First Sunday after Trinity

Bishop Ogles’ and Rev Jack Arnold’s Sermons – First Sunday after Trinity

Today Bishop Jerry and Rev Jack are traveling back today from their trip to Serbia, Macedonia and France visiting AOC parishes in each of the countries.  They were teaching, preaching, visiting and in the case of Bishop Jerry even confirming, ordaining and consecrating! 

They likely have preached some fine some sermons during their trip, but they have not filtered back here.  As this is written they are close to landing in Atlanta, where they each change planes for their respective home airports arriving at evening meal time in their time zones.  Pray for their safe return to their homes in peace.

Sermon – Reverend Hap Arnold - Time and Action

Church of the Faithful Centurion - Descanso, California

Today’s sermon brought the Collect, Epistle and Gospel together and is partly contained in the forewords above. 

Consider these words from the Collect:

… the strength of all those who put their trust in thee; … through the weakness of our mortal nature, we can do no good thing without thee, grant us the help of thy grace, that in keeping thy commandments we may please thee, both in will and deed…

This is a little longer Collect than usual, but in it we acknowledge that God is the source of our strength, as we are weak and cannot do any true good without His Help; thus we ask His help or grace to do His Will in both in our thoughts and actions.

And, what is the first action we are to take?  To love one another.  Saint John pointed out if we do not love our fellow creatures here on earth whom we have seen and touched, how then can we claim to have love for God, whom not one of us have seen?  We then cannot love God if we cannot love our fellow humans, no matter how far they have strayed from His path, we are still to love them and offer them help and help others. Jesus came to serve, as the ultimate Servant, so must we be also.

We must to truly love individuals.  For many of us, the first step is to stop hating them, for if love is the epitome of good, hate is the nadir of evil.  Hate is a truly bad thing for us, it is all consuming and all destroying.  First stop hating, hate no person.  No one is evil enough to justify your hating them.  There are many people whose removal from this world would be a benefit to the world, that does not mean you should hate them.  You can feel sad for them, depending on circumstances you may be justified in sending them out of this world.  Do not hate.  Do not condemn to Hell.  That is God’s job, not yours.

Loving does not mean approval of acts which are sinful and harmful to one’s health, spiritual or physical. We cannot condone smoking or homosexual acts or abortion. Though we may know individuals who do these things, we must despise the sin, but realize these people, no matter how truly fallen they may be (remember, some are worse than others, but none are better. As St. Paul says, all fall short.), are people created in the express image of God by God. It is our duty to attempt to shine the light of Christ for them, that they might see their inner darkness and return to Him.

However, if they are not receptive, then we must not force it upon them, as do not cast your pearls before swine, but merely shake your feet off and walk way. You never know what seeds you plant in your interactions with unbelievers or lapsed Christians which in the end may serve to guide them on or back to the path leading upward and inward to God’s country.

“Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.” 

God loved us so much He sent His only Son to die for our sins.  That is true love.  Not that we love Him, but that first He loved us!  So, if God first loved us, ought we also not love each other?  No one has seen God at any time.  Yet, He loves us and we say we love Him.  If we do love one another, then God is in us, the Holy Ghost, and we are in Him.  Be bold, the world will end some time, for each of us it ends when we leave here.  Fear not, trust in God and dread naught.

Do not be afraid to love one another, regardless of what any man says. Do not fear man, only fear God, the great Judge, and Jesus the Advocate, and the Spirit, the Purifier, Guiding Light. Man can do nothing worse to us than what God can do. And yet, God still loves us despite all our faults and having been condemned to death since the beginning of creation with the fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden.  God and His love will keep fear and the damage it does at bay.  Love each other and act on that love.

To love one another and act on that love.  To consider the ways we might help others and then actually help them.  It is not a question of giving, but helping.  The rich man could have helped Lazarus, but it never entered his head. The rich man, like many of us sadly, only thought of himself. Jesus illustrates perfectly in this parable what happens when we only think of ourselves and do not help others or think of others even. The rich man could have thought of poor Lazarus and given him a place to stay and food to eat and paid for it, like the Good Samaritan. Instead, he just let him die, figuring that that was the end of him. It turns out he was wrong and soon the tables would be reversed.  Lazarus was a rather disgusting feature of his world and when he died, the rich man was pleased not to have to pass by him.  Yet, it never entered into his head to help. 

