The Heart of God's Spirit in the World--by Linden Malki

In Genesis 1:2, we read that at Creation, there is a description of a "Mighty Wind," which is a the word also used for  the "Spirit of God", resting on the surface of the oceans, before anything else is formed. So we can see this as a way that God communicated with his creation, and continues to communicate with His people through His Spirit.  Like the wind or breath we cannot see what is producing the effects that we can see. God is also shown as bringing life into Adam with something unique: His Breath/Spirit.

  The words of God that came to the people for whom that God had something specific and special, are said to have come through the Spirit.   One of the differences between this relationship and what ancient pagan peoples had with their "gods" is that the Hebrews' God and His Spirit could not be seen physically, and the people are told to not even try to represent Him in any physical way.  We see that Noah had enough faith in the Words of God to spend a century building a boat, and Abram/Abraham to move his family and clan hundreds of miles in response. One of the few times that the Spirit is visible is when the Ark of the Covenant is brought into the just-built Temple of Solomon: When the priests came forth from the holy place... in unison when the trumpeters and the singers were to make themselves heard with one voice to praise and to glorify the Lord, and when they lifted up their voice accompanied by trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and when they praised the Lord saying, “He indeed is good for His lovingkindness is everlasting,” then the house, the house of the Lord, was filled with a cloud,  so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of God. (1)

We find the same metaphor--the Spirit bringing the Glory of God--when the prophet Ezekiel saw what he described as "the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. So when I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard a voice of One speaking. And He said to me, “Son of man, stand on your feet, and I will speak to you.”  Then the Spirit entered me when He spoke to me, and set me on my feet; and I heard Him who spoke to me.  And He said to me: “Son of man, I am sending you to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against Me; they and their fathers have transgressed against Me to this very day.  (Ezekiel 1:28-2:3) Then the glory of the Lord departed from over the threshold of the temple and stopped above the cherubim. (Ezek 10:18) And when Ezekiel had a vision of the Temple rebuilt, he had another vision: The glory of the Lord entered the Temple through the gate facing east. Then the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court, and the glory of the Lord filled the Temple. (Ezek 43:4-5) 

We find the Spirit of the Lord in a prophecy given through Isaiah that tells of the Spirit in terms that we recognize, especially at this time of year: There shall come forth a rod from the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots. The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord. (2)  We see the fulfillment of this promise in the coming of Jesus, as told by an angel: “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.  And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”(3)
The confirmation comes with the ministry of John the Baptist:  Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him.  And John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?”  But Jesus answered and said to him, “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed Him.  When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him.  And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (4)
We see the Holy Spirit working closely with Jesus, throughout His ministry on Earth.  As He was preparing to return to His Father, He tells His disciples:  But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”(5)From this point, the Holy Spirit works to grow the Church, inspire the apostles and missionaries, and be the source of power for all of us who accept Him in our lives, accept His Gifts, and show His Fruits.
1.(2 Chronicles 5:11-14 ).2.  (Isaiah 11:1-2) 3.  (Matthew 1:20-22) 4. (Matthew 3:13-17)  5.(Acts 1:8)

The Heart of Father and Son--by Linden Malki

God is all about relationships.  God IS a relationship: as John put it, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God.  All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.  And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it."  (John 1:1-5 ) As the story continues, we find that the Word of God, a part of God Himself, relates to God the Father as His Son. 
 He created the world to have people to love, and we are told that mankind was "created in the image of God." So we have souls and spirits like that of God, and when God arranged for His Son to live on Earth with us, the Son was one whose physical body was the one of which we are the image.  However, He was perfect and sinless, and came to enable us to resemble Him more perfectly.

When His impending birth was announced in dream to a Jewish man named Joseph, whose betrothed wife was found to be pregnant, an angel said "Joseph, son of David, have no fear about taking Mary as your wife. It is by the Holy Spirit that she has conceived this child. She will have a son and your are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."(Matthew 1:20-21) The name "Jesus"  used in the English New Testament comes from the Latin form of the Greek name Ἰησοῦς (Iēsous), a rendition of the Hebrew Yeshua (ישוע), related to the name Joshua. The other name that became associated with this Son is "Christ", from the Greek word  Χριστός, Christós, meaning "the anointed one", in Hebrew Messiah  מָשִׁיחַ‎‎,(māšîaḥ‎, sometimes spelled Moshiach), is the one chosen to lead the world and save it,  which we find in Old Testament prophecies such as Isaiah 9:6 "For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." 

I occasionally hear or read someone say that Jesus himself never claimed to be the Son of God in a Messianic sense. Actually, in the Gospels, there are 7 verses in John's Gospel where he refers to himself as the Son of God, and  in Luke, at his trial: "Then they all said, “Are You then the Son of God?” So He said to them, “You rightly say that I am.”(Luke 22:70).  There are also  22 verses in the four Gospels where other people, including demons, enemies and friends, call him the Son of God. There are also 51 verses in the Gospels (mostly Matthew and John) where Jesus clearly refers to God as "My Father", such as John 10:30: "I and My Father are one.”

The church has struggled for centuries to explain logically what this means;  churches have split and wars fought over attempts to reduce this relationship to human words. We are not called on to understand beyond what we see in Scripture; it is enough to know for now on this earth, in our heart of hearts, what Jesus told Nicodemus: "that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." (John 3:15-18) There is enough here to give us a lifetime of study, prayer, growth, service, and learning what God the Father and Son had in mind for us when we were created. 

