Summer 2026: ‘Wildfires’ – The Holy Spirit, from Genesis to Revelation
This summer, we’ll immerse ourselves in the person and work of the Holy Spirit: from the first verses of Genesis, to the last verses of Revelation. Often the ‘forgotten’ part of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit is there at Creation, and also at the climax of the New Creation, throughout history revealing the reality of God’s presence and power to the world. So, let’s celebrate the Wildfire of the Holy Spirit, and continue to welcome His presence in our lives today!
Note: all Inspirations are now uploaded until Saturday 18th July, with the most recent post at the top. Scroll down to reach the right post for today!
Saturday 18th July – Romans 8:12-18 ‘True heirs’
A few years ago, there was a period drama on TV called ‘Belgravia’. The central character of the story was a young man called Charles Pope. Originally given up by his grandparents to be adopted, ashamed that he was (so it was thought) born out of wedlock, it turns out that Charles was in fact the legitimate heir to a noble title. Overnight, his fortunes changed. He woke up one day as an obscure middle class merchant; he went to bed that night as a peer of the realm.
On one level, it’s an enjoyable fairy tale. But in Romans 8 our journey to faith is described in the same terms. Through Christ, we become heirs to something even more wonderful: we are adopted as God’s children. We might have the same body, the same genes – but our destiny has changed. We come to know our divine parent: ‘By the Spirit we cry “Father”.’ (v15) And this is not just something external – somehow at a deep level our spirits join together with God’s Spirit, assuring us that we are indeed God’s children (v16).
And although this is a lovely picture of intimacy with God, St Paul is at pains to stress that it is more than that too – then as now, children inherit the riches of their parents (or lack of, as may be the case for many of us!). And God’s divine resources, God’s inheritance for each of us, is boundless. It may involve challenges in this life (v17) – but these will pale in comparison with the glory God has planned for us (v18).
This destiny brings with it both rights and responsibilities. The beautiful right to be free from fear (v15) – fear of death, fear of punishment, fear of exclusion: in Christ, we have life, forgiveness and are welcomed into his divine, global family…
…but also the responsibility to lead the new life we are called to (v13). As we saw in earlier reflections, we are born again, new creations. To lead this kind of life we need to be led by the Spirit (v14) carrying the rights and responsibilities of God’s children, his true heirs.
Charles Pope was a fictional character. But your destiny is real. You are a child of God. And because you are his child, God has made you an heir – and a new life awaits. We may battle with fear, but it no longer needs to define us. May God grant us grace to be led by the Spirit and live as his courageous, confident children today.
Friday 17th July – Romans 8:1-6 ‘The Spirit of life’
I don’t know if you’ve ever seen the crown jewels at the Tower of London. It’s a long time since I went, but I still recall the sense of wonder at seeing the breathtaking, dazzling display for the first time as a child. One of the highlights is the Queen Mother’s Crown. Worn at her coronation as Queen Consort in 1937, the crown is decorated with no less than 2,800 diamonds! And at its pinnacle (although it is now shown separately), is the greatest diamond of them all – the famous Koh-i-Noor, weighing in at over 100 carats and still the subject of controversy between Britain and India today.
If the bible is the story of the greatest ruler of them all – Jesus – then many consider the book of Romans to be its crown, describing the beauty of the gospel with great depth and clarity. And in this crown, chapter 8 is arguably the Koh-i-Noor – the greatest treasure of them all. If there is one chapter which summarises the heart of all the great truths we hold onto, it is Romans 8.
And what it tells us, put simply, is that God’s plan for us is life. True life, abundant life, life with God forever. It is a life conferred by the Spirit (v2) – since God is the author and sustainer of life, when His Spirit dwells in us then it cannot help but confer this life on us. We may still have to die a physical death, but our spiritual life is assured.
What does this life look like? In this first of three reflections on this diamond of all diamonds, St Paul gives us three glorious glimpses of what ‘the Spirit who gives life’ offers us. First, no condemnation (v1). Jesus took that on our behalf, that we might be free (v2). In a world where there are always restrictions of different sorts, the reality that we live in the light of a greater and deeper, eternal freedom is a wonderful encouragement.
Second, a new government (v6). We’re not talking here about civil or national government. Rather our minds can now be governed by something other than our own inclinations and desires. This slow adoption of divine government in our lives takes time – a lifetime, for most of us! – but slowly the growing realisation that we live by a new ‘rulebook’ (the ‘law of the Spirit of life’), with a new power source, energises our faith and empowers us to lead lives that were more like the lives we were designed to lead.
And, thirdly, the outcome of this is peace (v6). We all face conflicts – with ourselves, mostly, but also with others, with temptations, occasionally within communities. The Spirit of Christ brings peace. Not with all people, all the time – at least, not this side of heaven. But slowly, steadily, our minds, governed by the Spirit, produce lives characterised by peace.
Deep down, we all think that real life ought to be about freedom and peace. The great news is that this is exactly what Jesus came to bring. The temptation for most of us is to look for this kind of life in things that can’t give it to us. But here, detailed in Romans 8, is the real deal. And may God’s Spirit increasingly govern our minds, that we might live today, and this week, in freedom and peace.