How is that possible? 

Simple, his eye was not on the donut, but on the hole.  The rich man cared about all the things that don’t count and never considered those that do. Which is, as said earlier, a problem at all of us face at one time or another due to our very nature of being sinful beings.  We tend to get caught up in school, work or pleasure and everything in between and forget to tend to our spiritual health and as you neglect a plant by not watering it and nurturing it, if you so neglect your soul, you will have a horrible death. However, if you nurture and water your soul by the Scriptures and allow yourself to be guided by the Holy Ghost, you will have an absolutely wonderful life from now to eternity, after all if you have eternal life it starts NOW, not tomorrow.  For indeed, tomorrow never comes.

It must be understood between heaven and hell there is a great gulf fixed.  It is equally important to grasp the gulf is not of God’s making but ours.  It is us who keeps us from the heaven He offers freely, yet at a great price.

Put your trust in God and dread naught.  Love those around you and act on that love.  It does not matter if they are the same religion as you, but you still must love and act towards them all the same.  That does not mean baring your throat to the Koran following Muslims; but it does mean treating them with kindness and charity until you must act to defend you and your way of life from them.  They deserve pity, for as they follow Allah, that is the Devil, as Christ said “They know not what they do.” Think how you can help, not how you can “enjoy” life.  Helping does not mean simply giving money to those who don’t have it, no strings attached, although it might at times.  It never means supporting those who do not feel like supporting themselves.  For dependency breeds slothfulness and contempt.  Dependency destroys the soul.  What is does mean is facilitating a way for those who do not have to earn what they need; to bring them the means of acquiring those things which they need.  Those things are spiritual as well as physical.  A hand up; not a hand out.  You will find out the more you help, the more you enjoy real life.  Whether it is helping somebody at the office, around the neighborhood or a friend, there is immense pleasure from the result of helping people, so much more than feathering your own nest, so to speak.  It is not only more blessed to give than to receive, but it brings a lot more happiness into your life.

This is hard to do.  We want to concentrate on what makes us feel good about ourselves right here and right now.  We have to be coerced into staying on the narrow path upward and inward.  But that is where our home is.

Heaven is at the end of an uphill trail.  The easy downhill trail does not lead to the summit.

The time is now, not tomorrow.  The time has come, indeed.  How will you ACT?

It is by our actions we are known.

Be of God - Live of God - Act of God

Bishop’s Letter for Memorial Day Observance 30 May 2016, Anno Domini (in the 240th year of our Declaration of Independence)

Winter Quarters

    A gentle breeze stirred the golden leaves of a tall Maple tree and softly caressed the cheek of the old man. Old Charlie slowly aroused from a light slumber to find a red poppy in his hand where some kind soul had placed it while he was dozing. A faded Afghan covered his lap and feet on which the barely discernible imprint of da Vinci's Last Supper could be discovered.

    Old Charlie enjoyed sitting out on the lawn of the nursing home in his wheelchair where he could smell the grass and natural fragrances of God's good earth. He loved to soak up the warmth of the sun on slightly brisk, clear days.

    Charlie was an old soldier - there are no former soldiers, just soldiers who grow older and older. Charlie had experienced all the terror of the Great World War Two, having arrived on the Ardennes Forest Line with the Ninth US Army just as the major breakout attempt was staged by a mad dictator and his very deadly armor. Snow covered the grounds of the Ardennes that day in December, 1944, when the lines of the Allied powers were thrown back as German Tigers breached the defenses. Charlie remembers those days of horror and misery. He remembers each of his comrades and their names who shared that experience. Though his memory is fading, he can recite every significant detail of the German offensive known as the Battle of the Bulge. The old man feels guilty somehow that he seems to be the only one left who remembers that great Battle and the reason that he help fight it. As a matter of fact, Charlie feels like a straggler. It seems that all his familiar comrades who shared in his wartime experiences have been reassigned and shipped out. Only Charlie remains. He feels like a straggler, and in a way, Charlie is just that. He has outlived his value to a society that has forgotten how to be grateful. The character and courage of his generation is passé to our current politically-correct mind-set.

