Phases

          Ever since I was a small child I have loved picture books and  story books with illustrations.  A small illustration can clarify what the author is explaining in words.  A drawing or photo can serve as a marker for information the reader needs, as in a how-to article in a magazine.  Word pictures and films are powerful tools in communicating a story. 

          Jesus taught short stories explaining the kingdom of heaven, the personality and character of God the Father, and many principles and purposes of relationship with Him.

          Since the Holy Spirit is one of the three personalities of God, and He knows me intimately, it is logical that He teaches and speaks through pictures in my mind.

          Lying in bed, in the quiet of the night, I listen. It is often this kind of moment I will see a picture or hear a phrase.  A couple of nights ago this concept suddenly presented itself to me.

Phase One	God the Father	Created our world and all that is in it.
Phase Two	Jesus the Son	Stepped into the creation He co-created with the Father
Phase Three	Holy Spirit	Came to inhabit the earth through His Bride, the Church

          Phase One:  God the Father spoke with such authority that particles of matter obeyed His voice and the world came together.  The world was established with systems of weather, systems of beginning and ending—like planting seeds, which grow into plants and then culminate into harvest.  God created man in His image and then gave mankind the opportunity to have the knowleged of good and evil.

          Phase Two:  Aware that man would choose the knowledge of good and evil, the Triune God agree to the plan of redemption.  Jesus, who participated in the creation, stepped into His own creation. 

“(3)All things were made and came into existence through Him; and without Him was not even one thing made that has come into being. …  (10)He came into the world, and though the world was made through Him, the world did not recognize Him [did not know Him].  He came to that which belonged to Him [to His own—His domain, creation, things, world,], and they who were His own did not receive Him and did not welcome Him.”  John, Chapter One.

To those seeking truth, Jesus taught how to become the Children of God.  He declared the Kingdom of Heaven, and demonstrated holy love to those willing to follow Him.  Through His death and resurrection, He established His supernatural government, with the promise of a Helper. 

Jesus gave instructions for them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for the Father’s promise;  The Third Person of the Trinity would be called

·       Counsellor

·       Helper

·       Intercessor

·       Advocate

·       Strengthener

·       Standby

Phase Three:  On the first Pentecost about 120 people were together, with one mind and devoted to prayer when they received the sudden visitation, like the rushing of a violent tempest blast.  The Holy Spirit appeared to each person as tongues of fire, separating and settling on every individual.  His Presence was diffused throughout their souls.  The Holy Spirit so overwhelmed them that they began speaking in other languages.  The Holy Spirit came to manifest God’s Kingdom here on earth through His Church. 

The Holy Spirit has been working His wonders in Jesus’ name through the centuries.  Jesus asked of the Father, so the Father sent the Holy Spirit, our Comforter, to remain with us forever.  He is called the Spirit of Truth, whom we welcome and take to our hearts because we recognise Him. 

Because of the Holy Spirit, the Church was born.  Because the Holy Spirit is born within us, it is His empowerment that causes the Kingdom of God to supersede all remaining natural governments.  Any Christian is a citizen of Heaven and is welcome in any Christian congregation anywhere on earth; without a passport, without the need for a visa or any state government approval.  A person might be limited by international borders preventing travel.  But the Blood bought Church is universal.  The Church existed before my birth, and the birth of my generation.  It will exist long after I am gone from this world.  Yet, the work of the Holy Spirit will continue on. 

In my imagination I watched the unfolding of:

• Creation, like a shot of the earth from the space Shuttle
• Creation of mankind
• Creation of the covenant of salvation
• Creation of the supernatural, superseding Body of Christ the Church

In seeing that story unfold, I see that we were created for the Holy Spirit, as a gift from the Father.  How amazing is our God. 

I hope you can see the picture too.

Serving Jesus, Author of our faith,

“Lady Helene”

"Leave it and come."

          On Sundays, after the 11.00 am service at St. Mary’s, we always have coffee and biscuits (cookies for the Americans).  Occasionally someone brings samosas, which are of Asian origin; pastry is filled with spicy vegetables and or meat and then usually fried.   For birthdays it is not uncommon for cake to be served.  But today we had the pleasure of crape-style pancakes, with a choice of toppings—chocolate syrup, strawberry syrup, maple syrup, sugar and lemon or honey. 

  

        The reason we had pancakes is because the Sunday School teachers gave the lesson on the transitions associated with Lent and Easter.  Pancake day is observed as the day before Ash Wednesday, and the beginning of the season of Lent.  The idea is that people cleared out the pantry of all yeast, and rising agents and leftovers in preparation of Lenten fasting. 

          The purpose of fasting during Lent is to let the body starve in order to strengthen the Spirit.  Usually it is accomplished by spending time in prayer rather than sitting at a table and consuming a large meal.  In the last few decades people have given up other personal pleasures such as watching television, reading newspapers, playing computer games, etc, in order to use the time to study the Bible and pray. 

