Circuit Thoughts

Pentecost is the birthday of the church. This past Sunday we celebrated the descending of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples as they waited in an Upper Room. It was on that day that the church was born and over 3000 people converted to Christianity. You can read all about it in Acts 2:1-21. Be assured, you will not be disappointed.

However, shouldn’t we be celebrating Pentecost every day? I mean, shouldn’t the Holy Spirit be working in us all the time, and not just on special days or occasions. Shouldn’t our churches be spirit filled meeting places with an expectation of God interacting through his spirit?

I guess the big question I have is this; Do you go to church expecting the Holy Spirit to be there? I can’t help but wonder if this might be a problem in our churches.

Granted we can go to many churches and get the service we desire. If you like praise music, there is a church for you, standard hymns, there is a church for you. If you want quiet contemplation, there is a church for you, or if you want a sermon from the leader of a multi-campus church, there is a church for you.

We have all sorts of churches to fit all sorts of tastes in worship and praise. There are many churches that will make us comfortable and help us stay in our bubble. Even now, online church is going gang busters and many people prefer that to in person church. But, is being comfortable the true point of church? I don’t think so.

You see, the one thing I have found about the Holy Spirit is, it does not make you comfortable. The Holy Spirit will lead you into places you need to be, not where you want to be. I propose that a church that makes you feel comfortable, or one where you can just show up and do nothing, may not be so Holy Spirit led. Churches who are filled with the Holy Spirit are on the move, not sitting down, so to speak.

The Holy Spirit is meant to move us, not to institutionalize us. We are meant to be on fire, not lukewarm and tepid. We are meant to bring people to Christ, not close the doors in their face. So yeah, I wonder how many of our churches are actually Spirit filled churches.

Now, I am one person, and you can take or leave what I say. But I believe it is time for us to get back on our knees and pray for the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts and our churches. Every person that goes to church should be going to church expecting to see the Holy Spirit. Each one of us should be praying that the Holy Spirit descends into each of our services and Sunday schools. In addition, every person who is praying should be ready and willing to go where the Spirit leads us. It’s time to catch fire and move.

See you in church.