    Charlie sometimes relives his military experience in episodes of vivid dreams which come to him as angels on soft snow. He remembers his friend Roy Soloff from New Jersey who spent his post war years restoring sight to the blind. Roy transferred out earlier this year.....................

   The Old Man wonders about Roy and what he is doing this very moment. Roy understood, but Roy is not here anymore to share the hard fought battles of a long ago dream. Through the mist of Time, Charlie can see all their smiling faces. Funny how we remember our friends always smiling. More and more, Charlie feels moments of deep sorrow. He doesn't know why he feels this way, but he cannot help it. His eyes dim with the mist of tears. But no one is there to ask, "Charlie, why are you crying?" Everyone else is so very, very busy.

    The pride and joy of Charlie's present life are his two sons and five daughters but it seems that, though they try ever so hard, they never are able to get the free time to come and visit their old father. If Molly Darling was here, she would comfort him. She would know just the right words to make him know that all was well with the world and with Charlie - only, his Darling Molly is not here. She has gone on and left Charlie. Charlie remembers that old Song: 'Do You Love Me Molly Darling.' That was the theme song adopted by him and Molly during their courting days. And he remembers the days of his youth when the world was green with life and promise, and when he met Molly Collins. That was a kind of love that never dies. He was the only man Molly ever knew and cared to know. Charlie still possessed the heart of Molly wherever she was.

    When the war came, Charlie went. He left his dear Molly and two small children. Molly remained his steadfast supporter across those thousands of miles of blue waters.

   The Old Man recalled the military sounds of armor and jeeps, of Ruffles and Flourishes, commands shouted during company drill, the crisp and certain notes of the bugle sounding across the Parade Ground. He recalled the crisp starch of newly laundered khakis and the laboriously achieved sparkle of spit shined shoes. Those were days when the air itself was pristine and clean. But now, the drums are muffled and the bugle no longer sounds. Where did it all go? For many years after the war, there were Veterans Day Parades - and Charlie was always invited.

    But those days have gone glimmering. No one seems to remember or care about what Charlie did in those days more than half a century ago or even remember the names of those Battles which were fought to make our Freedoms of today certain.

    The late afternoon air took on a bit of a chill as Charlie slumbered again. As he closed his eyes, all the color and drama of the years again played in his mind's eye. Somewhere, very far away, Charlie heard the bugle again and the muffled beat of the drum. The old familiar sounds grew louder and more persistent. What was the call? Ah, yes, it was Taps. And once again, Charlie found himself on the banks of the river as his unit was preparing to make the Roer River crossing, but this time, Charlie is crossing alone. Where are all the others? Charlie descends into the murky waters of the River and feels very weak and almost unable to carry on. When he feels he can go no further, the waters seem more shallow and calm under his boots. His feet are light and easy. His breath comes naturally and unlabored, and now Charlie sees all his old comrades coming to meet him at the River's far bank. Roy, and Joe, and Needham, and Pallone and all the others. Even Molly is there. How was she ever able to arrange it! The Jordan Waters part in God’s time.

    The bugle continued to play its crisp notes, but Charlie had been mistaken - the call was not Taps, it was Reveille!

  "My Sword, I give to him that shall succeed me in my pilgrimage, and my Courage and Skill, to him that can get it. My Marks and Scars I carry with me, to be a witness for me, that I have fought His Battles who now will be my Rewarder. When the day that he must go hence, was come, many accompanied him to the river side, into which, as he went, he said, Death where is thy sting? And as he went down deeper, he said, Grave, where is thy Victory? So he passed over, and the Trumpets sounded for him on the other side." John Bunyan, Pilgrim's Progress

God bless all our wounded or killed in defense of our freedoms, and may our Veterans be blessed today and forever!