          The other idea about Lent is that fasting is often considered temporary, but the results are permanent.  Some people give up putting sugar in coffee or tea and after 40 days they never take sugar in their drinks again.  

          Everyday I take Maisy out for a walk.  As with most dogs, she sniffs the ground.  “Maverick” and I are amazed by her ability to sniff the grass and find some morsel to eat.  Most times we can’t see anything that would be edible.  Another battle is getting her to avoid the food people throw down for the wild birds and foxes.  On every excursion outside I find myself saying: “Leave it and come, Maisy.  Leave it and come.”

          Lent is rather like that—a season when the Holy Spirit is inviting me to “Leave it and come”.  I get tempted to worry about the future, and the Holy Spirit says, “Leave your worry behind you.  Come and sit in My Presence.”  

Whatever the situation:

·        When my feelings are hurt, leave the desire for vengeance and come find grace to forgive.

·        When a friend is ill and I can’t help, leave the frustration and feelings of helplessness and come pray for them.

·        When I see injustice—whether personal or to others, leave the anger and resentment and come show mercy to those who have been bullied, harassed and poor.

·        When I don’t get my own way, leave my selfishness and desire for recognition and come and serve with humility, forbearance and no expectation of reward

·        When things are overwhelming, and answers don’t come in my time, leave my impatience, frustration and impetuousness and come find grace to wait without complaining, using the patience given by the Holy Spirit

  

As Lent starts on Wednesday, I want to make the most of the opportunity to hear:

“My beloved speaks and says to me, ‘Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away. For, behold, the winter is past; the rain is over and gone.  The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing [of birds] has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land.  The fig tree puts foth and ripens her green figs, and the vines are in blossom and give forth their fragrance.  Arise, my Love, my Fair One, and come away.”  Song of Solomon 2:10-13

Serving Jesus, Author of our faith

“Lady Helene”

So "THAT'S" what happened!

I’m grateful for  http://www.biblegateway.com/ for many reasons—the many resources, such as keyword search, topical index, and passage look-up.  Over twenty translations/versions of the Bible are available for comparison study and/or reading.  But one of the tools I really like is the Daily Reading Plans.  http://www.biblegateway.com/reading-plans/ 

            Over the years I’ve pretty much stuck to the Old and New Testament readings.  But this year I thought I’d go for the Chronological Reading plan.  So today’s reading was from Joshua , chapters nine through eleven.  Most times I try to take a few minutes to pray and ask God to speak to me through the daily reading.  Otherwise, I might as well be reading any other casual reading material. 

            I don’t know about other people, but it can be the obscure words or phrases that catch my attention.  Especially if it is a word I’m already familiar with—and think I know it’s meaning.  Then I look up the word and find out that it means something different.  Or, I see that word in a new context, and how it applies to my life. 

            Today, the word, “Hamstrung” caught my attention, when I read:  ⁹ So Joshua did to them as the Lord had told him: he hamstrung their horses and burned their chariots with fire."  Joshua 11:9  

My first thought was, “Why weren’t the horses just killed?  Wouldn’t hamstringing them just make them useless? “   

Apparently such is not the case.  After an internet surf to search, I learned that cutting the tendon at the back of the horses’ hocks rendered them incapable of speed and the strength to pull heavy loads.  But once the horse healed, it could be used for transportation, and carrying light loads.   This was certainly a new thought to me. 

One of the links presented the question to me:  “Hamstrung?”  http://reachingfinland.wordpress.com/2011/11/30/hamstrung/ 

This article is well worth reading.  It put an incident in my life into a new context.  In 2000 I had sent a manuscript to my friend, Elaine Wright Colvin. (Elaine Wright Colvin is a market specialist, editor, and career consultant for hundreds of authors. She directs the international organization Writers Information Network and publishes the WIN-INFORMER, marketing and trends newsletter, from Bainbridge Island, Washington-- http://writersinfonetwork.blogspot.co.uk )  Elaine kindly sent the book manuscript to two editors for critique.  These kind women did critique it with notes and instructions.  Instead of having the box sent to my post office box, I had it sent to my street address.  Unfortunately, the box disappeared—never to be found. 
At this point I’d been hamstrung.  I wanted to do the re-write—but didn’t know how or what to change.  And here I am, fourteen years later and no further with a writing career or a re-written manuscript.  My writing actions are what my mother would have called, “Played at”, but never have been driven. 
Earlier this year, I prayed for a breakthrough in this area.  I needed to know what had knocked my determination to follow this calling.  God spoke through this scripture, through another person’s blog post and now I can pray for healing. 
Please pray with me and for me. 
Serving Jesus, Author of our faith,
“Lady Helene”