Devotion for Pentecost: Traditional or Transitional? - Acts 15:8-9

Acts 15:8-9      God, who knows the heart, showed that He accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as He did to us. He made no distinction between us and them, for He purified their hearts by faith.

Acceptance is currently a big issue in the lives of many churches around the world. It involves a serious review of what is acceptable to the 21^st century Christian community. It’s an important component of who we are and how we effectively witness to the wider world around us. Every generation has to wrestle and struggle with this; every congregation has to work through these tough issues.

Sometimes we get so busy defining the rules and regulations that we neglect to see where the Holy Spirit is actually working in our communities. We get so caught up in the theological civil war that is going on, that we forget about the healing work that the Holy Spirit is ministering to a much greater broken world.

This is not new or unique to our current generation. It happened in the First Century in Jerusalem where the Christian Church was initially started. The fifteenth chapter of Acts reveals to us the dilemma between Traditionalists and Transitionalists. Some Jewish Christians insisted that all male Gentile converts needed to be circumcised. Others, like Paul and Barnabas, fiercely argued that Christianity had progressively moved on from adhering to Jewish traditions.

Eventually, it was Peter who settled the dispute which threatened to divide and destroy the Young Church. Instead of looking back to the past or seeking a new paradigm, the Big Fisherman reminded everybody to look for the Holy Spirit and to seek to come alongside wherever the Holy Spirit was working among the people. Grace and salvation, acceptance and mission were meant to be discovered, encouraged, and supported wherever, whenever, and however the Holy Spirit chose. It was not a matter of keeping up with tradition; it was essential to keep in step with the Holy Spirit.

As we celebrate Pentecost this coming Sunday in our churches, congregations, and Christian communities, we should ask ourselves these important questions: where is the Holy Spirit working in my community? How can I serve alongside the Holy Spirit in my community?

Prayer:            Holy Spirit, help us to seek Your Presence in our communities. Enable us to truly know Your works and to support them fully. Grant us a new spirit of discernment and give us the courage to face the challenges and apply the changes that we need to embrace and employ. In the Sacred Name of Christ, we pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, TN. If you would like to comment on today’s message, please send him an email to traqair@aol.com.

Today’s image is one of John’s latest Pentecost drawings called ‘Caingis.’ Caingis is the Gaelic word for Pentecost, so the image features the Holy Spirit descending to Earth at dawn beside a Celtic Cross. If you would like to view a larger version, then please click on the following link: http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7432/8724021938_12912b6f54_b.jpg

Church Meeting devotions: Watching Balloons - Acts 1 v 10

Acts 1: 10 They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them.

Have you ever released a helium filled balloon and watched it float up into the sky? I have done this several times in my life and have been captivated by the balloon’s flight. As it climbs skyward up into the clouds, the balloon gets smaller and smaller. Eventually it is just a mere dot and then it disappears entirely. You end up with sore eyes because you try to see the balloon as long as you can without blinking. One final blink and the balloon is gone forever.

I think that’s how the disciples experienced Christ’s Ascension. They kept looking intently up into the sky because they didn’t want Him to go. So long as they could see Jesus, they knew that they weren’t alone. As He disappeared into the clouds, they must have felt anxious and isolated, fearful and alone.

Suddenly, two angels appeared beside them and gave them words of comfort. “Jesus will comeback in the same way.” In other words, Christ would return to them one day. That restored hope to the disciples. And as if that wasn’t enough, they were also given the promise of the presence of the Holy Spirit in their lives. They didn’t know what this would involve, but Jesus had spoken of this before, so the disciples must have felt that this repeated promise confirmed the truth about what the two angels were telling them: Jesus would come back.

Almost two thousand years later, we are still waiting for that promise to be fulfilled. The Holy Spirit has come and established the Church on Earth, but we still await that glorious day when Jesus will arrive from the sky and be among us again – this time forever.

Prayer:                        Lord Jesus, we await Your Arrival on Earth and yearn for that Day when You will restore all things to God and Time will be no more. We pray that we will be ready to receive You and be willing to do Your Holy Bidding as Your everlasting servants in God’s Kingdom. In Your Sacred Name, we pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to comment on today’s message, please send him an email to pastor@erinpresbyterian.org.

Today’s image is one of John’s digital glass drawings called “Balloon Fest.” You can view a larger version of this online at the following link: http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1161/1454659083_7548f6c333_b.jpg