Trinity

Welcoming the Holy Spirit

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Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Matthew 28:18 KJV

Growing up Lutheran in the 1950’s our catechism class taught us that God was a Trinity: The Father, Son and Holy Ghost. We were all pretty clear on who The Father was, and obviously Jesus was His Son, but “Who is this Holy Ghost?” we asked each other. On the way to school my friend Wally and I decided to ask our Catholic buddy Louie. We figured that maybe the Catholics knew. But Louie was as mystified as we were!

Of course, as I grew older, I discovered that the Holy Ghost was the Holy Spirit and though that made it a bit clearer, it was still easy to dismiss His importance, or to think of Him as the Junior Partner of the Trinity. But He is no less than the other persons of the Trinity. By the Holy Spirit, Jesus was conceived in Mary. By the Holy Spirit’s hovering over the waters of a dark planet, God created all life and by power and action of the Holy Spirit, Christ is born into our hearts by faith. So, as we wake up each morning, we should remind ourselves that it is the Holy Spirit who stands ready to walk with us, protect us, and empower us. Why not welcome Him into our lives today and ask Him to guide our thoughts, actions and words? As we welcome Him this way, we will discover the wonder of walking with Him through everything and anything that lies ahead. Inviting the Spirit of God into the home of our hearts makes Him our Savior, but when we put the keys to our front door into His hands, He becomes our Lord!

The Candle – The Wick and the Flame

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And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. John 1:5 KJV

Our Sunday night prayer meeting had been dismissed and we were beginning to greet one another, when our friend Judy hurried over to the pastor with a question, “Pastor Kevin, I’m not leaving here until you explain the Trinity to me!”

I groaned inwardly and whispered quietly to my wife, “Looks like we’re going to be here a while!”

But Pastor Kevin just smiled and said, “No one can explain it perfectly Judy, but think of a candle, a wick and the flame. The candle is the source of everything, the wick draws the wax up and the flame is what people see in a dark room.” I relate this story for those who like Judy, struggle to understand the Trinity. Entire denominations have separated themselves from the rest of the church over this issue, with some even going so far as to consign the rest of us to the dark side for our belief in a God who is three in one. But we may never sort it all out and demanding to do so is no more helpful than chopping up the candle, helps us understand the flame. Maybe the candle of God burns to draw us closer, so that our hearts will be set aflame with the love of Jesus Christ. When He becomes our candle our wick and flame, then God flow through us to others, so that He will shine in the darkness till day that Jesus returns!