“Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.”
-Galatians 5:25

Hopefully, this last weekend brought a little clarity to a common misunderstanding about the “spiritual” life. Many people live under the misunderstanding that following Jesus is primarily about a rugged dedication to a set of “Christian” practices or attributes that grant us access to a deeper spiritual intimacy with God. Only, that kind of thinking is backwards. It is intimacy with God’s Spirit — the Holy Spirit — that enables us to have the heart transformation our hearts are longing for. Then, out of that transformation, comes the things people generally associate with prerequisites for membership in the community of the church and life with God (“…the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control”). God wants to build those kinds of things into us. They aren’t the demands of a God who withholds His Spirit that we might prove our worth to Him. No, He came to rescue broken people who require His Spirit to become whole again.

This week, consider where the Holy Spirit might be inviting you into a deeper closeness with Him. What might it look like for you to hear from Him? He intends to transform you by His power, not by the force of your own will.

In being together at the beach on Sunday afternoon: surfing, building sandcastles, throwing frisbees, and solidifying the “farmer tan” I have been cultivating all summer, I got a glimpse of God’s power at work. I had several conversations with people sensing and wrestling with the things to which the Holy Spirit was drawing their attention. I talked with people who were finding (like we all do) that obedience to the life to which God is calling us is a courageous and difficult thing. Yet, it is His Spirit which both alerts us to our need for obedience AND enables us with power to become obedient.

Last Sunday, far and away, the highlight of the service was Amanda Maguire. So many of you came to me at the door or at the beach mentioning how much her words got a hold of you. She continues to challenge me to rethink the people I include (and the people I choose to exclude) everyday. This next weekend is NEIGHBORDAY WEEKEND. Who will be included in your neighborhood? Who will be excluded? This next weekend will be such a landmark weekend for our church. Remember, the best of the church is expressed, not inside the walls of our building, but in the communities in which we live. We get to rewrite the story of what most people imagine Christians to be about: a hyper-exclusive club for the outwardly righteous. Throw a great party. Invite people. Share the story using the hashtag #mvneighborday.

See you Sunday,
Jeff