North Central PA Picture by John Ciribassi
Our blog is inspired by the Holy Spirit.
Brothers and sisters:
Let love be sincere;
hate what is evil,
hold on to what is good;
love one another with mutual affection;
anticipate one another in showing honor.
Do not grow slack in zeal,
be fervent in spirit,
serve the Lord.
Rejoice in hope,
endure in affliction,
persevere in prayer.
Contribute to the needs of the holy ones,
exercise hospitality.
Bless those who persecute you,
bless and do not curse them.
Rejoice with those who rejoice,
weep with those who weep.
Have the same regard for one another;
do not be haughty but associate with the lowly;
do not be wise in your own estimation.
Emphasis mine Rom 12:9-16
As we read the readings, the reading from Romans jumped out at me.
Here is a short list of what you must do to live in the “Spirit World.”
We have become bogged down with rules and regulations passed down through the two thousand years Christianity has been practiced.
Some items on the above list will be easy to follow, and some will not.
The challenge is picking the hard-to-follow and changing your life in that area.
For example:
Bless those who persecute you. I, like you, have been worked over through the years by a few people, and at first, as we have reported, found it very difficult to bless those who persecuted me,
But
What choice do I have?
I now fully realize that those who persecuted me have forgotten that they persecuted me because they thought what they were doing was right. The only one still being persecuted was me, by me.
That doesn’t make sense when you think about it; why would I beat myself up?
And yet we do; we love holding on to the anger.
I know; I was there.
The second tough one for me was, Have the same regard for one another.
There were, past tense, groups of people I, not we, held in low regard. Actually, to be blunt, I couldn’t stand them.
I realized this also had to change, and with the leadership of the Holy Spirit, I started praying for the people who screwed me over and the groups of people I couldn’t stand.
Why?
If God loved and created them, I might better understand why this statement was true.
This started to happen in the jail.
I met drug dealers, who, as a group, I couldn’t stand, and as I grew to know them, I grew to love them.
I am not excusing what they did.
And they are paying the price for their actions, but MY attitude has done a one-eighty in my thinking of them.
Even I’m surprised and love the new me.
Cut the list out and find a new you by growing in the “Spirit World.”
If you want to join Team Jesus, pray. Thank you, Father, for the difficulties (Name the difficulty……………) you have ALLOWED in my life; I know you will take care of me. Pray this until you smile, and that smile tells you, you are back with the Holy Spirit living in the “Spirit World.”
Sidebar:
Well, it’s Spring in Maine. Last night’s temperature was twenty-eight degrees, and will climb to the sixties by noon. I’m mentioning this because this is one of the things that endures me about Maine.
In the Navy, I was stationed in San Diego, and every day was seventy-eight degrees and beautiful.
You could plan a function three months in advance and know the weather would be seventy-eight degrees and beautiful.
Coming from the East, I found the San Diego weather boring. In the East, Mark Twain said if you don’t like the weather, just wait a minute.
That statement is very true today.
This is also true about our religion.
There are times was follow the same prayer patterns, give the same money to the same people and relax in our comfortable recliners.
I know this has been true with me; for example, I started the prison ministry with Bill Cook. he retired, and satan suggested that I quit because I couldn’t do it alone.
I remember the first day I held the first meeting on my own, which of course, you, I hope, know by now was not true, Holy Spirit, but satan suggested the Holy Spirit wouldn’t show up.
The Holy Spirit did show up, and we had a lively meeting, so much so that I couldn’t wait for next week.
Almost every week, we point out to the men that I have no notes or agenda and that the Holy Spirit will determine what is said.
They have never heard this before, and I think they are drawn in further to our meetings and, by the end of the session, have received a message that may be hard but one that God the Father wants them to hear.
The lesson is that to grow; we must step out of our comfort zone and try new things to grow further in our relationship with God.
God will always have your back!
We are writing this blog a week earlier because of Guy’s golf, and today is Ascension Thursday. Tim Gray of The Formed said that the Ascension of Jesus is tied to the Old Testament. I hadn’t connected those dots, so I couldn’t wait to relate this to you.
In the Old Testament, when Elijah was taken into Heaven in a flaming Chariot, Elisha asked before Elijah had been taken up if Elisha could have a double portion of the power Elijah had. Elijah said his request would be granted if Elisia saw Elijia ascending into Heaven.
Elisha did witness Elijah ascend into heaven and was given a double portion.
When Jesus ascended into Heaven, the Disciples witnessed Jesus’ ascension into Heaven, which was a sign that they would receive a double portion of the Holy Spirit.
Now the exciting part. Tim said that since we have ten days between the Ascension of Jesus into Heaven and Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit descends upon the Disciples, this would be a great time to pray a nine-day Novena.
Which I will do!
Picture:
The fall season in north central Pa. This picture was taken near the town of Canton, Pa. Picture by John Ciribassi.
Please keep Snapping!
Remember, if you want to submit a picture, no people, please, because we have to get permission from that person to use their photograph; in the comments section at the bottom of our blog, tell me you want to submit a picture, and I will send you my email address in our reply on Thursday. By sending your picture, you consent to allow us to reprint that picture in our next book, God Thoughts 2023, with your name and any comments in the Blog.
