Another good study – Selwyn talks about water as an emblem of the Holy Spirit. He mentions the washing of Aaron and his sons with water before they commenced their duties in the Tent of Meeting. Later he mentions the washing of the disciples feet by Jesus.

I especially liked this bit: “The Holy Spirit is the One who applies the cleansing blood of Calvary, and it is He who washes us clean. But once we have been washed it is so easy to be made unclean by sin. What happens then? Are we washed all over again? No, the defiled parts only are cleansed by the Spirit. (As Christ only washed the feet of His disciples – He told them that they already had a bath – and only their feet had become dusty and dirty, from walking in this world.) He takes the blood of Christ and the ’basin’ of the Word and ensures, providing we allow Him, that we are not only washed clean but we are kept clean.”

The important point is that we need to ask for forgiveness and give ourselves fully to God’s Spirit to allow ourselves to be cleaned and also to seek assistance so that we remain clean – but human nature as it is – this is a ‘growing’, stumbling process. Do you agree?

The prayer for today, captures this theme well: “Father, I long for your Spirit, who has applied the blood of Jesus to my heart and made me clean, and continues to keep me clean. And since I know You will not do anything to me or for me without my permission, I give it now – and gladly. In Jesus’ name. Amen.”

Selwyn now looks at a third emblem of the Holy Spirit -water. “Water flows through the pages of Scripture like a river, and through not all the references and illustrative of the Spirit’s work, many of them are.”

His conclusion is great: “From the wounded side of our Saviour comes to every child of God a cleansing that purifies, a blessing that satisfies, a power that is irresistible, a love that is unquenchable, a life that is abundant and a supply that is constant. Can we ask for more?”

Today’s study is based on the main verse for reading and meditation: Psalm 78:20 – “When he (Moses) struck the rock, water gushed out, and streams flowed abundantly.”

God provides for us what we need – and; in the case of life-giving water – abundantly. In the case of life-giving power, provided by God’s Holy Spirit – more, than we ask for!

What do you think?

 

 

Selwyn summarises his discussion on a second emblem of the Holy Spirit – oil.

I like the following: ‘ … take a few moments during the day and let Him search and save, wound and heal, strip and clothe, humble and exalt, empty and fill. The art of moving closer to God is always to identify the need and bring it to Him in fervent believing prayer. ‘

In prayer, all of us can ask God to help us make Jesus known to those who are lost. It is the work of our Father and the main role of the Holy Spirit – it is the way we can develop our relationship with Jesus.

I heard a good sermon last Sunday – in it, the question was asked, ‘why was it that Jesus did not stay in Galilee and heal multitudes of sick people?’ The answer is that He had an more important priority. While it’s good to heal people so that they may lead a healthy life here – it is far more important to save those who are lost so that they may have eternal life with God in heaven.

This is also our main priority – to make Jesus known – and, to do this work we need the anointing of the Holy Spirit – we can’t do it on our own! Do you agree?

 

 

Selwyn continues to talk about the Holy Spirit in terms of using oil to anoint people for various purposes.

He talks today about the anointing of the sick with oil. The main verse for reading and meditating clearly covers the use of oil to anoint the sick: (James 5:14) “Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to … anoint him with oil …’

Yet, in the Church of our modern era, we rarely see the anointing of the sick with oil. Why? Is it that our faith is no where near the faith of our Christian brothers and sisters of the first century? Perhaps because of the advances in medicine we place our trust, first in science to deliver a cure and only when that fails, do we turn in desperation to prayer? I think even with those who follow Jesus they are often discouraged that when they pray for healing it often does not occur in the way they expect. Like Selwyn, I have been a witness to miraculous healing as the result of prayer. In addition, I have seen people anointed with oil for healing but that has been the exception rather than the rule.

I agree with Selwyn when he says: “The subject of healing is difficult – one of the greatest perplexities being why God does not always heal. Yet even though the subject of healing is surrounded by mystery, we must ensure that we do not abandon the clear scriptual guidelines given to us.”

One of the main reason given in the Gospels for an absence of the Holy Spirit’s power is a lack of faith. I tend to think it is the core explanation of why we don’t see a lot more of God’s power in action, for exactly the same reason. Do you agree?

Today has been a good day for many reasons – a great sermon at Church – a beautiful day, weather wise – a day to celebrate motherhood and new life - a day to enjoy God’s grace. I would have liked it to be a good day across the world but from the news on TV, I know that there many events which caused suffering and pain. It’s never far from my mind that while I enjoy the moment there are many, for a whole lot of reasons, who don’t have a blue sky in their day.

First off, I really liked the main verse for reading and meditation (Acts 10:38): ” … God anointed Jesus … with the Holy Spirit and power … he went around doing good … because God was with him.’  As Selwyn says: “This verse suggests three things to us. First, Jesus needed a supernatural baptism of power for the work that He had come to do. Second, that power was expressed in ways that resulted in ‘good’ being done to the lives of men and women. Third, He maintained a close relationship with God.”

Secondly, the last paragraph (Selwyn’s conclusion) is a great summary of what Christian life is all about – if you ever stop and think – “what’s the purpose behind all this trouble, strife and unbelievable joy”;  then read this slowly, while praying for understanding: “Acts 4:33 gives us a glimpse of the disciples when they were operating in the power of God: ‘With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all.’ And then we read, ‘There were no needy persons among them’ ( Acts 4:34).  The grace and power of God had an effect not only on the disciples’ preaching but also on their whole lifestyle. Power was given, not for selfish purposes, but so that by their words and their revolutionary way of living they might bring glory to God.”

Jesus did the work of God – because God was with Him. We too – can do the Father’s work and also be given His power to undertake this work - the work, is to tell people about Jesus so they may also believe and have eternal life! 

What do you think about this?

The following statement by Selwyn stood out for me: “There is a sense in which all of us who call ourselves followers of Jesus are anointed for the same purpose – we are anointed to save. … The qualification for this rescue mission is the anointing of the Holy Spirit. We need to be empowered by the Spirit and guided by the Spirit.”

I also like the prayer for today: “Father, I invite You to touch my spirit today with a new anointing so that I might reach out more eagerly to those who are lost. Guide me to the right people, at the right time. In Jesus’ name. Amen.”

Leading people into a relationship with Jesus is doing the work of God and therefore it’s essential that we have an anointing from the Holy Spirit to guide us.

What did you think of today’s study? 

 

Selwyn looks at how Aaron and his sons were anointed to minister and serve God.

He says: ” … in the broad sense of the word every Christian is a minister. … All of us have priestly work to do for the Lord – work we will be unable to carry out unless empowered and energised by the holy Spirit.”

As outlined in today’s study we are called to be holy and to worship God and God alone. Yet we cannot do this work by our own initiative and strength – it is essential that we have the anointing of the Holy Spirit if we are ‘to do anything effective for the Lord’.

What’s your view on this topic?