In the Body
Parents love to boast about their kids, don't they?
As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, John answered all of them by saying, "I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire." So, with many other exhortations, he proclaimed the good news to the people. But Herod the ruler, who had been rebuked by him because of Herodias, his brother's wife, and because of all the evil things that Herod had done, added to them all by shutting up John in prison. Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased." - Luke 3:15-22
Remember when Jesus was at the wedding feast in Cana and his mom called him out? Do you think Dad might have gotten angry about that?
Obviously, he planned to tell the world about his son, but Mom beat him to the punch.
OK, so maybe it wasn't like that, but Luke heard about the big reveal from Dad.
When I think of the Holy Spirit in my life, I don't experience the presence of the Spirit in bodily form. Or, maybe I do and just don't realize it.
Since the Holy Spirit dwells within us, I am encountering the Spirit in bodily form a lot.
It could be the Spirit that guides someone onto my path, to sit with me during my walk, to call or text me asking if I would like to meet for coffee or breakfast.
Now John said he only baptized with water, but on the day Jesus was baptized, he had the whole family together.
Chances are, he had the Holy Spirit in him from that moment on. Too bad he called Herod names or he would have been out there alongside Jesus and maybe even after Jesus' death.
The Holy Spirit works to keep the flame lit, so to speak. The Spirit moves from person to person, and the Word keeps spreading.
If you've got the Spirit in you, you can move the Word too.
More to come...