Good morning…
Fireworks are fun, fascinating, fantastic. All of my senses wake up as I look at this photo, taken twenty-one days ago on the 4th of July beside the tiny Pennsylvania lake where Steve’s family has vacationed annually for over a hundred years. Can you sense the booming sound, the sulfury smell, the spectacular sight, the exciting “oooh” and “aaah” of it all?
To do this complex thing, our brains need to access the superpower of the Holy Spirit. Last week, we posted about our five innermost senses activated by the Spirit of God alive within us. Intuition. Imagination. Perception. Will. Reason. Yesterday, we added three more internal senses. Focus. Memory. Gratitude. We are transformed by the renewing of our minds.
1 Corinthians 2:16 affirms, “We have been given the mind of Christ.” The Message translation opens verses 15-16 in expansive detail: “Spirit can be known only by spirit—God’s Spirit and our spirits in open communion. Spiritually alive, we have access to everything God’s Spirit is doing, and can’t be judged by unspiritual critics. Isaiah’s question, “Is there anyone around who knows God’s Spirit, anyone who knows what he is doing?” has been answered: Christ knows, and we have Christ’s Spirit.”
In communion with the Spirit, our spirit intuits truth. Resting in a state of oneness with God, our imagination is brought to life. God’s Spirit teaches our spirit to perceive the hidden mysteries worldly critics cannot judge. The Holy Spirit helps us to define our own will, our own desires, our own needs, so that we can continually surrender our true self to the higher will of God Almighty. Our human capacity to reason is put to good use and, with the Spirit partnering with our spirits, we discern wise daily decisions with God. We focus our attention on the positives in the moment. We draw upon life-giving memories. We grow the gift of gratitude. Harnessing the power of the Holy Spirit, our brains are being renewed.
Christ knows what God is doing, and we have been given the Spirit of the living Christ. What amazing freedom, Spirit to spirit, we celebrate each and every day of our ordinary lives!
Fireworks anyone?
…Sue…
