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Pressure (Part 2)

In my last post I quoted John Ortberg who said, "Peer Pressure is the most powerful force outside of the Holy Spirit."  If that is true and I believe it is, then we not only need to be living lives led by the Spirit but we need to be surrounding ourselves with people who are filled with the Holy Spirit.

The fact is, people influence us.  That is why crowds are so powerful.  A crowd can change the trajectory of a person's life in a moment.  I think about the 1994 Stanley Cup riot in Vancouver that saw thousands of people create mayhem and disorder simply because the way a crowd was acting. 

(Click here and here to read about some other thoughts I have had on the "crowd.")

The same though is true of the "crowd" we connect ourselves with.  I often say to my kids, "show me your friends and I will show you your future."  Why?  Because our friends and peers have a powerful force at their disposal called peer pressure.  They can sway us and lead us into things that can mess up our lives.  This fact is not limited to teenagers.  We need to be aware of it at all stages of our lives.  I have seen way to many adults get pressured by their peers as well and end up dishonoring God often resulting in a life full of regrets.

But the opposite impact is true of a group of friends committed to the truth and power of God.  It is so awesome when I watch people of all ages surround themselves with peers who love God and who pressure them into living in the light of God's ways.

So, here is the challenge.  Let yourself be pressured by people who are committed to being pressured by the person and power of the Holy Spirit.  The sky is the limit in regards to what kind of impact and difference that kind of pressure will make in your life, family and world.

Pressure

What is it in your life that has the capacity to break you?  What thing or person or circumstance is so heavy in your life that it will make you do things you never thought you would do?  What is the pressure that when it comes your way always seems to influence you?  Who are the people in your life that have no problem getting you to act?

Pressure for the most part always has to do with people.

What I think they think about me.  What they say about me.  What I believe others are saying or thinking.  And so I succumb to their pressure and often do what I don't really believe in or end up acting like what I think they want me to be rather than who I am.

Pressure doesn't have to be bad.  We just have to position ourselves to make sure we are being pressed by the right people and more importantly the right person.  I love what John Ortberg said, "Peer pressure is the most powerful force outside of the Holy Spirit."  If that is true and I believe it is - then it also means that there is always another choice when it comes to the pressures of life.  So, here are a few questions to ask yourself when it comes to the pressures of your life:

• Is it more important what others say or what God says?
• Do I care more what others think than what God thinks?
• Do I assume what others may be saying or thinking and let my assumptions influence me or do I stand upon the truth of what I know God says about me and live in response to His promises?

The fact is - you and I will be pressured.  The question is which force is more powerful in your life?

I pray that you will always succumb to the loving pressure of the Holy Spirit in your life.

My Journey With Holy Spirit (Part three)

You can read part one and two here.

"I do not believe today
everything I believed yesterday;
I wonder will I believe tomorrow
everything I believe today."
-Matthew Arnold (1822-88)
British poet, critic

I remember it like it was yesterday. The assembled crowd of men and women huddled together, some laughed, some smiled, but most were standing in a settled seriousness. Almost all of the men had dark suits that had finely pressed crease lines. Most of them wore ties but by this time almost all of them had loosened theirs.

The women stood off to the side wearing ankle long skirts and buttoned up blouses waiting and speaking to one another softly. Most of us children stood on the outskirts of the gathering watching and waiting for our parents. The preacher had just finished his sermon and the organ was completing its last few notes as we all quickly gathered after the final hymn.

It took only a few moments, but then it happened. My eyes were drawn to periodic flickers of light that were like small pillars of fire that seemed to dash in and out and all through the crowd. Then, a moment later it began to form. A light fog slowly began to rise above the crowd growing thicker by the second overcoming and then hiding everyone’s faces. 

Then it hit me. I stepped back quickly as the smell of the fog wafted into my nostrils. My eyes began to water and my nose twitched causing me to turn away and cover my mouth as I began to cough. 

