Christmas, Recovering the Spirit

[HKHaugan]

Christmas, Recovering the Spirit

 Of course, I’m talking about our spirits, the reshaping of the soul within us, allowing God to fill us with His Holy Spirit and restoring us to the full image of Him He intended in Creation. Jesus came to restore our wandering anxious spirit. With the mind centered in Scripture, the heart trusting in the presence of the Lord Jesus, the Lord provides faith for the new born spiritual self to come out from under the cover of sin and fear within to be active light of Christ in the world. That light is the Holy Spirit of Jesus shining from within us working God’s recovery plan.

 No more glowing account, literally, is given in Scripture than the one where Jesus takes Peter, James and John on a high mountain. “There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light (Matt.17:2).” In that moment, unlike Moses on Mt. Sinai (Ex.34:29) who reflected the light of God, the light came from within Jesus. Moses was a servant of God upon whom God’s light shone. Jesus was God the Son, from within whom, the light blazed forth. Think Gen.1:3, “Let there be light…”

 Up to this point Moses was the bearer of the Law (to awaken people to the spiritual distance between man and God) and Elijah wore the crown of prophecy (to keep God’s people spiritually awake to His presence through His Word), the Holy Spirit’s legacy in both. When they appear with Jesus on the mount, Peter tries to equate them with Jesus. A cloud moves over them. After it clears only Jesus is left. Moses and the prophets had done their job, preparing for Jesus. It is then the Father makes Jesus central with these words, “"This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him (Mt.17:5)!" From this point on the Spirit comes through Jesus, which fulfills the purpose of the Scripture and the work of the prophets. He bears and gives the Spirit. “So, faith comes from hearing the message. And the message that is heard is the word of Christ (Rom.10:17).”

 Our soul and spirit are reshaped by the work of the Holy Spirit who leads us through Scripture as we grow in our relationship with Jesus. “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart (Heb.4:12).”

 When Jesus was questioned by the Sadducees about marriage in Heaven He replied in the Spirit, "You're way off base, and here's why: One, you don't know your Bibles; two, you don't know how God works. After the dead are raised up, we're past the marriage business. As it is with angels now, all our ecstasies and intimacies then will be with God. And regarding the dead, whether or not they are raised, don't you ever read the Bible? How God at the bush said to Moses, 'I am—(not ‘was’)—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'? The living God is God of the living, not the dead. You're way, way off base (Mk.12:24-27 Message Bible)."

 Our spirits wander from one unseen encounter to another looking for a secure resting place. Without the Holy Spirit’s discernment, we are at the mercy of any attractive visual temptation fueled by unseen spirits that lure us to satisfy the moment. With the Holy Spirit we have spiritual eyes to see what is really going on eternally, then to choose and then to act.

 Christmas season celebrates a remarkable reality. Being a disciple of Jesus is knowing that He is always there with us bringing the Holy Spirit to bear on our circumstance and growing our spirits to be like His. When we seek to let our spirits be reshaped by His Spirit we find a whole new kind of life offsetting the sinful nature because “…the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires (Gal.5:22-24).” Paul concludes this paragraph with the assurance that once we have been filled with the Spirit we have the ability to do more,

 “Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit (Gal.5:25).” Now we are talking Christmas! A Merry Christmas is really a spiritual Christmas, an awake Christmas to the gift of the Holy Spirit who brings the Savior and Lord into our hearts.

 We can, all of us, put a sign on our door that says, ‘Spiritual work in progress, come on in, being reshaped by the Holy Spirit.’   Amen? Amen!