Thursday 16th July – Acts 12:25-13:4 ‘Set apart by the Spirit’
It’s always fascinating watching how people eat a plate of food. You can learn a lot about someone’s personality from how they eat: in particular, when they choose to eat their favourite mouthfuls. Some can’t wait, and have to munch their favourite things first. Others like to space them throughout their meal. When I was younger, I always wanted to finish well – I would make sure that at least one of my favourite mouthfuls was set apart till the very end.
To be set apart is to be special. And this idea of being set apart is also an important one for a follower of Jesus. The word ‘holy’ literally means set apart, and God’s people in the New Testament are frequently referred to as hagioi or ‘holy ones’ – the ‘set apart ones’. It’s the same word used for ‘saint’ and the great news is that all God’s people are saints, because we are all holy, all set apart.
How? That’s the work of the Spirit. When the Spirit dwells in us, we are literally cleaned from the inside – the old word would be ‘sanctified’. The Holy Spirit – the clue is in the name – makes whatever the Spirit dwells in holy (i.e. set apart) too.
But there are several different ways we can understand this set-apartness. We are set apart from sin and wrongdoing. We are set apart in love – for God and each other. We are also set apart for stuff. For good works, for worship, and also for specific callings. God has plans for each one of us, and part of the Spirit’s role in our lives is to reveal them.
In today’s passage we see the Spirit set apart Saul and Barnabas for a specific special task (v2). Notice that it was birthed in worship and prayer (v2), and sealed by the laying on of hands (v3) – a sort of commissioning. The church nowadays still practises this for ordained ministry, but sadly restricts such ‘ordinations’ to one particular type of calling. But biblically, there is a strong case that we could be set apart for all kinds of ‘ordinations’, as the Spirit of God directs.
We’ll say more about the gifts of the Spirit in later instalments, but let’s reflect here that calling is a universal thing for followers of Jesus. We are all called to follow Jesus, and God has prepared in advance good works for each one of us (Ephesians 2:10). The Spirit indwells each Christian, so we are all set apart in one way or another.
You may not feel worthy of any kind of call. But it has often been observed that God does not call the equipped, but equips the called. Even here, the Spirit directs Saul and Barnabas where to go (v4). So, a question to ponder today – if the idea of calling might be far wider than you imagined, where is God calling you? What is God setting you apart for? There’s an exciting thought….
Wednesday 15th July – Acts 10:9-20,44-48 ‘Spirit-led rulebreaking’
All human institutions rely on rules to function. It’s just the way of things. Even those things that start as dynamic movements end up needing protocols and procedures, strategies and systems.
It’s no less true in the Church. As soon as any community grows to any size, it needs some sort of organisation to keep going. We saw two days ago how even the ‘model church’ quickly had to improve its structure, in order to care for people on a long-term basis.
Beyond these human rules, however, lies something deeper too. God’s people had clear laws which determined the pattern of their life. Although we often characterise God’s law as a series of do’s and don’ts, in reality it was a whole vision of life – for individuals, for communities, for lifestyle, for worship.
And two of those rules which any orthodox Jew would observe strictly were: eating certain ‘clean’ foods, and never visiting the home of a non-Jew. Yet, here, in today’s passage, Peter is asked by God to do both of those things. What’s going on? Does God break his own rules?
Well, yes and no. Since Jesus’ resurrection we now live in ‘the age of grace’. Jesus himself taught that his new way fulfilled all the food laws (Mark 7:19), and now people of all cultures and races are welcomed into God’s kingdom. But Peter hadn’t yet grasped the full reality of what this meant. It took this extraordinary series of encounters in Acts 10 to change his mind, and open his eyes to the full reality of the glorious new kingdom of Jesus.
And, significantly, it was the pouring out of the Holy Spirit on the non-Jewish Cornelius and his friends (v44) which confirmed to Peter that God was doing a new thing. Even in the new age of grace, God disrupted the ‘order of blessing’ which Peter himself had preached just a few chapters earlier in Acts 2:38-39. The Spirit was supposed to come after profession of faith in Jesus – here it came early!
So, to answer the question: no, God’s laws weren’t being broken, instead fulfilled; but yes, God was also disrupting the ‘natural order of things’ to do something new.
And this is still the way God works. This story is not a free ticket for a kind of ‘if it feels good, do it’ sort of spirituality. But it does remind us that God’s Spirit is wild like the wind, or like fire. It frequently disrupts our cosy human structures to do something new – for God’s greater glory.
The last few years have seen all kinds of unusual things; like Peter, we may feel uncomfortable, even confused. But let’s also pray that, like Peter, we too can see where the Wind is blowing, that God’s creative, disruptive Spirit might birth extraordinary new things in our lives and in our churches today.
Tuesday 14th July – Acts 8:26-35 ‘Divine appointments’
A few years ago I read a superb little book called ‘The 10-Second Rule’ by Clare de Graaf. The rule, as the writer describes it, is very simple: ‘Within ten seconds, do the next thing you’re reasonably sure Jesus wants you to do, and you could change a life forever.’
The point is that (like Simeon in day 20) we all get ‘nudges’ to do certain things. A person to call, a note to write, maybe we see someone while we’re out and feel that we should say hello or offer help. Clare de Graaf encourages us to consider that these might be divine prompts, Spirit-led nudges to live out our faith in lots of small acts of kindness.
We don’t need to be sure – as humans, we’ll get it wrong sometimes. But the point is: if the thought that crosses your mind is a good one, if it seeks the other person’s good and wellbeing, then it’s pretty likely that God would smile if we did it, indeed we might even conclude that He put the thought there in the first place.
