Dave started the Christmas readings early (Luke 1:11-17), but the need for all Christians to be filled with the Spirit is not something that is limited to one particular time of the year. We all need the Spirit’s infilling to be successful in the tasks God has for us – even Jesus ministered on earth in the power of the Spirit.

If we are to radically affect our neighbourhood, we need the same power that Elijah and John the Baptist knew. In the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit would come upon certain individuals at set times, but now Joel’s prophecy has been fulfilled and the Holy Spirit has come upon all believers. In order to be filled with the Spirit, we must:

1) desire to be filled with the glory of God – not simply so as to receive joy, power or gifts (though God gives all these things) but as that we may glorify God in all we do
2) be clean vessels, cleansed through the blood of Jesus Christ
3) be prepared to let the Holy Spirit have His way, learning to trust Him in everything and learning to surrender our whole lives to Him
4) receive Him by faith

There are times when God’s Word pierces our way of thinking and we realise afresh just how radical the Gospel is. Sunday morning was one such example of this, as Dave preached from Luke 6:27-38.

It’s easy to gloss over these verses with the contempt of familiarity, but if we are honest, Jesus’s command to “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you” (Luke 6:27-31) does not sit easily with our fallen natures.

In the 1960s, Martin Luther King spoke out against racial inequality and was hated for doing so. On one occasion, his house was burned down by a group of white men who didn’t like his message and it would have been all too easy for the blacks he represented to retaliate in like manner. Martin Luther King wanted, however, for racial equality to be won through peaceful means. He knew what it meant to love his enemies and to do good to those who mistreated him.

The natural human response to those who hate us and mistreat us is to ‘get our own backs’ but this is not the response Jesus is calling for here. Revenge may look great on the cinema screen, but it is usually as harmful to ourselves as it is to those on whom we practise.

God’s way of doing things is different. We are called to consider others. We are called to love our enemies and to bless those who curse us, to do good to those who mistreat us. We are called to be imitators of God, His representatives and His ambassadors on this earth.

How do we do this? It’s certainly not easy. It’s not a response we are going to naturally feel. But perhaps we need to understand that the choices we face in life are just that: choices. It’s not all about feelings.

Love is the decision to do right, even when you have been wronged; to do good, even bad is done to you; to bless, even when you are cursed; to forgive, even when you are condemned; to care, even when you are not cared for.

Love is not what we feel. Rather, it is the good we decide to do and then go on to do. We may do it with reluctance; we may do it with tears; but we do it because we are convinced that God’s way of doing things is better than our fallen way of dealing with people.

The ‘Golden Rule’ says ‘Do to others as you would have them do to you’. This is a very simple and basic way of determining how we ought to act towards others. It’s also linked to the principle ‘the judgment you give is the judgment you will receive’. We need to forgive, because we ourselves need lots of forgiveness. We need to bless, because we need God’s blessing. And as we love our enemies, so love, rather than revenge, will come back to us. What we sow, we will definitely reap.

Moreoever, if we still feel that this way of living is beyond us – and we can only do it with God’s help and through His grace – then as always we have the example of Jesus to show us that it is, indeed, possible:

“Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.’He committed no sin,and no deceit was found in his mouth.’ When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.” (1 Peter 2:21-25)

I was sent these comments this week and loved them, so I thought I would share them with you all! I don’t know the original source of the comments, but as always, children have a great perspective on life!

There’s a lot of waiting and anticipating going on at church right now… we are waiting for one member’s baby (currently affectionately known as ‘Bump’) to arrive and are also counting down the days to the first wedding blessing to be held in the new building in December.

Waiting is not always easy: in fact, my favourite quote on this topic comes from a Michael Card song which says ‘It’s certain that waiting is the most bitter lesson a believing heart has to learn.’ (Maranatha) Nonetheless, if waiting is linked to anticipating, there is often hope which keeps us going in the ‘in-between’ period, in the ‘now and not yet’ stage.

We’re also (dare I mention it?) on the countdown to Christmas, another period of waiting and anticipating. One of the challenges for us as Christians is to enter the period of Advent with anticipation in our hearts, not the jaded tiredness that is weary of the commercialism or clutter of the season, but the child-like faith that looks ahead with joy and hope.

Whatever we are waiting for, may we do so with hope and steadfast patience, knowing that “hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.” (Romans 8:24-25)

As the photos below show, the weather in October is becoming decidedly chillier, so the warmth of a hot drink goes down very well at the Saturday coffee mornings!

Handing over hot chocolate to a stall holder at the market opposite the church building

Needing coats… it’s getting colder!

Warm smiles from the helpers!

Enjoying a chocolate biscuit!

Waiting for Mum to finish!

Selling books and cards as well as hot drinks!

Ephesians 5 starts with an exhortation to be imitators of God, which we do by ‘living a life of love’. Very practically, there are aspects of behaviour which are no longer acceptable for God’s people, but more than this, our whole lives need to be surrendered to God. We need to find out what pleases God (vs 10) and should live carefully and wisely, making the most of every opportunity, being filled with the Spirit and speaking with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Instead of foolishness and drunkenness, we honour others before ourselves and learn submission to each other along with thankfulness.

Ephesians 5:20 goes even further than 1 Thessalonians 5:18 in telling us to give thanks for everything. Dave asked us if this verse is too much of a challenge and if it is possible to do this. Although difficult to do, God’s grace and strength are sufficient for every situation we may face. Through tears and anguish, we choose to give thanks to God because He is sovereign and is bringing good out of every situation (Romans 8:28); we give thanks in obedience and in faith: “I can’t live by what I feel, but by the truth Your word reveals” (Casting Crowns, ‘East to West’)

The second half of the chapter looks at the often contentious issue of submission. The whole emphasis is on submitting to one another just as we submit to Christ, doing nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but considering others better than ourselves (Phil 2:3)

In our relationships with each other, we should aim to be like Christ who loves His church so much that He gave His life for her. We are called to love one another in obedience to Christ’s commands and as a witness to the world.