Links for today’s readings:
Apr 15 Read: Joel 2 Listen: (5:26) Read: Matthew 19 Listen: (4:04)
Scripture Focus: Joel 2.28–29
28 “And afterward,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your old men will dream dreams,
your young men will see visions.
29 Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days.”
Reflection: Obliterated Exclusions
By Erin Newton
When I first heard the gospel, I lived on an island in a small town and attended a Baptist church that had (if my memory serves me right) a motorcycle riding Methodist preacher. From the beginning, I saw church as a worldwide community without barriers.
The early years of my Christian life, however, were shaped in another church that had more walls and rules. I was told that while God loved me, some places of ministry were off limits. But as Jeremiah once said, “[God’s] word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot” (Jeremiah 20.9). In Acts, the pouring out of the Spirit after the death and resurrection of Jesus descended on the crowd like tongues of fire.
Joel 2 has been the focal point for many discussions on ministry and worship. The verse answers the who, what, and when questions about God’s people.
What is happening? God will pour out his Spirit. This concept of having God’s spirit come upon you in the Old Testament often described a sense of power or revelation. The Spirit comes upon Ezekiel and he is given a vision of God’s restored temple. The Spirit comes upon Saul and David and through such power (and guidance), they rule Israel.
Who is it happening to? Sons and daughters. Old and young. Servants, male and female. This spectrum of God’s people obliterates exclusions that were so common in the ancient world.
When is this going to happen? For Joel, it was a future context. For us, that future is now. This is our current status. We all have the Spirit poured out upon us. This grants us the ability to commune with God directly. And most importantly, no one is excluded.
If we desire to live into the promised future that God gave to Joel, we must obliterate the exclusions we construct against our brothers and sisters in Christ.
The more I read the Bible and see how God promised and used young people like Timothy or older people like Sarah, sons like Micah and daughters like Junia, men in servitude like Onesimus and women in servitude like Esther—the more I am compelled to unreservedly take hold of the power of the Spirit already poured out in my life.
Do not build walls in the church when the Spirit has already torn them down.
Divine Hours Prayer: The Call to Prayer
The Lord is near to those who call upon him, to all who call upon him faithfully.
He fulfills the desire of those who fear him; he hears their cry and helps them.
The Lord preserves all those who love him, but he destroys all the wicked. — Psalm 145.19-21
– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime by Phyllis Tickle.
Read more: Prayer in Relationship
When the Bible says he “placed his hands on them” it isn’t referring to casual pat on the back, but a purposeful, prayerful blessing.
Read more: Hope Consuming Darkness
No matter how dark it gets, everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.
