September 19, 2020: SOAP #3943:  Ezekiel 47-48; Luke 2

Speak through me, Holy Spirit, speak through me!

Scripture:   Luke (NIV) 2:25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. 27 Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required,
28 Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying: 29 “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace.  30 For my eyes have seen your salvation, 31 which you have prepared in the sight of all people, 32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.”

Observation:   As in the preceding chapter, here again we see the Spirit’s work resulting in “speech” evidence. We see both praise and prophecy coming from Simeon.  When we think of the nine gifts of the Spirit (1Corinthians 12:7-10), most of them are linked to the tongue.  The gifts of tongues, interpretation of tongues, and prophecy are directly expressed through speech.  The word of wisdom and the word of knowledge often are revealed through appropriate words of direction or understanding.  Think of the many times Jesus activated the gifts of healing and miracles through His spoken word.       

Application:  As I interact with others, and as I write these SOAPs, the Holy Spirit wants to use my speech, and words, to minister God’s grace to others.  He brightens my thoughts and empowers me to communicate those thoughts.    

Prayer:   Holy Spirit, you anoint me as you reveal what you want me to write.  I pray you anoint those who read these SOAPs.  Use the SOAPs to speak words of your grace to each reader.  Give each reader faith that you want to speak through them.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!