March 20 - 1 Thessalonians 5:19-22

March 20 - 1 Thessalonians 5:19-22

Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.

Have you ever watched a child who is so excited to tell their parent about something amazing that just happened to them wilt because the parent is more interested in nearly everything else?

My first piano teacher was a young girl who didn’t have any music teaching background, but was a terrific pianist and a wonderful person.  When Dad asked if she would consider teaching me how to play the piano, his only request was that rather than teaching me theory and all of the details, she would teach me to love it.  Diane Barnes was her name and I was a little girl who was excited about my teacher having the same name as I did.  She was absolutely beautiful and her family lived on a farm.  I think that first year, I played more with their chickens than I did the piano, but Dad had it right.  He wanted my love for music to explode rather than be harnessed.  That could come later.

It is easy to fall into patterns and organized behavior and quench the passion in those around us.  It is even easier to quench … to stop the Spirit from moving in our midst. Some of the toughest discussions regarding Sunday morning worship services are how do you handle the movement of the Spirit?  Even more difficult to figure out is what to do once people no longer feel His movement in their midst.  Like a child’s excitement, the Spirit can be stopped by inattention and attempts to control.

What if, every week, entire congregations (not just a few worship leaders, pastors and other supporters, but everyone) everywhere were to pray for His release in their midst? What if there were no fear about what God could do among us?

Can you imagine the explosion of love and joy that would occur around the globe?

I say it’s worth the effort.