A Normal Rhythm

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Behind the scenes production of on-line church. 



Scripture:


Luke 4:14   Then Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee, and a report about him spread through all the surrounding country. 15 He began to teach in their synagogues and was praised by everyone.


Observation:


After Jesus’ season of prayer and fasting in the wilderness he fell into a normal rhythm. Throughout the region of the Galilee he visited the synagogues and participated in the accustomed pattern of worship and teaching. All of this was done through the power of the Spirit. 


Application:


Again Jesus provides a pattern for our lives. We are to be Spirit-filled followers of Jesus Christ. This was the prerequisite of his ministry and is the necessary empowerment for holy living. Far too often we set off on our own, thinking that we can make it through the day on our own creativity, skills and abilities. God’s plan is for us all to be like Christ, who also needed the power of the Spirit. If Jesus needed this power, how much more so, do we? 


When we are filled with the Spirit, we are led by the Spirit. Our life journey is gently led and guided by the presence of God in and among us. Jesus knew where to go next, because the Spirit led him. In this year that has been punctuated by the presence of COVID, it can be difficult to imagine where we go next, or what the right move is in the days ahead. In some ways we have adjusted and learned how to do things differently. 


Sometimes I wonder whether we will know how to act when the pandemic is over or subsides. We’ve become accustomed to staying home and away from people — but people are in desperate need of hope and direction for their lives. They’re tired of virtual companionship and long for human touch. We want to be in the same room together with unmasked faces, wrestling with the big issues of life. We need the Spirit to lead us. 


Jesus lived into a normal rhythm of attending synagogue. He had an itinerant ministry, traveling across the countryside, and yet, he made sure that he still maintained the regular practices of life. One of the challenges that we face is an inability for many to physically attend church. Sure, we’ve been watching on-line, but it’s easy to put that off and sleep in on Sunday morning. Going to Zoom Sunday School or small group is just not the same. And little by little, we’ve allowed the normal rhythm to disappear from our lives. Do we really think it’ll come back after the pandemic if we don’t practice that rhythm now? 


If Jesus practiced a normal rhythm, I’m guessing it would be good for us as well. In Jeremiah 12:5 we read:


 If you have raced with foot-runners and they have wearied you,

how will you compete with horses?

And if in a safe land you fall down,

how will you fare in the thickets of the Jordan?


If you haven’t figure out how to remain strong in the normal rhythms of life, how do you think you will succeed when things get tough? I believe that even Jesus had to live into normal rhythms for him to be able to face the difficult days ahead. We need the Spirit to empower us in the ordinary, so that we can be prepared for the extraordinary. The normal rhythm will create structure to which we can return when everything around us is crumbling. 


Prayer:


Lord, I pray for the empowering presence of the Holy Spirit in my life today, and every day.  Amen. 


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