It was a weekly experience at the church I attended as a small boy. It always occurred right after the preaching of the word and the worship of the Lord. We came to expect it. No one questioned it. No one doubted it. What was it you wonder? A move of the Spirit? A supernatural phenomenon? The beginning of Revival? No, it was just everyone rushing outside to have a smoke. 

This childhood experience will give you an idea of the kind of church I began my journey with Christ in. It was an environment of respect, where the Bible was taught and family was revered. I learned all the Bible stories that kids learn growing up in Sunday School. I learned that God was my Father and that he created the world and all that is in it. I knew all about Moses and the Ten Commandments, about Joseph and his colored coat as well as David and the giant Goliath. I was told of the Birth of Jesus and his feeding of the 5000 people, about his ability to walk on water and heal blind, lame and deaf people and that he ultimately died for my sins and then rose from the dead. 

It was really good stuff but something was missing. They taught me all about the Trinity but then only spoke of the Father and the Son choosing for some reason to minimize Holy Spirit. 

It was not long after one of those after church smoking sessions that my parents were asked to leave the church because of their new found relationship with Holy Spirit. It was on that day that the smoke of their cigarettes was radically replaced with the fire of Holy Spirit. It was real, it was supernatural and there was always a lot of talk about power, flames, rivers and wind.  

My parents had decided that they wanted to look deeper into this Third person of the Trinity and in their quest were introduced to Holy Spirit and discovered that He was real and wanted to have an integral part in their lives. So, we moved to a new church that was pro-Holy Spirit. The music was a lot louder, the preacher was more animated and the people more emotional and for those who went out to have a smoke after church? Well, they got prayer for deliverance. 

I remember being fascinated by the draw of what my church was experiencing. It was exciting, energetic and full of anticipation. I remember dozens of people lined up along the front of the church and after being prayed for would fall like a row of dominoes that had been set up. I also found it really interesting that there would always be a group of men who would stand behind them and catch them as they fell and I always questioned why that was necessary. I mean, if people were faking it they would only fake it once and if it really was Holy Spirit doing that – then I rationalized that He really did not need our assistance. Nevertheless it was protocol and I was told it was necessary so that people would be open to the touch and move of Holy Spirit in their lives. 

As a young boy I began to embrace and learn all I could about Holy Spirit and in my quest I would soon realize that in the coming years I would learn some life changing lessons. Lessons that would challenge and change me in ways I never dreamt. I would experience moments where I would be impacted by the supernatural only to walk into other moments where I would question my experiences and wonder if I missed something along the way. Over the years I have realized that many have embraced a belief of Holy Spirit that is simply based upon feelings, emotions and experiences where others have swung the pendulum so far the other way that Holy Spirit is nothing more than an historical figure that accomplished a few things in the past. 

Thus, I know that Holy Spirit has been given a bad rap from both sides, yet in this journey, I have never questioned the reality and power of Holy Spirit. But I have wrestled with and wondered if the church has misunderstood, misrepresented, even at time totally missed the point of what Holy Spirit desires to accomplish in the lives of those who surrender themselves fully to Him. 

This is where I found myself in my quest to fully embrace all that Holy Spirit desires to teach and impart into my life and that quest was about to get more exciting and confusing all at the same time. 

I’ll talk more about that in a future post. 

What about you?  How have you come to understand Holy Spirit?  Does He scare you?  Make you uncomfortable?  What picture is formed in your mind when someone mentions Holy Spirit?  Do you find yourself having more affinity with God the Father and God the Son than God the Holy Spirit?  Why/Why not?

My Journey With Holy Spirit (Part two)

Not all those who wander are lost.
--J. R. R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings 

We had just left the safety of our boat to maneuver a number of smaller boats through a small tributary of the Xingu River in the Amazon basin. We were on our way to a small village in the jungles of Brazil to show a movie about Jesus and meet with the villagers. After 15 minutes of traversing this small river we arrived at the village, set up the movie and stood back to watch the villagers watch the movie in their own language.

We had seen it dozens of times and while they watched we wandered. 

“Let’s go back to the boat” someone said, “The rest of the team can take care of the movie.”

