Key Bible Verse: It was the Lord's Day, and I was worshiping in the Spirit (Revelation 1:10). Bonus Reading: John 4:23-24

I treasure the Holy Spirit because He feels things. The word "ecstasy" figures prominently in descriptions of revival through the centuries. When God sweeps into the middle of our lives, we laugh, we cry, we bow, we rejoice, we're "alive in the Spirit." If we don't feel these things in worship, we're prone to say God isn't present in our praise.

Many of my Pentecostal friends seem to have a need to feel their religion more than my Episcopal friends do. Yet I can't castigate them for this. I suspect that how we respond to joy has much to do with the kind of personalities we have. Some souls seem more buoyant by nature and therefore require a more demonstrative expression of their faith. Most Italians seem more jolly to me than Nordic peoples. I don't disparage either group for being who they are. I feel the same about different worship styles.

Don't I have my own preferred kind of worship? Sure. I like the heritage and content of Episcopal worship. I like the open, confessional, warm style of the Assemblies of God. I feel generally happy in a Baptist church, which gives me a little of each. I feel most comfortable about half way between Billy Sunday and the Archbishop of Canterbury.

—Calvin Miller in Loving God Up Close

My Response: Am I wired to respond to the Spirit more in deep calm or vibrant exuberance?

Thought to Apply: Holy Wind, blow across my mind; free me of the things that bind.—SOURCE UNKNOWN

Adapted from Loving God Up Close (Warner Faith, 2003) by permission.

Prayer for the Week

Father, I ask for Your Spirit to motivate and enable change in my life that makes me more like Jesus.

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