Full of the Holy Spirit: Advent Week 1
Advent usually leads me into both new and renewed reflections. One person in New Covenant has been pretty much single-handedly responsible for teaching me to allow that to happen. Thanks Barbara L!
Today, I am wondering what was it like for Jesus to be “full of the Holy Spirit” (Luke 4:1) and for God to experience that “God gives the spirit without limit” (John 3:34).
And, now that God has put Jesus in charge of the work of the Holy Spirit in this age of human history (Acts 2:33 and etc.), how much of that “filling” and “filling again” is available to us?
I am not certain how much is available, but I am sure that it matters to God how much we are willing to allow ourselves to be filled with the Holy Spirit. This filling moves us more toward “the image of God” as individuals and toward the “kingdom of God” as communities of faith. And that means we can be better stewards of the incredible gifts of life, creation, church, community, and history that God has enfranchised us humans with.
Experience has taught me that I am more available to this filling of the Holy Spirit when I do these four things: When I am open to heartfelt worship and praise; when I remember to be thankful; when I remember to pray for the Lord to be present as I move from one event in my daily life to the next; and when I remember that loving is more important than efficiency.
Jesus was certainly correct when he emphasized how important it is for us to remember and act on the truth that if God forgave me for my falling short then surely I can forgive others for their falling short. And, I have learned that I bring more of God’s comfort and healing and peace and love to others when I allow Jesus to share more of his God-given gift of “anointing” with me.
What have you learned about being more filled with the Holy Spirit? And how might you work at being more open to the Holy Spirit this Advent season?
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As always, if you have any questions or thoughts about this post, or if there is another topic you’d like me to explore in a future post, please leave a comment. I always enjoy your questions and thoughts.