“But all the guides are watching the movie” another team member interrupted.

“That’s OK, there is a wooden canoe that we can row back to the boat.”

“But it’s dark!”

“So, that’s what flashlights were made for.” 

And so, four of us climbed into that little hollowed out wooden canoe and began to make our way back to the main boat 15 minutes up river. Because we had only one oar the rest of us shone our small flashlights ahead into the darkness so that we could see what was ahead of us. 

Three minutes into the journey we started to get a little nervous. Visions of anaconda movies and crocodile attacks began to overtake our thoughts. 

“Hold the flashlight higher so I can see” yelled our navigator.

“I am – but the batteries are starting to die.” I yelled back. 

All of sudden to the right of us the water rippled, a piece of its flesh bobbed above the surface and the snort of its nostrils exhaled its remaining breath as it blew a mist of water into the darkness of the night. 

“Were going to die!” Screamed one of the team members.

I quickly scanned the dimming glow of the flashlight towards where the water moved. We all saw them. Two eyes staring back at us with a sense of inquisitiveness as to say, “and I thought your species were the smart ones.” 

We all froze in fear as it snorted then repositioned itself and swam away. 

We all breathed a sigh of relief as we realized what we had just come face to face with in the darkness of that tributary in the middle of nowhere. A crocodile? An Anaconda? Nope. 

“It was just a water-buffalo,” someone said. 

“Whew – what a relief” another exclaimed. “Now let’s get back to the boat.” 

Ten minutes later filled with adrenaline and nervous anxiety we arrived back at the boat with an exciting story and experience that we would never forget. 

We wandered up that river with a sense of adventure cautious of what could happen or what we could face only to have our fears realized by something we never expected. We all believed it was a Crocodile or an Anaconda but what we came face to face with was simply a water buffalo. 

Our expectations and pre-conceived ideas were mismanaged by what we thought should feed our fear only to realize that, even though the feelings were real the cause was not what we expected. If we had known it was a water buffalo we would have simply laughed and carried on – but instead we allowed our perceptions to control our emotions. 

I think my experience that dark night in the middle of the Amazon jungle relates to how many of us understand the role of Holy Spirit in our lives. We think that He must operate and manifest Himself based upon our personal history with Him or at the very least, of what we have seen or heard about Him through the latest book, CD or “movement.” 

I personally think that we often expect the “crocodile” and are instead met with a “water-buffalo.” People love the adventure and excitement of a spiritually charged experience but when our expectations are not met we write the moment off wondering to ourselves (and each other) why Holy Spirit did not “move” in our midst. 

But, what if He did make an appearance? What if Holy Spirit was actually in that disappointing moment of ours but we failed to recognize Him? What if we have been guilty of pigeonholing Holy Spirit into a physically impacting experience to the point that we no longer hear Him moving among us, gently stepping into our lives, calling us back to a fuller understanding of who He is. 

• Powerful…yet under control.
• Overwhelming….but not constricting.
• Mysterious….yet welcoming.
• Supernatural……..naturally supernatural!

Maybe we need to broaden our understanding of Holy Spirit in our lives. Rather than only living in response to our experience what if we also learn to live in the process and journey that brought us there. So often we can miss the journey that was essential in bringing us to the experience of Holy Spirit in our lives that we so desperately need. 

When a house is built all that most people experience is the finished product. The beauty of the architecture, the design, the layout, the furnishings. What most fail to realize is that there was so much more involved in the production of that house. Nails, paint, expertise, budgets, drawings, orders, re-configurations, changes, electrical, drywall, colors, and the list goes on. The only people who have a proper perspective and appreciation for that house are the ones who were involved in building it, those who were involved in the process. 

What we have been guilty of doing in regards to conversion we have also done in regards to Holy Spirit. My experience and I believe it is the same in most churches is that we have treated conversion only as an event. We have “spiritual laws,” “bridge illustrations,” “altar calls,” and “salvation cards” yet all throughout the ministry of Jesus you see Him calling people to a journey. 