Ultimately, the underlying theology – and I think it’s a very good way to live – is that Christian character is shaped less by our big, dramatic decisions than by the cumulative impact of thousands of small acts of simple obedience. But de Graaf is right to observe that we shouldn’t ‘overthink’ these nudges – which I have to admit is what I do all the time. That’s why he calls it the 10-Second Rule: you’ve got to act on the impulse quickly, because if you wait more than ten seconds thinking it over, debating with yourself, the moment will have gone. The person you saw in the street will have walked past, the phone call that flitted through your mind will be replaced by thoughts of what’s for lunch, or whatever.
In today’s reading, Philip got one of these nudges. A random chariot trundled past on the road and the Spirit said to Philip: ‘Go and approach it’ (v29). Philip had to respond quickly: wait a while thinking it over, and the chariot would be gone. Philip – who had learned to trust these nudges – acted immediately (v30), and the result was amazing. Just by ‘coincidence’ the chap in the chariot was reading the best chapter in the whole Old Testament pointing to the sacrificial death of the Messiah, and wanted someone to explain it! The result: a new follower of Jesus, and moreover an influential leader travelling back to another country, taking the message there with him.
Not all of our ‘divine appointments’ will be so spectacular. But let’s not ignore those nudges we get to contact or to bless someone else. They might just be God’s idea… and if we act on them, just like Philip or Clare de Graaf, who knows, we might get to change a life forever.
Why not pray for a ‘nudge’ today… and for grace to act upon it, too!
Monday 13th July – Acts 6:1-7 ‘Practically spiritual’
The spiritual life is often thought to exist ‘in another dimension’. And sometimes, it does. Miracles, prophetic words of knowledge, angelic languages – these are not ‘worldly’ things. But sometimes, we can fall into the trap of believing that unless it’s a bit weird or quite obviously ‘supernatural’, that the Spirit of God isn’t in it. We need to beware this line of thinking.
This lovely passage in Acts reminds us that the life of the Spirit celebrates practical gifts, and is well able to affirm them as God-given and extremely valuable for the kingdom. The ‘ideal church’ of Acts quickly gets its problems just like any other church. In this case, their social care programme – dedicated to feeding those in need – is not going well: some are being fed, others aren’t. And it’s causing arguments and allegations of discrimination.
The solution is wonderfully sensible. The apostles appoint seven new leaders to look after the church’s social care, which proves to be a spectacular ‘win-win’: both freeing up the apostles to focus on their core gifting, and blessing the practical care ministry, such that everyone is fed. The result, in fact, is not just practical benefit, but spiritual too – the church grows more quickly and reaches into new areas (v7).
What is notable in the appointment of the new leaders is that the first qualification is that they should be ‘full of the Spirit’. It assumes that they will have practical organisational gifts, but also looks for signs of spiritual maturity as well. The spiritual and the practical blend together for God’s glory.
Too often the church has neglected practical gifts. Yet the early church affirmed them. If you’re a gifted organiser, or good with your hands, or creative and artistic, these are God-given talents, which the Lord has given you for a reason. Rather than separating them from your ‘spiritual life’, it is far better to surrender them to God, that He might use them for His glory. That might be in the workplace, but it might also be in the Christian community. I couldn’t have produced the online services which we’ve done for the last six years without some wonderful people offering their technical gifts to create them. What a blessing they have been to us!
But there is a further encouragement here. As we grow spiritually, we might also find our practical gifting grow too. As we become more Christlike, so those Christlike qualities will enhance the things we’re good at. We’ll see things with God’s eyes, care for people better, including those we work with or serve as clients, understand our own fears and motivations. These all help us to be more fruitful.
We humans are a marvellous, divinely-inspired concoction of body, soul and spirit. May God continue to grow our whole lives, that our practical gifts, surrendered to God, may be used for His glory – both this week, and beyond.
Saturday 11th July – Acts 4:23-31 ‘Spiritual grace for testing times’
True goodness unsettles people. It might seem a strange thing to say, but time and again it has been demonstrated in the history of the church. Jesus himself was of course the perfect example of this: but it didn’t take long for his followers to discover the same reality. Opposition to the early Christians began remarkably quickly – in today’s passage, Peter and John return from their first grilling by the authorities. What had prompted it was, of all things, an outstanding miracle. A man had been spontaneously healed, and Peter had spoken to the crowd which gathered about the powerful name of Jesus.
It is a sobering reminder that commitment to living a life of peace, kindness and welcoming the supernatural intervention of God is no guarantee that we will not face trouble. Shining the light of Jesus inevitably reveals darkness elsewhere, and there is in some humans a hatred of the idea that they might not be masters of their own destiny: that they might ultimately have to answer one day to a Higher Power, a Greater Being. We might obey the State, and be model citizens, in most things. But our truest and highest allegiance is to God, and powerful people in particular are prone to resent the idea that they can never ultimately control us, because our minds and spirits are free – with the uncomfortable implication that their power is limited, even puny, compared to the Lord of the Universe.
So perhaps it is not so surprising after all that Christians have often been seen as subversives, a threat to the natural (corrupt, human) order. Every time the power of God is revealed, the flaws of human power are laid bare, and it is this sense of losing control which led the authorities to try and force Peter, John and the early Christians to stop.
