, Joy, and Peace of the Holy Spirit by growing in Patience, Kindness, Generosity, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self-Control.
Sidebar:
Here we are, three days since Pentecost, and we are back in Ordinary Time. The term “Ordinary Time’ has offended me as I get older.
Consider: The Holy Spirit is infused in the Souls of the Disciples and they become changed people.
For those of you who are old enough and might remember John Wayne, there was an ad for one of his westerns where John Wayne kicks down the door, steps in, stands on top of the door, and says, “Knock, Knock!”
John Wayne’s action describes what happened to the Apostles after receiving the Holy Spirit.
They left the locked room, went out, and told a crowd of over three thousand they had just crucified the Son of God and what they could do to be forgiven.
Life changed, for these men, and for you and I that profound change is still happening.
If we accept the Holy Spirit and accept being led by the Holy Spirit, then the “World,” as you know it becomes the “Spirit World,” and as we documented above, this has profound implications.
You will grow in the knowledge that God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit had, have, and will have your back.
That’s huge!
God has your back!
Who else would you want?
And, we don’t deserve any of it; remember, we crucified His Son by our sins!
So here we are, three days from Pentecost, and we have stopped talking about the Holy Spirit, the life changer.
I believe we’re not in Ordinary Times; we are in “Extraordinary Times.”
The Picture:
We thought I would show Rails to Trails Gail and I have ridden over the years for the next few weeks.
Today’s picture shows the start of the Eastern/Green Trail, Bug Light. You are looking out onto Casco Bay which has three hundred and sixty-five islands, The Calendar Islands. It offers some of the best boating in the world. Off to the left which you can’t see is the city of Portland, Maine. All kinds of shipping pass by here every day. Yes, that’s my bike.
Advertisement:
We are pleased to announce that I Believe… Revised Edition, our third book, is now available as a Hardcover (with jacket) Paperback and ebook:
Amazon: Paperback, $8.99 Kindle ebook $4.99
Barnes & Noble: Available online, or the store will order it for you. Hardcover $18.99, Paperback $8.99, Nook ebook $4.99
I became aware, Holy Spirit, that the Nicene Creed leaves out much of what we should believe. After all, the first two words of the prayer are, I believe. Why isn’t Love, justified, Fruit and Gifts of the Holy Spirit, the Father sending Jesus, to mention four omissions mentioned?
The Nicene Creed was last changed in 2019.
It’s no wonder the churches are not full; a prayer that starts with the words, I believe, doesn’t even mention Love, the greatest gift from God to all mankind. I Believe… Revised Edition is inspired by The Holy Spirit, as the cover clearly states.
I Believe… Revised Edition joins A Journey with The Holy Spirit Revised Edition, and both are available thru Amazon and Barnes & Noble in the same formats.
Type the book title and my name in the search bar to find the book. A Lion Dead to the Lord Revised Edition is NOT available yet, and I would love to tell you when it will be, but it always seems to take a lot longer than I think it will take.
