A powerful force By Pastor Joe

Many of us enjoy the great “one-liners” from our favorite motion pictures. I thought it would be interesting to include one of those memorable lines here at the beginning, to help set the tone, for this week’s article: “Size matters not. Look at me. Judge me by my size, do you? Hmm? Hmm. And well you should not. For my ally is the Force, and a powerful ally it is. Life creates it, makes it grow. Its energy surrounds us and binds us. Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter. You must feel the Force around you; here, between you, me, the tree, the rock, everywhere, yes. Even between the land and the ship.” Obviously, this is one of the most familiar lines spoken by Yoda in the Star Wars movie series. Please note, I am by no means endorsing the force as something equal to the Holy Spirit. Rather, what I’m trying to remind you to think about is... every day you have an ally, you have a force within, which makes all the difference! If you want to live your life successfully as a follower of the Lord Jesus, you will need power from on high. Even with everyday stuff you need power from on high. While visiting with a young married couple they shared with me a difficult situation they were going through. Their neighbor was in a really difficult place spiritually, emotionally, relationally, a young couple with three kids and their life choices were poor. (They don’t have their act together.) The couple I know was commenting about how their neighbor’s trash has been sitting at the curb for over a month. It’s becoming an eyesore and it really is a difficult visual to deal with every day. No one wants to come out of your home and observe a large pile of trash. I suggested to these friends of mine to call the local city officials and ask them to come and take care of it. Most cities have a fund set up for removing blight. Then it dawned on me... well, the Holy Spirit began to speak to me and said why don’t you do what the Scripture says and “do good” to those who despitefully use you wrongly? All of a sudden, the “force” the “ally” the power which is within me gave me the right answer for a bad situation. That’s the beauty of the Holy Spirit when we are in a difficult moment. He gives us a fantastic direction, not only during difficult moments, but any time you call upon him. Somebody needs to call on Him right now even as you read this article written five days ago. Do it, NOW! The other verse which came to me is in Proverbs 21:14: “A gift given in secret soothes anger.” There is something which is beyond rational human thinking which takes place when we listen to the leading of the Holy Spirit. It makes no sense to give someone something anonymously when you’re trying to fix a strained relationship. But God says, if we will trust him, walk in obedience, and rely upon His “force” the “ally” He will change the hearts of those we must be around. We should find joy in being together with our neighbors, but that is not always the fact. Believe in God’s divine power and enablement which will help you live out your Christian faith.