Jerry L. Ogles

Presiding Bishop

Anglican Orthodox Communion Worldwide

Chancellor, Faith Theological Seminary

Trinity Sunday

If you enjoy this, consider reading the entire
AOC Sunday Report RIGHT HERE!

Bishop Ogles’ and Rev Jack Arnold’s Sermons – Trinity Sunday

Today Bishop Jerry and Rev Jack are on travel to Serbia, Macedonia and France visiting AOC parishes in each of the countries.  They are teaching, preaching, visiting and in the case of Bishop Jerry even confirming and consecrating!  On Sunday 22 May 2016, appropriately Trinity Sunday, in Beograd (Belgrade), Serbia, Bishop Jerry L. Ogles consecrated Rev Igor Djurcik as Bishop of Serbia and Macedonia in The Anglican Orthodox Worldwide Communion. Pray our Lord Jesus Christ will be with Igor and that he will send his grace upon him, that he may truly execute the Office whereunto he is called.

They likely have preached some fine some sermons during their trip, but they have not filtered back here.  Pray for the Holy Ghost to enter into them both that they might do their very best to spread His Word and for a safe and enjoyable trip and to return to their homes in peace.

Sermon – Reverend Hap Arnold - Time and Action

Church of the Faithful Centurion - Descanso, California

Today’s sermon was on the basic concept of the Triune God, that is the Father, Son and Holy Ghost and how they were introduced to us through time and the Bible in particular. Today’s sermon brought the Collect, Epistle and Gospel together and is partly contained in the forewords above. 

Consider these words from the Collect:

… acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinity, and in the power of the Divine Majesty to worship the Unity …

In the Collect, we acknowledge there is a Triune God, that is to say there are three aspects of God; God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Ghost.  A Triune God, that mean Three in One, not three separate Gods or godlets, but a single being with three aspects.  How does this work?

The honest answer is – WE DON’T KNOW.  We just have been told there are three and They are ONE.  We have some knowledge and scriptural guidance on how parts of the thing work, but not all.  Saint Paul told the people of Corinth, 12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. (1 Corinthians 13:12)  One of the basic principles of classified information is NEED TO KNOW.  Like many secrets, we don’t really have a need to know, so we have not been told.  We know:

·      God is I AM;

·      God the Father sent The Son to be our Savior, He was there at the beginning of this world;

·      The Holy Ghost breathed life into the world, and brings understanding, comfort, strength, perseverance, courage, inspiration, patience;

·      They all have always been and always will be.

That is what we know; it leaves a lot we don’t know, but we can certainly be kept busy with what we do know.  That must be enough for the here and now. We must be content with what we read in Scripture, all the other stuff we wonder about Him is just extraneous details, like how many angels can dance on the head of a pin?  So much theological discussion is captured in that term.  So, how many angels can dance on the head of a pin?  Whatever the number, the answer from our standpoint is so very simple, As many as God determines the circumstances require.  Note, as God requires!  Not you, not me.  God.

We must put aside the thoughts of who and what God is, and just understand He is I AM, and there is God, there is the Son, and there is the Holy Ghost and they all work together in their own way to be the one God of our faith. There is a reason for this even though we don’t know it, but it works out, so we do not have to wonder how it works, we just continue believing and acting!

But, what of later?  If we have eternal life, we have it now and later.  What comes later?  Heaven.  What is heaven?  John attempts to tell us.  He attempts to show us the majesty and glory of heaven using words.  The picture he paints is intended to be awe inspiring and seems to meet that goal handily.  The main thing we can be certain of is that we will not be disappointed.  We speculate as to will this or that be in heaven?  When we get there the answer will manifest itself and you will have no regrets.  In heaven there is no disappointment.  Heaven is the real world, where things are bright, not dull and dark as though looking through a glass. Rest assured, we will see for ourselves what it is like one day, all we need to know is that it is a really wonderful place that we should be aiming to go to when we die, through our belief and actions here on earth working together!