But where there is opposition, God’s grace is greater. That is also a common theme of the history of the church. And here in Acts 4 we see the believers not only unite in prayer but also experience the power of God again: ‘the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly’ (v31). God’s presence through his Holy Spirit was made all the more available to those under pressure because of their faith.
Let’s notice, though, what the believers prayed for: an end to opposition? An easy time from the authorities? Not a bit of it. They prayed for more miracles, more opportunities to share their faith.
The great encouragement to any of us facing opposition to our faith is that God will give us more grace, more love, more spiritual power: in short, more of Himself. The challenge is that He may not remove the opposition: rather, give us grace to push through it and out the other side.
Today let us pray this grace for all those around the world facing these challenges. Let’s use Acts 4 as our prayer for them. And, if this type of challenge happens to be your situation too, take heart: God is with you in it. ‘When we come to the end of ourselves, we come to the beginning of God.’ Amen.
Friday 10th July – Acts 2:1-21 ‘Weak made strong’
You knew we’d get there eventually. Day 29 on our journey through the Spirit in the Bible and, yes, we’ve finally got to the passage that you might have thought we’d cover on Day 1: Pentecost, the pouring out of the Spirit in a new and glorious way: on all people, for all time.
There’s so much we could say about this wonderful passage. How the manifest presence of God came to Jesus’ friends in wind and fire. How it ignited mission, and fulfilled what we looked at yesterday, as the gospel could now reach ‘to the ends of the earth’. How it came at just the right moment, when multitudes of nations were gathered and could take this good news back to their homes and neighbourhoods. How it was mistaken for drunken behaviour and ridiculed, as sadly it sometimes still is today. How it represented a ‘new law’ for God’s people, which is what Pentecost had traditionally celebrated. How it brought Joel’s famous prophecy (day 17) to life….
And we can celebrate all of those things. But today, I feel drawn to sharing what it meant for the disciples, and how that might speak to us. I’ve been reminded recently of something profound written about St. Peter by the great Christian writer, G.K. Chesterton (and please forgive the non-inclusive language, Chesterton was of his time):
“When Christ at a symbolic moment was establishing His great society, He chose for its cornerstone neither the brilliant Paul nor the mystic John, but a shuffler, a snob, a coward – in a word, a man. And upon this rock He has built His Church, and the gates of Hell have not prevailed against it. All the empires and the kingdoms have failed, because of this inherent and continual weakness, that they were founded by strong men and upon strong men. But this one thing, the historic Christian Church, was founded on a weak man, and for that reason it is indestructible. For no chain is stronger than its weakest link.”
At the heart of our story today is Peter, who stands up before the crowds as a person transformed. Chesterton is right to note that Peter is essentially someone like us, and that this is why he proved such a great choice to lead in the upside-down kingdom of Jesus.
But this Peter has a new power inside him. He is no longer operating solely out of his human weakness, but in the power of Christ, which fills and equips Peter by His Spirit. Which means we can now look at Chesterton’s insight two ways: not just celebrating that God uses weak people (like us) to achieve His purposes. But also, since Christ indwells every Christian, then in fact every ‘weakest link’ is now far stronger than we could ever dare to imagine. Not our strength, but Jesus’.
Pentecost may have been a unique occasion, an unparalleled experience. But it speaks to a deeper truth for each of us: that the Spirit enables us to do things we could never have imagined possible. The Spirit is still enabling us today. What does – or might – that beautiful truth look like for you?
Thursday 9th July – Acts 1:1-8 ‘To the ends of the earth’
In 1995, a man left his well-paid job in New York, moved to Seattle, and began a business operating out of the garage in his new rented home. He started by selling books in the newly emerging online market. The first book he sold was ‘Fluid Concepts and Creative Analogies: Computer Models of the Fundamental Mechanisms of Thought’ by Douglas Hofstadter. Catchy title, eh? Nevertheless, business boomed. Within two months, he’d sold books to all 50 states in America and to 45 countries overseas. And from there it just kept on growing…. For this was how Amazon started, and it made the man – Jeff Bezos – currently one of the world’s richest, on paper at least.
What starts small can sometimes grow in an extraordinary way. When Jesus left this world to return to his Father in heaven (today’s passage from the start of Acts), he left behind 11 leaders, a total group of 120, no money, and no buildings. In other words, not a lot to the naked eye. But his final words to them were clear: what he started would spread ‘to the ends of the earth’ (v8).
How? Well, if Jeff Bezos harnessed the power of the internet, Jesus’ followers were about to receive a totally different kind of power. They couldn’t earn it or create it, they simply had to trust, wait and receive (v4-5, repeated v8). Only when they had received it would they be empowered to take Jesus’ good news to those around them: first to the capital city, then to the rest of the country, and finally across the world.
It reminds us that the gift of the Spirit is not just for our benefit, but for those around us. Lovely as it is to experience the presence of God, His power equips us to serve, and especially to share what we believe. As we’ll see tomorrow, the disciples’ first experience of this demonstrated that truth probably more than they could possibly have dreamed.
Infectious faith is a work of the Spirit. It’s good to have a testimony, and to know what we believe. It’s good to be ready to share whenever the opportunity arises. But most of all, we need the presence and power of God: giving us divine appointments, the right words at the right time, and multiplying their effect in those we are sharing with.
