Israel and locusts have had a long history together. But even here in Joel’s prophecy about judgment, there is hope and restoration for those to turn to the Lord. And the greatest promise found in this chapter is the prophecy of Pentecost! Even as locusts prepare to devour the land, the Lord promises a pouring of His Spirit for all those who repent.

It’s easy to do… With hundreds of distractions always vying for our time and energy, it’s easy to get our priorities out of order. That was certainly the case for Judah and the restoration of the Temple. The Lord appointed Haggai to take the people to task and take a spiritual inventory of their lives. Praise God that the same Holy Spirit who did that for the people then is the very same Spirit who can help us order our priorities now.

This prophecy surrounding Jerusalem’s future is amazing and mysterious. As many have opinions, none of us can know for certain how this will play out in the final days. But this one thing we can be certain: the same Spirit who will pour out grace on the inhabitants of Jerusalem on that day so that they will have the desire to cry out to Jesus is the same Holy Spirit who gives us grace today to call out to God. May we receive His favor, and may we never stop calling on the name of Jesus!

It’s the day after Thanksgiving 2024. We may still be in our “turkey coma” or looking forward to leftovers. We may be braving Black Friday shopping or turning our attention to Christmas by cutting down the family tree. Wherever this day finds us, it seems like a good day to be reminded of this truth:  being thankful is an expected fruit of being filled with the Holy Spirit.

The Jewish people were just coming back from 70 years of their Babylonian exile. They were charged with rebuilding the Temple, among other things. They needed encouragement. In steps Zechariah with a word from the Lord and a vision. It won’t be in human might and power that anything of the Kingdom will be accomplished, but only by God’s Spirit. The Spirit is always good for a never-ending flow of “fresh oil.”

If one carries the title of “leader” in any way, there is a great expectation that comes with that. For God, that expectation is even higher. That is why the leaders of Israel - both politically and spiritually - were under such assault by the prophet Micah. If we want the heartbeat of God, then we must care about justice and doing the right thing for the people we say we lead.

Perhaps the most infamous quote of all of these letters to the churches of Revelation is found in the letter to Ephesus: “You’ve lost your first love.” The indictment is clear, but the reason is not. But when we study the history of this city and read Acts 19, the shroud of mystery lifts, and we begin to get a peek into what may have caused this critical loss of love. Be careful when the business of the Kingdom becomes a business.

Let’s play a game. Start naming things that we as Christians are supposed to be known for. How many did you have? Do you know when it’s not a game? When we as Christians are not representing the character of Christ well. And that happens when we “invite” Jesus OUT of our fellowship. Open the door; let Him back in. Let’s learn the lessons from the church of Laodicea!

Philadelphia teaches us the importance of perseverance and enduring suffering for the glory of God, a concept that seems to be lost to the Church of today. We are promised suffering in this world (John 16:33, 2 Timothy 3:12). Both Paul and Peter speak to how “good” our suffering is for our Christian character (Romans 5:3-5, 1 Peter 5:10). And James even tells us to count our sufferings as joy (James 1:2-4)!

An ancient city that was huge in reputation and prestige… and yet God’s people were called to repent. A church that thought it was fully awake and alive… and yet was so very dead. A people of God that had great influence... and yet rubbed shoulders with the world. What might the church in Sardis have in common with an Old Testament valley of dry bones? Let’s find out.

From a rubble pile of clay pots in Thyatira, to Satan’s throne in Pergamum, to a martyr’s faithful last words in Smyrna, may we be ever so diligent to learn from the Seven Letters to the Seven Churches of Revelation. And may we be found without criticism by our Lord Jesus!

We’ve heard the term “hard-hearted” before. Even Jesus called the religious leaders of His day people with “stiff necks and hard hearts.” According to Ezekiel, the only way to truly have a “soft heart” is to receive a “new Spirit.” Praise God that that’s exactly what He wants to do in each one of us!

Yes, we as fallible people have misused and misrepresented God throughout history. Yes, we as broken and fleshly Christians have abused both the Person and the Power of the Holy Spirit. But we are still called to trust the goodness and purity of His Spirit, despite any and all damage that we have done. The exhortation is clear:  God is a supernatural God, and we are to trust His supernatural Spirit.

Did you know we have permission from God to be hard-headed?! Indeed we do, as we are called by God to do the work of His Kingdom. We are also called, like Ezekiel, to be “watchmen” for God’s people. And while it can be “sweet as honey,” the task of the watchman is serious and daunting. Only by the Spirit of God can we answer that call!

Israel was confronted by the prophet Jeremiah with two sins: They had forsaken the source of their spiritual strength, the fountain of living water, and they had dug for themselves cracked and broken cisterns that caused their water to turn stagnant. Unfortunately, we as Christians need to learn the lesson from Jeremiah: we need to stop digging and start flowing. How? By trusting the Holy Spirit of God more!

One of the more consistent themes of the Old Testament prophets is that of deliverance. In this incredible passage of Isaiah, the Holy Spirit inspired the prophet to speak of every level of deliverance: from the immediate enemy, the Edomites; from our sinful and oppressed state, by way of the Messiah; and from our earthly exile from the very presence of God, by way of the return of the One wearing a white robe dipped in blood. Praise the Spirit of Deliverance!

The question looms so large for us. If Jesus — who was fully and perfectly human and divine as both Son of Man and Son of God — needed the anointing of the Spirit in order to proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom, how much MORE do we need the Spirit’s anointing!? The “good news” is that His anointing is so ready and available to us as we surrender and submit.

Jesus coming home to preach—what a celebration! What an honor! Red-carpet treatment all the way in Nazareth. Hometown boy made good. The synagogue was packed. But if it was such Good News that Jesus taught, why did it land Him on the edge of a cliff facing certain death? Only those full of the Spirit can truly embrace the One teaching in the Spirit.

There is a current praise song out today called, “I Trust In God.”  the bridge of that song goes like this: “I sought the Lord, and He heard, and He answered.” Isaiah paints a picture here in chapter 59 when our sin can “stop up” the ears of God, keeping Him from hearing our prayers. Let us always rely on the Holy Spirit to convict us of any and all sin so that our prayers are always heard and answered.

Despite our incredible stubbornness, God is still so utterly faithful and merciful. Like Israel who was in exile to Babylon at the time, we are invited to stay loyal to a God who has continued to be loyal to us. How do we stay loyal to God? How do we avoid hard hearts and stiff necks? By trusting in and being obedient to His Spirit!