The Paraclete

With help from RA Torrey's "The person and work of the Holy Spirit' (free ebook on Kindle)

Paraclete is one of the words from Greek that Jesus used to describe the Holy Sprit, notably in John 14. Paraclete is a word that carries more meaning than the common English translation renderings such as Comforter, Advocate or Helper, as wonderful as they are. The idea of Paraclete or Parakleetos is, "one who is called alongside."

I've heard messages and sung songs about Jesus as our friend, and indeed what a great, understanding, life-saving friend we have in Him. Surely we can also be greatly encouraged by our friendship with the Holy Spirit. We live in the era of the Holy Spirit, as Jesus was foretelling in John 14. We now are blessed to have the ever-present, all-powerful Spirit of God alongside of us, standing by us through every moment from the mundane, to the tragic, to the exultant. 

What would your life be like if you really believed that?

What abundance are you seeking?

I think us humans are so afraid of losing everything that we seek to have and control whatever we can so that we feel safer. We all seek to have more than enough to try and scratch this itch but it doesn't satisfy.

So,

We hoard more stuff, 

We reserve more money, 

We eat more than we need,

We seek fleeting pleasures,

We cling to people,

We try to do more,

We try to be more,

We chase the wind. 

But life shows us that this rarely works, if only to make us forget our fear for a moment. There is an abundance that we can seek and will satisfy. We tend not to because we can't see Him and often forget Him until we get desperate again. 

We were made for Him. To seek Him. To enjoy His abundance. In our Father God there is more than enough love, comfort, power, grace, purpose and joy. 

In Psalm 23 David says that with God as his shepherd he has no lack at all, that his, "cup overflows."

What do you need of God's abundance? 

It's all in the eyes

I noticed that David mentioned eyes three times in Psalm 101, so I had a second look. It made me think about some important and deliberate things to consider about life.

What should I look away from?
"I will set before my eyes no vile thing" (Ps 101:3)

David makes a whole lot of "I will" statements in this Psalm - maybe it was New Years. These are deliberate statements of his intentions for his character and behaviour. All the "vile things" that I can't think of are media related but somehow even without internet access, David still had to make this aim. As he considered his life he thought about what he needed to avoid and ignore.

What am I showing from the inside?
"...whoever has haughty eyes and a proud heart..." (Ps 101:5)

Our eyes are a big giveaway; it's hard to hide what's really inside. So our eyes show what is in our character and emotions. I thought it was useful to consider what I am showing with my eyes. I felt challenged recently about getting lazy with constantly checking my phone and thinking about what message this sends to those around me - especially my kids.

What will I focus on?
"My eyes will be on the faithful..." (Ps 101:6)

We can choose what will be our focus. Just as we can choose what to look away from, we can choose what we will look at deliberately. We can decide to focus on the positive, the worthwhile, the beautiful. We can choose to make our passion and our goals the main thing.

There you go. It's all in the eyes. We get to choose. 

What faith for miracles looks like

I always seem to be drawn back to this part of the Bible. This time as I read John 11:20-27 I was inspired by Martha. She and her sister Mary were believers, they knew Jesus well. Their brother had died, they were grieving, and they had waited days for Jesus to respond.

Nonetheless, Martha went out to meet Jesus when she heard that He was on His way (v.20). It would have been quite legitimate not to. When we are grieving or going through difficulty it is easy to give up – even just for a season – on seeking God. Martha hadn’t given up on her faith in Jesus. She took what must have felt like a risk even though she was hurting.

Martha expressed her feelings honestly and respectfully (v.21). I’m encouraged by the honest way that Martha shared her feelings of disappointment with Jesus. I’m encouraged because I know that she knew Jesus well and felt that this was okay to speak that way to Him. I’m encouraged that Jesus didn’t flinch at this or find fault.

Martha was quick to follow this with an expression of her faith (v.22). She must have been feeling all sorts of things, yet she still acknowledged with her words that anything was possible with God. Martha also hadn’t given up on what she had been taught, she hadn’t thrown out her theology on end times (v.24).

Martha again acknowledged her faith by confessing that Jesus is the Messiah and Son of God (v.27). Although she was grieving and disappointed, Martha didn’t give up. She went out to Jesus, she told Him how she felt, and she expressed her faith. Jesus, in His own wisdom and grace, had made them wait 4 days. But then, He did it. Jesus raised Lazarus back to life. Not in the end of time but right then and there.