The Heart of the Father in His Children--by Linden Malki

We must never forget that we are made in the image of God--which means that we can learn what God is like by what He wants us to be like.  The prophet Samuel described God as looking for a "a man after his own heart", and He chose David to rule His people. Let's look at the heart of David. This is not a timid man who never did anything wrong, but when he did get off track, he admitted it and asked God to transform his heart.  Look at what it took for David to become that man:
Test me, Lord, and try me, examine my heart and my mind. (Psalm 26)
My heart says of you, “Seek his face!” Your face, Lord, I will seek. (Psalm 27)
I desire to do your will, my God; your law is within my heart.(Psalm 40)
Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me (Psalm 51) 
And David shepherded them with integrity of heart; with skillful hands he led them. (Psalm 78)
Teach me your way, Lord, that I may rely on your faithfulness; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name. I will praise you, Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever. (Psalm 86) 
I will be careful to lead a blameless life— when will you come to me? I will conduct the affairs of my house with a blameless heart. (Psalm 101)
My heart, O God, is steadfast; I will sing and make music with all my soul. (Psalm 108)
I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart; before the  angels I will sing your praise. (Psalm 138)
  Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. (Psalm 139)

This is a real challenge! And David knew there was only one way to have the heart that God intended: by humbleness and by the power and grace of God Himself. 

Jesus told us a parable illustrating this heart: we read it in Luke 15.  One of the differences we see between the two sons is that the younger son, though he was very selfish and irresponsible, did come to his senses and ask his father for forgiveness.  The older son complained, but may not have ever asked his father for anything beyond his "rights". The father, another man after God's own heart, forgave the repentant son, and reminded the older one that he still had his rewards to come.  In both cases, they got more than they deserved! 

 Look back at David's relationship with God, and think about how blessed we are in our heavenly father, and be thankful that David left us a legacy of seeking the heart of God.

The Process of Reformation--by Linden Malki

                        Martin Luther's challenge to the church in 1517 was the match that set off a movement that had been brewing for several centuries in Europe.  One of the first preachers we know of who challenged practices and the authority of the Roman Church was Peter Waldo, in Lyons,  France, who also translated the Bible into the common dialect of  the south of France. He was excommunicated by the Church in 1184, and his teachings condemned in 1215. His followers fled into the mountains of northern Italy.  At about the same time, in England, the Archbishop of the church in England was murdered in his own cathedral in a power struggle with King Henry II. In England, John Wycliffe translated the Bible into English in 1384, which was illegal, and his preaching influenced a Czech priest, Jan Hus, who was burned at the stake by a church council in 1415. His followers became the Moravian church, which still exists. There were others with the same concerns about the sale of indulgences and corruption within the Church organization, who were emboldened by Luther's preaching, in a number of places in Europe, and challenged the authority of Rome. By the end of the century, there were Lutheran churches in Germany, and the Scandinavian countries, who, like the Church of England*,  had similar worship and organization to the Catholic tradition, but with a relationship with their ruling powers but without a relationship to Rome and theology based on their own teachings; there were Reformed churches in Switzerland, the Netherlands and Scotland, who had their own churches without priests and ruled by ministers and laypeople but recognized and shared power with  political authorities.

            The third wing of the Reformation was a number of "free churches" with no central authority, no set rituals, and no political relationships, with the primary distinction of stressing "believers' baptism"--baptism, usually by immersion, of only those who expressed a commitment to the Gospel. This was extremely controversial, because even the other Protestant churches baptised all babies and expected the entire community to be part of the church.  The idea of a church comprised only of baptised self-expressed believers was scary to a lot of politicans and other churches.  The result was voluntary groups of churches that shared a belief in believers' baptism, separation of church and state, and the "priesthood of all believers", which means that all Chrisian believers have the privilege of direct communication with the Father, Son, and Spirit, without any other human beings in the loop.  The major surviving churches of this type include the Mennonites, Amish, and the various Baptist churches. Most of the churches that have developed in the last 200 years--Pentacostals and independent churches--also share these basic principles in addition to the common Reformation principles that go back to the 1500's: Sola Scriptura: the belief that the Scripture alone is the final and only infallible source for matters of faith and practice; Sola Fide: the belief that salvation comes through faith alone; we cannot "earn" it; Sola Gratia:the grace of God alone is the source of salvation; Sola Christus: Christ is the only mediator between God and man; and Sola Deo Gloria: Christians are to be motivated and inspired by God's glory and not their own.

  "The Baptists" by Baron Gustaf Cederstrom was inspired by a baptismal service on Midsummer Night in  1886 in Sweden.

 *notes on the English Reformation

I have heard it said that the only reason for the Reformation was that Henry VIII of England wanted a divorce. It is true that he did, and that it was a factor in the Reformation in England (but nowhere else), but the issue of the divorce came up in 1527, ten years after Luther's original posting of his Theses, and the upheaval was in full bloom by this time. 

There had long been issues between the Church in England, the Vatican in Rome, and the English royal family. There were already an English translation of the New Testament, inspired by Luther's German translation, published by William Tyndale, in 1526.  There was already controversy in England on many of the same issues that were on the table on the Continent, but the political meddling of Rome in English politics and the taxes demanded from England were issues as well, and there were English church officials ready for independence from Rome.   The legal declaration of the independence, declaring that the Head of the Church in England was the King of England in 1534, was the first step in a continuing dispute  that involved two queens, two kings, a Puritan Commonwealth, and two more kings, which was not settled until 1688.