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By Steve Lucas

I have a secret that I have to tell you. Whenever I thought of the Holy Spirit, I thought of magic and miracles. A rushing white light that would infuse into me a true embodiment of epic proportions that would raise me up as a super hero. Then I got baptised.

Ten years ago this month I decided to take the plunge and take my first of many steps as a follower of Christ. For me this was very important as it was a way to show my family, my friends that I wanted to be with Christ. It was not something that I took lightly as I saw it as a firm step forward. I knew that it was not the last step but I knew it to be the right one. But a part of me wanted the rushing white light.

This week Pastor Alan reminded us that spring was here and with spring comes new beginnings. We learned about another of the prophets, Ezekiel who heard the voice of God while away in exile with the people of Israel. While there he learned that the scattered people would one day come back to the land of Israel. Not with the stone hearts that they carried away with them but hearts of flesh and these hearts will be imbued with the spirit. He was telling the people of new beginnings that come out of the barrenness of the desert.

This last Sunday, being Pentecost, gave us another way for us to hear about the Holy Spirit. Not only that but we also had two new baptisms in our new tank which gave us another look at the power of the Holy Spirit. Pastor Alan mentioned that Ezekiel’s message is not only about the scattered people but a message of transformation, a message of hope. For with the coming of our new hearts comes the spirit. Wonderful images that we gather to remember what God is doing for us here and now. Even though we slip once in awhile we move forward with God’s presence in us. For we move in the same circles as the people of Israel. We pray but sometimes bad things happen, we are forced through turmoil but come out stronger. Nothing bad lasts as it is not locked in stone. We think the church has left us only to find that the temple is in our hearts all the time. The spirt moves us, the spirit is in us.

I know God loves us all equally and because of that he has found a way to give us the spirit and to set it free at the same time when He gave us hope and Isn’t God’s message always about hope?

I still think of the rushing white light because I have never seen it but I have felt it. Oh how I have felt it since that day ten years ago.

 

 

 
Listen to this sermon here!

2 Comments

Mary Ann Blaksley over 8 years ago

Although I was not able to attend church on Sunday, your reflection captures the imagery and blessing of this awesome God of love who always has Plan B. It is so vital to remember that God is always present and active, especially when we feel exiled or that we are living in the arid spiritual desert. What an amazing God to understand that we need to be empowered by the blessed Holy Spirit, so that our hearts of stone are transformed and filled with the light of His unfailing love.

Ron Morrow over 8 years ago

Thanks for sharing your reflections with us, Steve. One phrase that stood out for me was, “Ezekiel’s message is . . . a message of transformation, a message of hope.” If I ever wake up one day feeling as though I’ve been carried off into exile, may the assurance that God loves me and will never leave me be my source of comfort until the time when I return home again.

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