Martha received her miracle. God is indeed good.

But hold the press just a moment. My next day’s reading blew me away even more. Of course I learnt from Martha that I should seek Jesus even when it’s tough, that I should express my feelings and my faith to Him. But just before I make a recipe or an equation or a contract out of the process to receiving your miracle, I learnt something else from Mary, actually about God.

He is so gracious. Mary didn’t go out to meet Jesus. We don’t hear any great professions of faith. She may well have been an emotional mess. She made Jesus cry. But Mary also received her miracle.

Sometimes faith looks like Martha and sometimes like Mary. But God is always good, and powerful, and unpredictable. 

Inner Schism?

 “...dividing soul and spirit...”  Hebrews 4:12

Sometimes I feel fear and faith at the same time, probably more often than I’d like to confess. I’ve had times when I feel expectant about what God is going to do as I share the Word but also feeling quite discouraged. There’s been times when I feel full of confusion but able to make jokes and play with my kids.

Is this fake? Am I a hypocrite? Does this make me mentally ill?

When I have reflected on this I have presumed that this is strange and somehow wrong. I am one person, I want to be self-aware and consistent. How can I experience such different things simultaneously?

I’ve recently been considering what it means to be one person yet made with a body, a soul and a spirit. I realised that it can make sense to feel different things at the same time. My body might be tired, my soul worn out, while my spirit can be full of belief for what’s about to happen. Ideally all three parts would be doing great, and I certainly believe that this is possible, but it is foolish to doubt and judge myself when it’s different.

When our soul is overwhelmed with doubt and confusion, we need the living and active truth of God’s Word to divide between our soul and our spirit. Then, as our soul submits to the truth received in our spirit we’ll have peace that passes our understanding.

The Computer Metaphor

I thought about this idea to help understand the distinction between the spirit, soul and body. It has its limitations. Perhaps you can think of another way.

Hardware

The body is everything we can see, the physical, the moving parts; like the hardware of a computer. If something goes wrong with your hardware then it needs to be fixed or replaced. The hardware needs to do what the software tells it to do.

Software

The software is where the thinking and decision-making happens in the computer. Programs run, files are organised, memory is stored. If there is a problem with your software then you need to get an update, to refresh and to remove any bugs.

Connection

If the hardware and the software are doing their jobs, then the computer should be able to connect to the internet. It can come alive to the big world of the web. The internet is not God, but I think this connection is like the way our own spirit’s come alive at salvation and are then able to connect spiritually with God.

Friends, God is so good to us, so we really ought to submit our hardware to Him which pleases Him. Don’t be branded by the world but as you connect with God, let Him update, upgrade and refresh your software. Then you will know all that God has for you and wants for you.

Very rough paraphrase of Romans 12:1-2

Note to soul: Praise the Lord

"Praise the Lord, O my soul;" (Psalm 103)

It's encouraging that even the great worshipper, King David, had to have stern words with his own soul to focus in worship. In any time when I want to focus spiritually I find that I need to put my soul in its place or I'll quickly be distracted, inundated with fresh thoughts and feelings that make the quietest place so noisy. This Psalm of David encourages me.

He begins by commanding his soul to conform to what he believes in his spirit. He praises God for all that He is doing for him - God forgives, heals, redeems, crowns and satisfies. It's clear from the text that David was glad to remember these things and to be renewed like the eagle. This is coming from a time when David needed to remember, needed to make his soul focus.

With body and soul now submitting to his spirit's agenda, David begins to consider the character of the Lord God he knows so well, so intimately. David thinks about God's righteousness, compassion, grace,  faithfulness and love. David didn't simply learn these things from Sunday school. He had experienced these things in these times of intimacy, they'd been revealed to his spirit as he spent time with God even through the most difficult times.

Then it gets really interesting. As David has made his soul submit to the truth and as he tunes in to the character of God he begins to prophesy. David moves from expressing what he remembers and what he knows, in to sharing live what God is telling his spirit about the future. He sees the future of God's people being filled with His love and righteousness. David sees God's throne established and His dominion over all. David freely builds into a crescendo of praise.

It's as we offer to God our bodies and our minds that we can truly worship, and He can reveal His heart to us (from Romans 12:1-2).