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Posts tagged ‘Holy Spirit’

Under the Influence

Happy Pentecost Sunday!

red and orange fire

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This is Pentecost Sunday.
It is the day Christian churches around the world
celebrate the tongues of fire that landed on the heads
of the people gathered in the temple.
The tongues of fire represent the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit allowed the people from
about eight different language regions
to hear in their own native languages
the disciples’ message –
– the Word of God.

The story of the coming of the Holy Spirit
is told in Acts 2: 1-21.
I read that scripture passage aloud
in our church service this morning.

woman reading a book

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Then Rev. Jean Johnson
of our Madison Valley Presbyterian Church
in Ennis, Montana
preached a sermon on that topic.
These are the poetic notes I took as I listened to her message:

“Under the Influence”

The disciples were filled
With New Wine – the Word –
It’s known as Pentecost Sunday.
People thought they were absurd.

Sometimes we, too, become
Intoxicated with New Wine –
Drunk on self-importance,
Inebriated on everything fine.

Possessions, new cars,
Perfectionism, being right;
Approval, needing it from others;
Knowledge, seen as being bright.

We’ve all been intoxicated
By hobbies – like fishing.
What are you drunk on?
For what are you wishing?

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My drink of choice is
Writing and staying in touch.
But that liquid isn’t everlasting;
It doesn’t fill me up very much.

I know for certain I need
To be under the influence
Of those gifts from God that
Help me live in love and prudence.

I am asked to drink
A New Wine that fills
My heart with God’s grace.
The thought of it brings chills.

God’s Day of “Sober Drunkenness”
Is a day filled with paradox.
It’s a day to set aside
The drinks that wind our clocks!

It’s a day to open up
The bottle of forgiveness.
Drink deeply of God’s Power.
It is intoxicating Goodness.

Let His potion sweep you
Off your feet to see
Your Pentecostal Moment.
Feel the Spirit; drink with glee.

Under the influence
Of God’s transforming love,
Let His New Wine fill you
With His Holy Spirit from above.

Pentecost brings us sobriety and inebriation.
Where are your moments of “Sober Drunkenness”?

Do you feel the Holy Spirit’s presence in you?
Let the tongues of fire land on your head
and fill you with God’s Love!

Happy Day of Pentecost!

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Thanks for visiting JanBeek.

Do leave me a message telling me about your
“Drink of Choice” on this Pentecostal Sunday.
What fills YOUR cup?

See you tomorrow.

Finding Faith & Forgiveness

Thank you for joining my A-Z journey
to explore ways to add meaning to our lives.

Today is the sixth day – the letter “F.”

F = Faith & Forgiveness

They go hand-in-hand. One invites the other.

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FAITH

Faith is belief in the unseen. To look beyond the obvious and see endless possibilities adds depth and meaning to our lives. It opens us to gifts beyond measure.

In Mark 9:22-24, a father of a mute son said to Jesus, “If you can do anything, do it! Have a heart and help us!”

Jesus replied, “If? There are no ‘ifs’ among believers. Anything can happen.”

No sooner were the words out of his mouth than the father cried, “Then I believe. Help me with my doubts.”

In their book, Spiritual Literacy,
Frederic & Mary Ann Brussat talk about faith,
“Recognize and accept that
there is another dimension to life
than what is obvious to us.
Live with obstacles, doubt, and paradox,
knowing that God is always present in the world.”

FORGIVENESS

And because we believe in the God who is our Creator, and the One He sent to forgive us for our repeated wrong-doings to ourselves and one another, we also have the capacity to forgive.

The Brussats wrote about forgiveness:
“In both your private and public lives,
discover the sweet release
that comes from forgiving others.
Feel the healing balm
of being forgiven and
of forgiving yourself.”

Enjoy the sweet smell
Of receiving and giving
Forgiveness’ balm

UNFORGIVENESS

“I am a wretched sinner! I am going to Hell!” Mark shouted from his nursing home bed.

“Mark, we all have sinned. We all make mistakes. None of us is perfect. You have asked God to forgive you. He has! You need to forgive yourself!”

“I can’t! You don’t know how bad my sin is! You don’t know what I did! I can never forgive myself! I am miserable,” Mark moaned.

My friend, Mark, died later that week!

I don’t know if he was able to forgive himself on his deathbed, but I believe our Lord and Savior died so that Mark could be forgiven. He did believe in God. He professed his belief many times.

John 20:21-23 says,
“Again Jesus said to His disciples,
‘Peace be with you!
As the Father has sent me,
I am sending you.
And… He breathed on them and said,
‘Receive the Holy Spirit.
If you forgive anyone his sins,
they are forgiven’ …”

Are you looking for more meaning, more purpose,
and a peace that permeates your soul?

Live in Faith, my friends.
Know the Holy Spirit lives in you,
and know You ARE Forgiven.

You do not need to end your life crying in misery.
Believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God,
and that by believing you will have eternal life in His name.

“Forgive them, for they know not what they do!”

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There are no ‘ifs’ among believers. Anything can happen.
He is risen indeed!

Be at peace!

