The Spirit Is Now

WED., AUG. 6, 1986, 6:29 AM
FARM, STUDY

The Gospel of John tells that I, the Holy Spirit, shall come into the earth after I, as Jesus, leave it. The Book of Acts tells the dramatic story of My advent with wind, tongues of fire, the ability of all to hear the Word. Am I still around, in the now of a more modern world? Well, you know that I am, but I reaffirm this mighty fact on a cool, rainy morning.

What I have just described, in brief, is a good example of My both/and nature. It is true that as Jesus I promised My coming as the Holy Spirit, but it is also true that I was around in the earth at that time, in earlier times… from the “very beginning.” I acted dramatically at Pentecost, I act semi-dramatically with you in this teaching/learning mode, and I act in myriad undramatic ways in each moment, before and since.

I am part of conversations, of times of reading, of physical work, of leisurely dreaming. Yet I respect the integrity of each person, and only rarely do I intervene and counter the natural forces. If a person does not ask for Me I am not with her… and yet I am. With those whom I have chosen and called (and who have responded, such as yourself) there is a constant interplay of My Will and that of each. I respect your will, but I am not namby-pamby about My call. Yet I am not really bound nor hampered by time. It is of no great consequence if My will is not done this day… or this year. Doing My will is always beneficial to you, in spiritual terms, and so you just retard your own progress when you resist My calls and postpone actions.

At the same time I can bless and consecrate anything you are doing, and you can feel the holiness of My presence, if you will. I am in the rain that falls onto a thirsty earth. I am involved in the activities represented by that stack of papers on the floor. I call to you from letters unanswered. I am with you in the killing and dressing of rabbits. I just am part of every moment of now that you experience. And so it is for each human in the earth and for each spirit in every realm. Most of you do not acknowledge Me. Fortunately, I do not need encouragement to continue My presence and influence. (But I do like it when you acknowledge Me.)

You now live in a “modern world.” There is a possibility that it shall seem “not so modern” to those who look back on it from a more “modern” future. There is also the possibility that it shall be the most modern of any earth society, should faith in the economic system wane and the fact that it really cannot be sustained becomes reality. Yet in each future (or any imaginable) here I am, in the now.

I can be adaptable to a culture of machines, computers, and information galore. I am present in every form of hardship… and of suffering. I am present in great triumphs… and in day-to-day pleasant, comfortable… to boring… living. “Whither thou goest I will go” is a promise offered to each of you. You can live life without recognizing and including Me, but not without My actual presence.