So, how do we get to the real world from these Shadowlands?  There is but one way, the Einbahnstraße.

Jesus Christ the righteous; and he is the Propitiation for our sins.[1]

Do not be fooled by “fair”, there is only one way into heaven.  That door is at the end of a long and narrow trail, steeply inclined upward with many seemingly easy, smooth, beautiful and interesting branches leading downward into the pit.  Doing good is good, so to speak; doing good without God is not good enough.  Only being accounted perfect will get you up the path and in the door.

We need help!  Lots of help.  The first thing we need in our hearts is a new heart, a new and contrite heart.  That is really hard, in fact, it is so hard it cannot be done by ourselves.  We need something.  A new start.

We must be born of the spirit!  What spirit? 

The Holy Ghost.  We must accept that we in and of ourselves will never be perfect.  No one gets in to heaven unless they are accounted as perfect.  We will never be perfect in and of ourselves.  Should we quit trying?  Not, we are commanded to follow our Christ.  Will we fail?  Without question.  What is the solution?  To believe and follow the Christ.  To open our hearts to the Holy Ghost that we might believe in full and accept the help from the Christ that our imperfection needs to be His followers.

To follow God, we need Christ as our leader and the Holy Ghost as our compass. In short, we need all members of the Trinity’s influence in our lives if we are to arrive in the real world, that of Heaven.

There is but one way to heaven.

That easy to find, easy to follow, easy to hike path does not lead to the summit where eternal life in the real world awaits.  Open your heart to the Holy Ghost; use His Power to follow our Lord to God who awaits in heaven.

Heaven is at the end of an uphill trail.  The easy downhill trail does not lead to the summit.

The time is now, not tomorrow.  The time has come, indeed.  How will you ACT?

It is by our actions we are known.

Be of God - Live of God - Act of God

---

[1] 1 St. John ii. 1, 2 and Book of Common Prayer, page 76

A Failure in Life or Not – 20 May 2016, Anno Domini - Rev Hap Arnold

19  Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: 20  But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: 21  For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. (Matthew 6:19-21)

You have certainly seen the cartoon many times:

 Is the end of the earth’s time near at hand? Things in the world look pretty bleak right now, but is the end at hand?   Jesus tells us, But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. (Matthew 24:36)   No one knows, certainly if Jesus did not know, no one here knows.  But, it is certain the end is near for some of us, for on any given day roughly 313,000 people on earth will breathe their last. 

When our life here on earth comes to an end, how do we measure our success or lack thereof? 

When we leave here, we leave for Heaven or Hell.  Which one can be answered by who says those final words of judgment, Thy Will Be Done.  You or Jesus?  It needs to be us who say it, not He whose words would be confirmation of our own condemnation.

So, if we are going to be shooting for it being us who say to Jesus, Thy Will Be Done, what precisely does that mean?  If we don’t know where we are going and how to get there, we will never make it.

So, what does Scripture tell us?

And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.

(Acts 16:31)

So, all we need to do is believe Jesus Christ is Lord, He gave His earthly life that we might have eternal life.   True enough.  But, what about acting on those beliefs?  Diction without action is meaningless.

Jesus tells us “believing” in reality means action, not just diction, note what He says, He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me.  (Matthew 14:24)

So, what guidance does Jesus give us in how to act?  The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:  And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.  And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.  (Mark 12:29-31)

Love God, love our neighbor.  Put God first, then others.  Do not put yourself first.  So, the first people to put first are our family, in particular our children.  As parents, we have three primary jobs:

1.     Prepare your children for Heaven;

2.     Be there to meet them;

3.     Prepare your children for this world.

After that you can do whatever you like, consistent with the above.  But, always keep these in mind and remember God put you on earth to make a difference.  It is best to make it a positive difference.  Consider the warrior who risks his life to defend his country and family.  There is little of that filthy lucre involved, but there is much honor.  When you value the man on his departure, consider how close he came to the motto:

God • Honor • Country • Family

The motto is in order, God must be first, all things must be done to His honor with honor, our country must be defended against all enemies foreign and domestic, or there will be no place for our families which are our primary responsibility here on earth.