 

Adding Meaning to Your Daily Life

Looking for Greater Meaning

I am always exploring ways to add more meaning to my daily life. Are you?

I want a greater understanding of:

  • who I am,
  • how to decode the world around me
  • what my purpose is here on earth,
  • and how I can live more intentionally to fulfill that purpose.

Do we need to have reached some “state of enlightenment”
in order to decode the world around us?

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In their book, Spiritual Literacy,
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
wrote the following,
“Some traditions do see such understanding as
a gift or ‘awakening,’ but we believe it is a skill
that can be developed.”

Seeing the Spirit Within

“Such understanding” is defined by the Brussats as the ability to decode the world around us by seeing the sacred in everyday life. They suggest that we look to see the working of the Holy Spirit in our common activities: cooking, eating, working, walking, listening, visiting, praying … Recognize the Spirit moving in our lives through encounters with places, things, people, nature, and animals. Know that the message of the Holy Spirit personifies the greatest commandment: Love One Another. Cultivate the ability, the skill, to tune into the Spirit within you.

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Loving Unconditionally

Loving One Another unconditionally is made possible by our ability to see the divine in one another. When we value each other’s gifts, when we see every other human being  as a Child of One Creator, then we are better able to respond to the Spirit within us.

In his foreword to Spiritual Literacy, Thomas Moore wrote, “It’s odd that after thousands of years of great spiritual example… we have to remind ourselves that spirituality is to be found in everyday life.”

Alphabet of Spiritual Literacy

The Brussats created an Alphabet of Spiritual Literacy with pointers on how certain practices can spell greater meaning in our daily lives.

I have an affection for using the alphabet as a stimulus for positive thoughts. I wrote an A-Z series last year on the subject, “What Makes Me Happy?” It was the start of my 180 consecutive days of blogging here at JanBeek.

So, I am naturally attracted to the Brussat’s Alphabet of Spiritual Literacy. I intend to use it as a new A-Z series here on JanBeek. In so doing, I hope to encourage you, my readers, to cultivate a spiritual vision while keeping an eye on the secular world. I hope to learn with you how we can unite our world views with our spiritual views. Wake up our Spiritual Literacy!

Restore Lost Bonds

I don’t want to live in La-La Land. I don’t want to experience a broad, impenetrable chasm between my social and my spiritual life. Thomas Moore explained that the Brussat’s purpose in writing Spiritual Literacy was to “restore lost bonds between spirit and matter, body and mind, church and home, work and prayer.”

I want my secular and spiritual lives to be in alignment. Do you?

Joint Effort

Let’s explore together ways to add more meaning to our daily lives, ways to decode the world around us, ways to live more intentionally to fulfill our purpose. Okay? Are you with me?

Let’s begin with A.

Tomorrow.

A = Attention

31 Daily Take-Aways

Happy 31st of March to you!

How do you start your day?
I read “A Spirit-lifting Devotional” each morning called “Daily Guideposts.”

Each morning as I meditate on the day’s message, I summarize the “Take-Away” for that day in one to seven words- and write it on the blanks provided on two pages at the end of each month.

I also use that page to pray about what God wants me to do that day. I plan the day out at the top of the page. Sometimes it happens just like that. Other days, God intervenes and unexpected things happen. Here is today’s plan:

I write the chosen words on the page provided and review the messages for the month. These are the 31 “Take-Aways” for this month of March:

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Prayer for Today:

Today I am praying to keep a humble spirit.
I ask God to help me see the Extraordinary in the Ordinary.

I remember that Jesus hears and answers us every time we pray.
He may not always say YES, but if we pray with a humble heart,
and ask Him to put a right spirit in us, and we pray in His Will,
we are more likely to get a positive response.

What is your prayer for today?

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Have a blessed Sunday, my friends!

Are You Ever Lonely?

Are you ever lonely?

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I invited God

Into my heart

And daily

Acknowledge

His presence

Within me.

I know God

Sent His

Holy Spirit

To dwell

Within me

Forever.

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The Good News means
I am never really alone!
No need to be lonely.

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Photo by Stokpic on Pexels.com

Reach out!
God is with you.

What a gift!!


Have a wonderful week, my friends.
Thank you for visiting.
I feel your presence!

English Sonnet – Cord of Love

I tried my hand at
An English (Shakespearean) Sonnet

An English sonnet is:
14 line poem
3 quatrains (4 line stanzas) followed by 1 couplet (2 line stanza)
Rhyming scheme of ABAB CDCD EFEF GG

HeartStrings

Cord of Love

I’m gonna live so
God can use me
Everyday glow
So you see
.
The Holy Spirit
In my soul knows
How to clear it
So He shows.
.
I can feel it
In my heart, Lord,
How you seal it
With Your cord.
.
It’s the cord of Love
From my God above.
.

woman holding mans face

Photo by Ba Phi on Pexels.com

 

And here is an English Sonnet from poet Tynea Lewis:
.

All We Will Be

He sits, paying no attention to me.

I wonder what is going through his head.

It hurts knowing friends is all we will be.

His unexpected glace turns my face red.

.
His mud brown eyes are so piercing and deep.