It doesn’t mean being passive. But the great weight off our shoulders is that, ultimately, it’s not about us. It’s God’s work: we trust, we receive, we go – and we leave the rest to him.
Who do you know that God is at work in? Why not pray for them today? And pray for power to be God’s witness wherever you may get the opportunity. Amen, come Holy Spirit.
Wednesday 8th July – John 20:19-23 ‘Re-creation’
During the covid pandemic a few years ago, it sometimes became quite hard to remember what ‘mass gatherings’ used to look like, but one of the more unusual mass gatherings of people in the last couple of generations has been the popularity of re-enacting major battles. I remember watching one about 30 years ago in Suffolk – truthfully I can’t remember which battle was being re-enacted, but I do remember noticing that ‘dying’ in the battle seemed remarkably popular. Later, I wandered past the beer tent and realised why…
What we see here in today’s passage is a far more important re-enactment, one with eternal and global consequences. The Gospel of John is all about new creation, a re-telling of the story of Genesis. It begins in the same way: ‘In the beginning….’ In ch3, Jesus meets Nicodemus and tells him that he must be ‘born again’ i.e. re-created. And here, in John 20, the risen Jesus does something which appears quite odd: he breathes on his disciples. Again, since the pandemic, we’re not too keen on anyone breathing on us, but bear with me, there is a vitally important reason here.
What Jesus does seems odd, until you compare it with Genesis 2 – we looked at it way back on day 2 of these reflections. There we saw God breathe his divine Spirit into human beings. Now, here in John – the ‘re-telling of Genesis’ – our risen Saviour initiates a new act of creation. When Jesus breathes on his disciples, he is effectively saying: ‘you are each God’s new creations now.’ What a thought that is!
When we become Christians, we don’t just ‘join a religion’ or ‘try to be good people’. It’s far deeper than that. We start a new life: we become new people, filled with the Spirit of God. Through the work of Christ, God is creating a new humanity, able to worship and serve him, to be the pinnacle of His creation that we were always intended to be. Or as St Paul summarises elsewhere: ‘If anyone is in Christ: new creation! The old has gone, the new is here.’ (2 Corinthians 5:17)
It might not often feel like that, as we wake up wearily on a wet Wednesday in winter, or struggle to say a few prayers before we go to sleep – but that is who we are. Jesus has put His Spirit in us, and we are made new. And we can observe that two consequences of this new life in our passage are peace (v19) and forgiveness (v23). Because we are at peace with God, we can be at peace with ourselves, with others, with our world.
Why not let that peace rest in your heart for a few moments now? You are Jesus’ new creation. Receive the Holy Spirit. Let Him fill you with peace today.
Tuesday 7th July – John 16:5-15 The Divine Awakener
I wonder if you’ve heard the phrase applied to someone that they were a ‘person of deep convictions’? Often it’s used in the context of someone who effected great change, based on their principles: a Nelson Mandela or an Abraham Lincoln. But you might use it to describe a very principled friend or colleague. The word ‘conviction’ in this case refers to deeply and strongly held beliefs that determine the way they live, the things that sit deep in their heart.
We come across the word ‘conviction’ in the Bible too, and it means something similar. Jesus uses it here in this passage when he talks of the Spirit ‘convicting the world of sin, righteousness and judgement’ (v8). Modern translations might render it ‘prove the world to be in the wrong’, but the idea is that, prompted by God’s Spirit, people come to a deep awareness of truths which cause them to live a different way.
In particular, Jesus says, these truths involve understanding that we fall short of being the people that God made us to be (sin), that this has eternal consequences (judgement), but that there is One who did not fall short and is able to sort things out on our behalf (righteousness – found in Jesus).
Although these are not easy truths to admit (especially in our modern culture) nevertheless without them the central act of the Christian faith – Jesus’ death and resurrection – makes no sense at all. Jesus dies for a reason: the ‘fallen-shortedness’ of every member of the entire human race for all of history. His righteousness wins for us what we could never claim for ourselves, and because of that we are forgiven, we are free, we become ‘new creations’.
It’s worth reflecting that whilst words like judgement might feel awkward for us, the fact that there will be a day when God puts everything right, when all the abuse and corruption and violence perpetrated by those who seem to have got away with it will be punished and dealt with, ought to bring us great comfort. What happens in this world matters profoundly to God, and He will make things right.
Jesus uses the word Advocate again here to describe the work of his Spirit, and we might like to observe that the Spirit can act as counsel for the prosecution as well as the defence, if I can put it like that. The Spirit defends our hearts, reassures us of God’s love, and helps us see through the lies of the enemy. But there are also times when we need to be reminded that God calls us to be holy, and to cast ourselves again on His mercy. That is ‘conviction’ as Jesus describes it, and either way (prosecution or defence) Jesus is glorified, since in both scenarios it leads us back to Him.
Whilst the word ‘convict’ is usually applied to an ex-prisoner, this passage reminds us that Christians are all convicts in a spiritual sense: those who have had deep truths revealed to them, but – praise God! – are no longer in prison.
Today, invite the Spirit to speak those deep truths to your heart again. And rejoice in your convictions!