What did the man put first?   The big house, the fancy car, the servants and whatever other trappings you might associate with success?  These are temporal things that in the end have no meaning for us.  Nice while they last, maybe.  But, we oft make little gods or idols out of them.  It is not that riches are bad, for they can be used for much good; or as is of the case, not.

For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.

(1 Timothy 6:7)

So what is success?  It is not how much you gather up in things you leave behind at the grave, they are of no consequence.   Consider what the preacher says:

A

nd how dieth the wise man? as the fool.  17 Therefore I hated life; because the work that is wrought under the sun is grievous unto me: for all is vanity and vexation of spirit.  18 Yea, I hated all my labour which I had taken under the sun: because I should leave it unto the man that shall be after me.  (Ecclesiastes 2:16-18)

Success is a clean conscience when you leave behind that which counts, your family, your friends and to the extent you are responsible, your country.

Will you be perfect; will you fail? 

Probably a lot, perhaps even most of the time, but pick yourself up, start out again and try to do better each time.

Do your best; that is all God asks, Jesus will account you as perfect where you fall short at that final accounting.  But, remember doing your best and saying you are trying your best are not same thing.

Do or do not, there is no try, so saith Yoda.  Action, not diction is what counts.

15 May 2016 - Fiftieth Anniversary of the US Army's First Aviation Brigade, Fort Rucker, Alabama

Bishop Jerry, an Army Master Aviator, USMA 1964, delivered the keynote speech at the Fort Rucker Veterans Memorial Park just inside the Daleville Gate this morning.  The speech, prepared yesterday, was a complete and total success.  Unfortunately, when the Brigade Commander asked if he could use the speech as the basis for his Memorial Day Presentation, it was found the speech and notes were not even close.  It would appear the Holy Ghost did His Work well this morning.  

Pentecost, commonly called Whitsunday

If you enjoy this, the entire AOC Sunday Report is RIGHT HERE!

Bishop Ogles’ Sermon – Pentecost - Whitsunday

Today Bishop Jerry, an Army Master Aviator, is delivering the keynote address to the veterans and ^st Aviation Brigade at Fort Rucker during their celebration of the 50^th anniversary of the Brigade.  There will be no sermon notes for you today.  Bishop Jerry asks you to think on the Collect and read the remaining sermons.

active military of the 1

Pentecost, commonly called Whitsunday.

The Collect.

O

 GOD, who as at this time didst teach the hearts of thy faithful people, by sending to them the light of thy Holy Spirit; Grant us by the same Spirit to have a right judgment in all things, and evermore to rejoice in his holy comfort; through the merits of Christ Jesus our Saviour, who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the same Spirit, one God, world without end.  Amen.

¶ This Collect is to be said daily throughout Whitsun Week.

Sermon – Reverend Jack Arnold - Time and Action

Church of the Faithful Centurion - Descanso, California

Today’s sermon brought the Collect, Epistle and Gospel together and is partly contained in the forewords above. 

Consider these words from the Collect:

… sending to them the light of thy Holy Spirit; Grant us by the same Spirit to have a right judgment in all things, and evermore to rejoice in his holy comfort  …

When Jesus left on Ascension Day, we lost a teacher here on earth.  We still have Him as Redeemer and Savior; but what to do for understanding?  In response to His departure, God sent us the Holy Ghost.

Who is this Holy Ghost and why is he here?

We worship the One True God, a triune God, that is Three in One; Father, Son and Holy Ghost.  Most people have no trouble understanding the concept of God the Father, Christians seem to get God the Son, but many seem to have a bit of difficulty with the Holy Ghost.

The Holy Ghost has been there since the beginning.  He breathed life into the world, yet His actions seemed to be sporadic until Pentecost.

