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Summer 2026: ‘Wildfires’ – The Holy Spirit, from Genesis to Revelation
This summer, we’ll immerse ourselves in the person and work of the Holy Spirit: from the first verses of Genesis, to the last verses of Revelation. Often the ‘forgotten’ part of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit is there at Creation, and also at the climax of the New Creation, throughout history revealing the reality of God’s presence and power to the world. So, let’s celebrate the Wildfire of the Holy Spirit, and continue to welcome His presence in our lives today!
- Tuesday 30th June – Luke 2:25-32 ‘Moved by the Spirit’
I love this story. I make no apologies for including it in these daily inspirations. Simeon has got to be one of my favourite characters in the Bible. He only appears in this one episode, but what a cameo! A lifetime of faithfully walking in God’s ways crystallised in this one moment.
I don’t know if you’ve ever got up one morning with an idea that there was something you absolutely had to do. Or perhaps you pass someone in the street and know you need to talk to them. Or maybe it’s a phone call you’ve got to make. And you discover to your surprise and delight that you called at just the right time, or the person you approached needed help, or that thing you ‘had’ to do was something you would have missed if you’d left it till tomorrow.
If you’ve had that experience, you may well have been ‘moved’ by the Spirit. Our God is a God who speaks. And still speaks today. So we shouldn’t be too surprised to get these ‘urges’ every so often.
But let’s notice that Simeon’s crowning moment is not the first mention of the Spirit in this passage. Simeon’s whole life was infused by the Spirit – the text says simply that the Spirit was ‘on him’ (v25). God can speak to anyone: but it happens a lot more often to those with whom He dwells all the time. The more we allow God to soak our lives, the more these ‘divine promptings’ are likely to happen. Like picking out your family in a crowd, it’s much easier to spot things you’re totally familiar with.
Simeon’s moment was also preceded by a prior revelation. He already knew that he would see the Messiah one day. One of the gifts of the Spirit is the gift of prophecy – the capacity to see what God is up to. And Simeon clearly had this gift: and he believed what God had told him.
So, when he got the ‘nudge’ one day that he had to go to the temple, his lifetime of spiritual soaking and seeing led him to one simple act of obedience which changed the world.
You’re never too old to be used by God. That would be a fine summary of Simeon’s story. Or to put it another way: if you’re used to walking with God – such that the Spirit is ‘on you’ too – some days you get to notice a significant step that you’re being asked to take. What might that be at the moment? We might feel like the most unlikely people to be ‘moved’ by God – so it’s just as well that it’s not up to us! Perhaps our great and gracious God still has work for you to do?
- Monday 29th June – Luke 1:11-17 ‘Filled for fruitfulness’Read more...
‘Behold, I am doing a new thing! …Do you not perceive it?’ (Isaiah 43:19)
We use the word revolution a lot nowadays. But in truth, genuine revolutions are very rare. Arguably, the Covid-19 pandemic witnessed (at least temporarily) a revolution in church life greater than anything since the Reformation, as large sections of the global church moved online, ...
- Saturday 27th June – Zechariah 4:1-9 ‘Not by might nor power’Read more...
The wind and the sun once had an argument as to who was the most powerful. The sun smiled: ‘See how I can dry up the desert.’ ‘Pah!’ scoffed the wind. ‘That’s not power! Look at what I can do to the trees, even entire oceans. See how they tremble when I blow.’ As they were arguing, a man walked below ...
- Friday 26th June – Joel 2:23-32 ‘The Spirit poured out’Read more...
Have you ever been caught in a summer storm? The sensation of being drenched by warm rain is something extraordinary to experience. Over the years I’ve been caught in a few such deluges, and if you’re lucky or unlucky (take your pick) to be caught in one, you’ll have some measure of the true sense of the word ‘downpour’.
Every year or two I go on a pilgrimage. Not the usual kind of pilgrimage, I must confess. Mine is to the Rembrandt rooms at the National Gallery in London. Mostly I go to gaze at the two self-portraits: one painted when Rembrandt was 34 and at the peak of his powers; the other a few months before his death aged ...
- Wednesday 24th June – Ezekiel 36:24-28 ‘A heart of flesh’Read more...
How does a person become good? This fundamental question has been exercising humanity since time began. We are moral beings; we understand concepts of goodness and badness, we know that some lives are better than others, and some actions are better than others. But knowing something is one thing: doing it is a different matter!
Many huge brains have thought ...