Monday 6th July – John 14:15-27 ‘The Divine Advocate’
I must confess that I love watching legal dramas. There’s something about the intense atmosphere of a courtroom that draws you in. Something too about how truth is disclosed (or avoided), how arguments are massaged and presented, and ultimately, whether justice is served. Although many such dramas nowadays focus large amounts of time away from the courtroom – the preparations, the police interviews with witnesses, the personal lives of the protagonists – the key moment remains that time when the barrister (or advocate, to use another name for the role) gets to her or his feet, rustles their papers and addresses the witness. This is the moment when those of us watching at home sit forward on our chairs and draw a sharp intake of breath…
People need advocates. They need them in the justice system; but there are also other times when we might need them: to fight our corner, to defend those who can’t defend themselves. One of our good friends in London used to attend bankruptcy hearings with those being pursued for debt repayments, and his expert advocacy rescued dozens from destitution. An advocate is the sort of friend we need: full of energy, wise advice, and above all committed to us and our wellbeing.
There are lots of images for the Holy Spirit in the Bible, of which the most popular we have largely covered over the last few weeks: wind, fire, and water. The dove is also well-known, as shown at Jesus’ baptism or (by implication) in the famous story of Noah. But this passage gives us another unique image, and one which is particularly important because it is given by Jesus himself. How does Jesus describe the Holy Spirit? Here, as our Divine Advocate – in fact he’s so keen we absorb it that he tells his disciples twice – v16 and then again in v26.
Sometimes this word is translated ‘helper’ but that’s a bit cosy, the word is a little more dynamic than that. In the original Greek it’s parakletos, which is where traditional churches get the name ‘Paraklete’ to describe the Holy Spirit. (An old minister friend of mine grew up thinking that the priest kept saying ‘parakeet’ and spent his time as a child in church looking for a parrot flying round the building!) It literally means ‘one who comes alongside’.
Hence the modern translation of Advocate. The force of the meaning is of just the sort of good advocate we have described: energetic, wise and committed to us. And, uniquely, this Advocate does not just walk alongside us, but actually dwells in us (v17, repeated in v20). The Spirit’s heart speaks directly to ours, if I may put it like that. It is Jesus himself with us by his Spirit: loving us (v21), empowering us (v23) and teaching us all things (v26).
We often talk in church about whether we’re committed to Jesus. But this passage reminds us that the more important truth is that Jesus is intensely, eternally, absolutely committed to us. Just let that sink in for a while… What a thought to kickstart our day! Amen, hallelujah!
Saturday 4th July – Luke 11:1-13 ‘Ask to receive’
One of the huge questions people often ask about the Holy Spirit is this: if the Holy Spirit is given to all followers of Jesus (which it is), why does Jesus tell us to ask for it? Which is it? Is it automatic or only given on request?
This question has caused endless debates within the Church. So you will find, in the blue corner, those who advocate that we don’t need to keep asking because it is a once-for-all gift which we just need to cultivate. And, in the red corner, those who make much of the need to keep asking, that what we get at the start isn’t enough. Seconds away…!
As is so often the case, the argument tends to polarise towards either/or, when actually the bible seems quite comfortable with ‘both/and’.
(As an aside, you’ll find this a good rule of thumb in most debates about faith – the answer is usually not either/or, but both/and. We get into trouble whenever we try to ‘resolve it’ – far better to embrace both truths and live accordingly.)
The best way I can explain it is to think about birthdays. My son’s birthday is next week. He usually asks for various things for his birthday, which is great, and Alise and I will love to buy those things for him (mostly!). But since he’s our beloved son, we would have bought him gifts anyway. He doesn’t only get presents because he asked! He is guaranteed to receive gifts – it’s just also nice for him to ask, so we know what to get.
Our Heavenly Father, God, looks at his children in much the same way. Note that this teaching on the Holy Spirit is set in the context of the Lord’s Prayer. We pray to a loving heavenly parent who is delighted to give good gifts to his children. So we ask for the Spirit (v13) as one of the good gifts, knowing that God loves to answer that prayer. He’s given us the Spirit anyway, but there’s no harm asking, is there?
And because, as we observed yesterday, the Spirit is a person, with a personality, we can also afford to be specific. Yes, we can pray for more of ‘the Spirit’ in general, just as my son might say ‘just buy me stuff, dad’. Or we can pray that the Spirit fills us with peace, or joy, or gives us the gift of teaching, or discernment into a situation – the equivalent of a more specific birthday gift, like, say an Xbox game or a pair of Nike shorts.
So let’s rejoice that God gives the Spirit unconditionally to all who follow Jesus. And let’s also rejoice that we can keep asking, confident in the words of our master, Jesus: ‘How much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.’
What good gifts will you ask for today?
Friday 3rd July – John 4:19-24 ‘Spirit and truth’
‘May the force be with you.’ One of the most famous lines of cinematic dialogue, and one which certainly as a young lad in the playground I would happily shout at my mates as we ran around, pretending we were flying the Millennium Falcon or fighting Darth Vader.
Looking back now as an adult, I feel somewhat more ambivalent towards this phrase. Strange as it is to admit, it’s been hugely influential in shaping not just our media but also our religious culture. The tendency of the last 50 years or so has been towards seeing spirituality in terms of vague forces of good and evil which are unpredictable but can be harnessed by those ‘in the know’. The divine spirit is seen as a force, and naturally we want this ‘force’ (whatever you call it) to be with us.
Unfortunately, even Christians can be swayed by this way of seeing things – misunderstanding biblical images of wind or fire to give the impression that the Holy Spirit is really another force as well. In worship we have become increasingly prone to mistaking emotional highs for the true work of the Spirit, simply because we ‘feel it’. It’s the Star Wars Heresy (my name for it!) by another name.