Well, today is Pentecost, the time one normally thinks of the Holy Ghost, the Holy Spirit, the Breath of God, the Comforter.  When people do think of Him, they oft think of the actions described in the words of Saint Luke in the Acts of the Apostles.  The dancing and speaking in tongues.  All that happened so we might understand that with the help of the Holy Ghost we might bring the Word to all mankind.  The Word of God is a universal language.  When the disciples spoke in tongues, the people around them heard the Word in their own language, not an odd combination of sounds that no one understood.  The disciples spoke and were heard by those around them in their own language, not Klingon.  It is not for us to speak in tongues without study; that was a one shot deal.  It was designed to show us that we could, with hard work and persistence bring the Gospel to the world in the language of the people. It showed that we were in fact to preach the Gospel to all nations, not just the nation of Israel, but to all the nations of the World. The many nations of the fallen race of Adam all comprise those to whom the Good News is to be spread. Which is what the purpose of God sending the Holy Ghost was for, was for us to bring the light of Christ into the world for all to see and believe upon. He is here so that we can understand and then act upon His Word. He is here to provide us with the guidance and understanding necessary to preach and spread the Word into the far regions of the Earth. The Holy Ghost allows us to spread His Word amongst all the people in the world and to convince them and let them believe. It opens our eyes to what is good for us and what is not good for us, so that we know what to believe and what not to believe.

We need the Holy Ghost if we are to follow the Great Commission Christ set forth. He knew we would need the Holy Ghost if we were to have any success in this endeavor. However, He also knew that He needed to leave if the Holy Ghost were to come and stay, so the Holy Ghost’s coming had to wait until after the Ascension. He had it planned out so the disciples would not be without a direct connection to Him for very long.

The Holy Ghost is also our direct connection to God. When Jesus left, the disciples were distant from God. When they were not near Jesus, they did not do as well as when they were with Him. See Peter’s actions after the arrest of Jesus for an example, thrice denying His Lord. The Holy Ghost came so that we would have understanding and a direct connection to God, wireless as it were, instead of having to be tethered to Christ. It is how He will always be with us, even though He is not physically with us at the present time. We will never have to fear anything as long as He is with us, for if He is with us, who should we be afraid of, if we are on His side?

If we allow the Holy Ghost into our hearts, we will never be far from Him, and He will never be far from us. We have to consciously let Him into our hearts, He will not come uninvited into our hearts. The Holy Ghost will help us understand Scripture and will give us guidance on our earthly lives, as we work towards staying on the straight and narrow path towards heaven He will be a constant guiding presence in our lives, that will give us peace in times of trouble, and will help us guide and focus our minds in our worship of God.  He will give us the inspiration and help us to do what is right for our fellow Christians and friends, while staying true to God. He will light our paths in difficult times and trials and will give us the guidance we need to finish our race for God.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells us that He would be leaving, but the Father would send a facilitator; one who whose presence, if we let Him into our hearts, would let us understand His Word with those self same hearts.  The Comforter would bring the Love of God into our hearts to let us feel His Love.  He will help us understand that we are striving to be one with God, with Jesus and with the Holy Ghost.  Our love can be demonstrated by our actions.  Which are only possible if we allow the Holy Ghost into our hearts and believe and Act upon our faith! This is a point that is made time and time again in Scriptures. We need to be doers of the world, not just hearers, to paraphrase St. James. For if we love Jesus, we will do as He asked.

If you think about it, you will recall that the second half of the Book of Luke is titled The Acts of the Apostles.  It is not the thoughts, the beliefs, the feelings, the meditations, the inner feelings or any other touchy feely thing, it is the ACTS.  If you believe, act on those beliefs. The Holy Ghost is here to help us know how to act, we will just have to let Him into our hearts, and then ACT.

We need the help of the Holy Ghost to learn what we are to do, how we are to do it and most of all to do it.  Action, not just diction.

Pray for His continual presence in your heart.

Heaven is at the end of an uphill trail.  The easy downhill trail does not lead to the summit.

The time is now, not tomorrow.  The time has come, indeed.  How will you ACT?

It is by our actions we are known.

Be of God - Live of God - Act of God