Intentionally Spirit-filled

“…but be filled with the Spirit.” Ephesians 5:18

Dear Friends in Christ,

Do you ask God to fill you with his Holy Spirit? That language is not frequently in our prayers, but perhaps it should be. The Apostles are often described as “filled with the Holy Spirit” as they took action to learn and grow and bless people. Pentecost, the great feast we celebrate this weekend, was the time when God first filled Jesus’ disciples with the Holy Spirit, and God continued to fill them with his Holy Spirit in the years that followed. God changed their lives and empowered them to speak and heal and renew people and build life-giving communities. Sometimes we think of this as a passive thing in the past that we should take for granted. What if we asked God for more of this kind of blessing in us each day?

If you believe that God can and does take action in this world, ask God to fill you with his Holy Spirit. Open yourself to the presence and power of God. Test what you hear and feel by the measure of Holy Scriptures (the Holy Spirit is not simply a good feeling or your first impulses). Be open to God’s powerful intervention in your life.

Being filled with the Holy Spirit opens our eyes to God’s presence and power, opens our minds to God’s wisdom and understanding, God’s mercy and grace. Being filled with the Holy Spirit each day strengthens our resilience and trust, and gives us joy and peace that passes understanding. This was not a one-time occurrence at Pentecost; Pentecost was just the beginning. You can read in Acts how Jesus’ disciples continued to be filled with the Holy Spirit as they spoke and served and healed and blessed and thrived together.

Ask God each day to fill you with the Holy Spirit, and live more deeply in the joy and peace that you will find.

Yours in Christ,

-Tom