I sometimes wonder how we ever made the call to follow Jesus so clean and tidy. By removing process from salvation we make it a lot more clean – it leaves no mess and involves only a decision, a prayer, a pitch. But when you embrace a theology of “process” you also understand that there is a responsibility to come alongside people in the journey of them becoming like Jesus. Thus, we rationalize that if this approach has worked in regards to converting people then why not do the same with Holy Spirit? It is so much easier to create formulas and boundaries solely based upon our personal experiences and the church traditions that we know. 

What if we took a different approach when it comes to Holy Spirit? What if we embraced Holy Spirit in our lives by looking for Him in the journey? What if we worked at discovering Him in the process? Then maybe we wouldn’t have to work so hard at finding or following an experience or a movement because then Holy Spirit becomes integral to how we live and who we are. Maybe that is what Jesus had in mind when He promised to give us fullness of life (John 10:10) enabling us to live moment by moment rather than from one event to the next.

All throughout Scripture words are used to describe the process in a person’s life that takes place as they commit to following Jesus: 

• Ephesians3:17 -And I pray that Christ will be more and more at home in your hearts as you trust in him. May your roots go down deep into the soil of God's marvelous love. 
• Ephesians 2:21 - We who believe are carefully joined together, becoming a holy temple for the Lord.
• Ephesians 4:15 - Instead, we will hold to the truth in love, becoming more and more in every way like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.
• Romans 5:20 - God's law was given so that all people could see how sinful they were. But as people sinned more and more, God's wonderful kindness became more abundant.
• 2 Corinthians3:18 - And all of us " have had that veil removed so that we can be mirrors that brightly reflect the glory of the Lord. And as the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like him and reflect his glory even more.
• 1 Thessalonians 4:1 - Finally, dear brothers and sisters, we urge you in the name of the Lord Jesus to live in a way that pleases God, as we have taught you. You are doing this already, and we encourage you to do so more and more.
• 2 Peter 1:8 - The more you grow like this, the more you will become productive and useful in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
• 1 John 4:17 - And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we are like Christ here in this world.
• Jude 1:2 - May you receive more and more of God's mercy, peace, and love. 

I believe it is the same with our relationship with Holy Spirit. What we are becoming and being made into is intrinsically more important than what happens or is happening at certain times and places. I think we desperately need a fresh perspective on our relationship with Holy Spirit. In doing so though I am not demeaning or saying that an experience is not important – it is! But that is where we often stop and set up camp. We fail to allow those experiences to fuel us forward, moving us beyond the experience into a deeper commitment to live our lives as fully devoted followers of Christ. 

I am discovering that part of the excitement of going somewhere is the journey. That is the approach I want to take in discovering and embracing Holy Spirit in my life. I think it is healthy and helpful to wander and wonder in our journey as Christ followers and I believe that God invites us to do that.

My Journey with Holy Spirit (Part One)

For the next couple of posts I want to write about the Holy Spirit and my experiences with Him.  In doing so I want you to know that I believe in the power of Holy Spirit.  I know He is real, active and supernatural.  I have experienced Him in more ways than most would know and I desire to embrace Him in more ways than I could ever imagine.  He has supernaturally touched my life physically, emotionally and of course spiritually.  He has directed my path when I did not know where to walk.  He has imparted to me wisdom when I did not know what to think.  He has enlightened my understanding when all I wanted was to prove my point.  He has gently prodded me to step out in boldness when I was afraid and has held me back when what was before me was more than I could handle. 

  Holy Spirit has deeply impacted me and yet in that deepness I know that I have only waded into shallow waters.  He has so much more and is so much more than I could ever even begin to imagine. 

  So please know – I love and desire Holy Spirit. 

  Therefore, I pray that my thoughts will not aggravate or frustrate (although that may happen – but know it is not my intention).  I do not claim to be a great Biblical scholar but I do like to think, challenge and wrestle with things that I can easily become way to comfortable with.  So as you read my musings I hope that they will cause you (as they do I) to wrestle with issues, ideas, opinions and insights that will bring you into greater obedience to Holy Spirit and His ways.