Then a smile fills his flawless, tanned face.

If only into his heart I could creep.

The slow motion moment makes my heart race.

.
Our time together is a dream come true

But I fear he can see into my heart.

When I am with him, I don’t feel so blue,

But something new won’t be able to start.

.
Since nothing will be, onward I must go.

These feelings I have to hide and not show.

.

 

Now it’s time for you to try your hand at an English Sonnet.

Learn more here:

Source: https://www.familyfriendpoems.com/poem/article-poetic-forms

Surrounded by Angels

On a cold and frosty Montana morning
I sit in my sanctuary – surrounded by angels
And the stillness within and without
Takes me to my inner sanctuary

Come and join me this morning
In the beauty of a winter day
From the warmth of my Angel Room
My place of respite, where the Holy Spirit dwells

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The sky is dark and we’re in a cloud

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The angels within sing quietly; they’re never loud

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Jesus prays with me from His place in my cloud

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And reminds me that FAITH is not for the proud

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With humble appreciation, I think of the faces

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Who surround me with love in these heavenly spaces

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I thank God for the trees all frosty with glitter

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I dream of the people gone before me – they flitter

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In and out of my prayers, like the three angels here

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They remind me of prayer partners far away, yet so near.

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I think of the gifts of poets and artists

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The angels surround me – sending thoughts that are part of us

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Some are melancholy, reminding me of my sins

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Others are joyful, and my gratitude spins

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I remember the angel who decorated this egg

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And all the other creative friends – Watch over them, I beg

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Help my friends who are ill and need special care

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Shine Your light on them… let them know You are there

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Bring them comfort and health and wisdom galore

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Hold them close to Your Heart, Lord, give them so much more…

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… than ever they dreamed of; like the birds of the air

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Let them know you are with them; show them how much You care.

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As the darkness subsides and the blue sky emerges,

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Send them all Your GREAT LOVE that in my heart surges…

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Great love for the angels that brighten my day.

And now, my dear friends, I send some your way!

heart shaped red balloonGo on your blessed, lovely, angel-filled way!And thanks for joining me in my sanctuary today.

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Hugs from JanBeek

Are You Baptized?

Baptism in Christ
A choice you can always make
It’s never too late

loleta & cake

Are you baptized? Or did you miss that ceremony as a child?

If it was like my baptism, you were an infant and don’t remember it. Does that make a “dedication” by your parents rather than a baptism for you into the family of God? Does it make a difference?

If you went through confirmation classes as a pre-teen and received your Holy Baptism at 12 or 13, you remember the occasion. But, was your confession of faith then done with the same understanding you would have if you confessed your faith and were baptized today?

My friend, Loleta, has always been a loving person. She has identified herself as a Christian for many years. But, she did not recall ever being baptized. She knows it was unlikely her parents had her “sprinkled” as an infant. So, in her enlightened “senior years,” God put it upon her heart to be baptized.

When my husband and I learned of her decision, we were thrilled. We asked her if we could attend the baptism ceremony.

“Why?” she asked. “Why would you want to travel so far to be here when I am baptized? Isn’t it just a private thing between God and me?”

“Because we love you!” we told her. “It is your PUBLIC acknowledgement of your faith. We are thrilled that you have decided to do this – and we want to be there to support you.”

We were not alone in our presence. Loleta had people from three states come to witness her baptism… and then we all celebrated together at a rental house in a lovely spot in southern California where we are sharing the time for awhile. The Holy Spirit is alive and well in this place!

Here are a few of the celebrants.

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Do you remember your baptism?
Mine was a sprinkling as an infant.
I wonder if I would have the courage
to be “dunked” if the Holy Spirit nudged me
to do so today.

How about you?

God’s Grace

God’s Grace

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“I am under the canopy of God’s Grace,”
the story in my Guideposts devotional assured me.

 

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I know it without a doubt. I am guided by the Holy Spirit and the Scriptures.

 

“Do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself.
Each day has enough troubles of its own.”

Matthew 6:34

 

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Accept each day as a gift.
The present is a present.
Open it – and live in the NOW!

 

I am sure you know:
God’s grace is sufficient when you believe and live intentionally in FAITH.

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Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand.”
Romans 5:1-2

 

God’s grace – and peace to you – dear friends,

PEACE now and forever!

 

 

R = Rainbows

Day #18 in the A-Z series on “What Makes Me Happy?”

 

RAINBOWS


Whenever I see

A sweet rainbow in the sky

I remember God

 

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Rainbows are God’s promise

To preserve us and this land

To keep us from total destruction

To hold us in His hand.

.

What could make me happier

Than sunshine after rain?

Sunshine that brings rainbows

And invites me to come out again?

.

“Come out” has brand new meaning

But it applies to one and all:

Be exactly who you’re made to be

As you live God’s rainbow call.

Sour high in love unending.

Keep the promises you make.

Let the Holy Spirit guide

Each venture that you take.

.

Be the promise of endurance.

Lift up others as you soar

To the heights set out before you.

Love your neighbors … love them more!

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Your turn:

What’s the “R” word that makes YOU happy?