Thankfully, Jesus sets us straight in this lovely story of his meeting with the Samaritan woman. There’s so much we could say about it, but today I just want to observe that the Spirit is not a force, it’s a person. And the great thing about that is that we don’t have to try and create situations where we can somehow feel a ‘force’ – if we want to know what the Spirit is like, we can look at the visible manifestation of this person (Jesus) and see. That’s so much better, isn’t it!
Since Jesus loves the truth, it follows that one of the most important qualities of the Holy Spirit is truth. And, as Jesus says in our passage today, real worship involves us worshipping ‘in Spirit and in truth’. The two work together – the Word of God and the Spirit of God. They both have the same goal in mind – to glorify Jesus in the world and in our lives.
They also work together in particular ways: Jesus tells us that the truth sets us free (John 8:32); St Paul tells us that where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom (2 Corinthians 3:17). Both the Spirit and the truth lead us to freedom. Elsewhere, Paul also says that as our mind is renewed (truth) so we are able to offer our lives to God, which is our ‘spiritual act of worship’ (Romans 12:1-2). Spirit and truth working together to help us lead worshipful lives.
Spirit and truth, truth and Spirit. Two sides of the same coin (and who ever heard of a one-sided coin?). It’s what a real relationship with God looks like. Jesus the living word, dwelling in us by his Spirit.
What truth is the Spirit speaking to you today? May it lead you into freedom!
Thursday 2nd July – John 3:1-8 ‘Born of the Spirit’
What do you think about when you hear the phrase ‘born again’? Sadly many of us tend to associate the phrase with one particular expression of the Christian faith, with (what might seem to us) the ill-fitting cultural clothing that comes with it. We may think of a fiery preacher in an expensive white suit yelling ‘you must be booooorn again’, or something equally memorable and unhelpful.
It is a great shame that the phrase has come into disrepute in recent years, because it’s one of the most important, dare I say it fundamental, phrases of the bible. And it wasn’t invented by Christians, not even folksy tabernacle evangelists. It was Jesus himself who said it. More than that, it wasn’t just something he recommended as a good way to look at the journey of faith: a nice idea we could use to illustrate a spiritual truth. He was far more insistent: ‘You must be born again.’
What’s the big deal? In the end it comes down to one of the great questions of life: how do we live the life that God wants us to? In the bible, the complexities of this question are neatly boiled down into one condensed but highly meaningful contrast: the flesh versus the Spirit. The ‘flesh’ is all about human effort: we live the life God wants by trying really hard – knowing all the rules and rituals, and then doing our best to follow them. This is how most religious worldviews operate, but there’s just one small problem – it doesn’t work. Our flesh is too easily corrupted, and even when we do the right things, we often do them for the wrong reasons.
The in-breaking kingdom of Jesus is totally different. When we follow him, his Spirit dwells in us and transforms us from the inside out. We begin a new life, indwelt by God. As our heart is changed and we develop Christlike virtues – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness – so we naturally ‘do’ the right things.
How can we describe this new life? Well, Jesus thought of one very good way: we are – you guessed it – ‘born again’ (v3, v6). Born of the Spirit (v5) i.e. to a new spiritual life, a God-infused heart which slowly learns to live as God wants. This is the Spiritual life, in the truest, most literal sense of the word. And, Jesus says, there is no other way: ‘no-one can enter the kingdom of God unless…’ (v5).
How can we tell where we are? Like the wind, we can’t ‘see’ God’s Spirit, but we can see its effects (v8). Take a few moments today to think about the ways you’ve changed and grown as a person as you’ve walked with God – that’s the effect of the divine Wind. And give thanks! Be encouraged that God continues to be at work in you.
And if you’re not yet sure about following Jesus, but would like to change, Jesus gives us the blueprint today. The great news is that it’s not about you, or your effort. It’s about having a heart which is open to Jesus, which lets him in to do what you can’t. Why not let God begin his new life in you today?
Wednesday 1st July – Luke 4:1-14 ‘Streams in the desert’
All of us, at one time or another, experience the wilderness. I remember just such a season back in 2002. I called it a season for ‘burying my face in the dust’. As I tried to articulate my thoughts, I wrote at the time that I was ‘easily broken, like a twig in a gale…. The world sits heavy on my shoulders; even gifts are burdens that weigh like boulders.’
Eventually I pulled through. My spirits lifted, not least with the arrival of a beautiful daughter, and a new calling as a father. Years later I was drawn back to today’s passage, and spotted something I hadn’t before. Jesus was ‘led by the Spirit’ into the desert (v1). In other words, his wilderness season was not a defeat or a mistake, it was part of his spiritual journey, one which God used to equip him for what lay ahead.
I too came to realise that what God had done in me was also significant in that season. It was undeniably painful, but also purifying. I learned my limits, but also my strengths. I had a greater capacity to empathise with others’ troubles. I was truly grateful at how strong and patient my wonderful wife was. And through it all, God had fathered me, and led me out the other side. Although, unlike Jesus, some of my wilderness season had been of my own making, nevertheless I could affirm that I too had been ‘led by the Spirit’ through the desert.
