May All Receive the Holy Spirit

Prayer-Soldier · Posted: Tue Oct 02, 2018 11:27 am Post subject: May All Receive the Holy Spirit

May All Receive the Holy Spirit

Scripture:

And the Lord came down in a cloud, and spoke to him, taking away of the spirit that was in Moses, and giving to the seventy men. And when the spirit had rested on them they prophesied, nor did they cease afterwards.

Now there remained in the camp two of the men, of whom one was called Eldad, and the other Medad, upon whom the spirit rested; for they also had been enrolled, but were not gone forth to the tabernacle. And when they prophesied in the camp, there ran a young man, and told Moses, saying: Eldad and Medad prophesy in the camp. Forthwith Josue the son of Nun, the minister of Moses, and chosen out of many, said: My lord Moses forbid them. But he said: Why have you emulation for me? O that all the people might prophesy, and that the Lord would give them his spirit!
(Numbers 11:25-29)

Go to now, you rich men, weep and howl in your miseries, which shall come upon you. Your riches are corrupted: and your garments are motheaten. Your gold and silver is cankered: and the rust of them shall be for a testimony against you, and shall eat your flesh like fire. You have stored up to yourselves wrath against the last days. Behold the hire of the laborers, who have reaped down your fields, which by fraud has been kept back by you, cries: and the cry of them has entered into the ears of the Lord of Hosts. You have feasted upon earth: and in riotousness you have nourished your hearts, in the day of slaughter. You have condemned and put to death the Just One, and he resisted you not.
(James 5:1-6)

But Jesus said: Do not forbid him. For there is no man that does a miracle in my name, and can soon speak ill of me. For he that is not against you, is for you. For whosoever shall give you to drink a cup of water in my name, because you belong to Christ: amen I say to you, he shall not lose his reward.

And whosoever shall scandalize one of these little ones that believe in me; it were better for him that a millstone were hanged around his neck, and he were cast into the sea. And if your hand scandalize you, cut it off: it is better for you to enter into life, maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into unquenchable fire: Where their worm dies not, and the fire is not extinguished. And if your foot scandalize you, cut it off. It is better for you to enter lame into life everlasting, than having two feet, to be cast into the hell of unquenchable fire: Where their worm dies not, and the fire is not extinguished. And if your eye scandalize you, pluck it out. It is better for you with one eye to enter into the kingdom of God, than having two eyes to be cast into the hell of fire: Where their worm dies not, and the fire is not extinguished.
( Mark 9:38-48 )

Reflection:

We might wonder, how is it only a small number are selected by God as prophets? If we look at the prophets of old, they were not always accepted or respected by the people. The reason was simple, prophets spoke the truth of God and many find it difficult to face His truth. If we were able to always do the will of God, there would be no sin and, perhaps, we might all be prophets, for we would not only understand what God asks of us, but we would live as He asks us to live.

Moses lamented, ?O that all the people might prophesy, and that the Lord would give them his spirit!" (Numbers 11:29) If all were able to prophesy and were filled with the Holy Spirit, then, Moses would not have need to contend with all the issues raised by a stiff necked people. Instead of selfishness as their guide, they would endeavor in service and love of one another. The daily grumbling of an ungrateful people would not have filled the days of Moses.

Even though the people of the time witnessed the miracles of God as He brought them out of Egypt, so quickly they forgot. Instead, daily troubles led them to grumble and endeavor to obtain their own desires. Many sought laws of their making over the laws of God. They did not comprehend that the Word of God was so that the children of His creation might share in the blessings of love. It was self-centeredness which drove them; their own laws they desired.

How many people have reached for wealth only to discover it often delivered more worries than happiness? This is not to say we may not possess, but when we worry only for material wealth, we miss a greater portion of life, the portion by which we may amplify the blessings of love. If we listen to the wisdom of God, we shall realize envy and greed bring darkness to the soul as well as to the world, but it is love which lights the way to His kingdom.

What are we to do, we might ask, for we are not perfect and we have many weaknesses. Jesus told us we must have priorities and our first priority is love of God. Our second is love of one another. (cf Matthew 22:36-40) We must see that valued possessions will not pass with us. No matter what we strive to gain of the world, the day will come where we will leave as we came, for nothing materiel can pass to His kingdom or the netherworld.

Through His style of hyperbole, Jesus told us that we should cut ourselves off from that which tempts us to sin. He also told us of our responsibility to the children of our generation. We must prepare them for the day they will become workers and leaders. We must prepare them so they may share of the blessings of care and service to one another. We must prepare them to resist the temptations of evil, for what comes from the evil one is the death of our soul.

If we open our hearts to the Holy Spirit, the Spirit will help us to see the wisdom of His Word. If we open our hearts to the Holy Spirit, the Spirit will help us to look after our children and protect their innocence. If we open our hearts to the Holy Spirit, the Spirit will guide us in how we may prepare our children for the day they will have children of their own. If we close our hearts to the Holy Spirit, we leave not only ourselves, but our children, to the ravages of the evil that prowls about the world in search for the ruin of souls.

Let us pray that we might all receive the Holy Spirit. Let us pray that we all might receive the gift of prophesy. Let us pray that God will guide us in how we may protect and teach our children so their hearts shall also receive and share the Holy Spirit. Let us pray our children will be stronger than we so they are prepared to put on the armor of God and stand firm against the tactics of the evil one. (cf Ephesians 6:11)

Questions for further reflection:

In what ways do we endeavor for the Holy Spirit to work through us?

In what ways may we free ourselves from the weight placed upon our souls by our material desires?

In what ways may we enable our children to stand against the ravages of sin?

May the peace and blessings of the Lord be with you always,
Prayer Soldier