Desert seasons are horrible. Nobody asks for them. Few of us see the point of them until much later. And yet, God is in them. As Elijah found out all those years ago, God does some of his best work in remote places. He is found not just in the wind and fire but in the gentle whisper, the sound of drawn-out silence.
And after Jesus had undergone his own testing, he returned ‘in the power of the Spirit’ (v14). Note the change of language – before he was led by the Spirit; now he was empowered. That is often the outcome of a fruitful desert time. We may carry wounds: but these very wounds become our source of authority and gifting. The pain of loss turns into a capacity to counsel others. Our new-found humility enables us to carry responsibility better. Our learning of spiritual disciplines to counteract the desert experience become the practices which fuel our lives from now on. In other words: our weakness, surrendered to God, becomes our strength. We no longer live on bread alone – our physical capacities – but on God’s sustaining word.
Maybe this is a desert time for you. Take heart – God is in it. It may not feel like that now: but you will bounce back, in the power of the Spirit. ‘For when I am weak, then I am strong.’
Tuesday 30th June – Luke 2:25-32 ‘Moved by the Spirit’
I love this story. I make no apologies for including it in these daily inspirations. Simeon has got to be one of my favourite characters in the Bible. He only appears in this one episode, but what a cameo! A lifetime of faithfully walking in God’s ways crystallised in this one moment.
I don’t know if you’ve ever got up one morning with an idea that there was something you absolutely had to do. Or perhaps you pass someone in the street and know you need to talk to them. Or maybe it’s a phone call you’ve got to make. And you discover to your surprise and delight that you called at just the right time, or the person you approached needed help, or that thing you ‘had’ to do was something you would have missed if you’d left it till tomorrow.
If you’ve had that experience, you may well have been ‘moved’ by the Spirit. Our God is a God who speaks. And still speaks today. So we shouldn’t be too surprised to get these ‘urges’ every so often.
But let’s notice that Simeon’s crowning moment is not the first mention of the Spirit in this passage. Simeon’s whole life was infused by the Spirit – the text says simply that the Spirit was ‘on him’ (v25). God can speak to anyone: but it happens a lot more often to those with whom He dwells all the time. The more we allow God to soak our lives, the more these ‘divine promptings’ are likely to happen. Like picking out your family in a crowd, it’s much easier to spot things you’re totally familiar with.
Simeon’s moment was also preceded by a prior revelation. He already knew that he would see the Messiah one day. One of the gifts of the Spirit is the gift of prophecy – the capacity to see what God is up to. And Simeon clearly had this gift: and he believed what God had told him.
So, when he got the ‘nudge’ one day that he had to go to the temple, his lifetime of spiritual soaking and seeing led him to one simple act of obedience which changed the world.
You’re never too old to be used by God. That would be a fine summary of Simeon’s story. Or to put it another way: if you’re used to walking with God – such that the Spirit is ‘on you’ too – some days you get to notice a significant step that you’re being asked to take. What might that be at the moment? We might feel like the most unlikely people to be ‘moved’ by God – so it’s just as well that it’s not up to us! Perhaps our great and gracious God still has work for you to do?
Monday 29th June – Luke 1:11-17 ‘Filled for fruitfulness’
‘Behold, I am doing a new thing! …Do you not perceive it?’ (Isaiah 43:19)
We use the word revolution a lot nowadays. But in truth, genuine revolutions are very rare. Arguably, the Covid-19 pandemic witnessed (at least temporarily) a revolution in church life greater than anything since the Reformation, as large sections of the global church moved online, and formed their community and mission in a completely new way. Whilst the change for some churches proved temporary, we may still look back in decades to come and understand that something fundamental truly shifted in that season. Forced by circumstances beyond our control, nevertheless God birthed a great and unforeseen “new thing”. ‘Do we not perceive it?’
The prophet Isaiah also foresaw a ‘new thing’ – only this time its effects would only come to pass almost six centuries later. Many times over the vast intervening period, God’s people must have wondered, ‘is this the new thing?’ …only to witness so many false dawns. And then, suddenly, a faithful old priest wanders into the temple one evening and…. everything changes. A new prophet is coming, miraculously conceived, and uniquely ‘filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born’ (v15).
I do feel some sympathy for Zechariah’s incredulity. But, at long last, what Isaiah saw all those years ago was finally coming to pass. The Spirit was once again on the move, and the world would never be the same.
It is interesting to reflect on the significance of John’s early spiritual anointing. We might rightly draw the conclusion that, in the age of the Spirit, children are now included in the outworking of God’s purposes as never before. And many of us can testify that this is true. We might also see John’s unique anointing as a prophetic staging post to another child – John’s cousin – who is not just filled with the Spirit, but conceived by God the Holy Spirit six months later.
But today, let’s notice that John’s spiritual anointing was for a purpose. He was filled for fruitfulness. His task would be to ‘go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah… to make ready a people prepared for the Lord’ (v17).
We can sometimes caricature seeking the Spirit as some sort of sanctified ego trip, to feel something like a great big cuddle from God. And, occasionally, that is what we need. But most of the time, God draws near to us and fills us with His Spirit for a reason. We are filled for fruitfulness. God has plans for each of us, which He empowers us to fulfil by His Spirit.
As w3e discovered, even lockdowns and viruses did not frustrate God’s purposes. Nothing does. We all still have a part to play. How is God filling you for fruitfulness? For what is the Spirit empowering you in this season?
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