Luke 2:25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him.

This is one of various places throughout the Bible where the Holy Spirit is said to be on someone, before the Spirit was poured out on the Church at Pentecost. People today, and particularly Pentecostals, tend to act like He wasn’t on the scene between Genesis 1:2 and Acts 2. What was unique about Acts 2 was that the Spirit was poured out on all the believers. He is still available to every believer today, but we see greatly varying evidence of His presence. We tend to pay a lot of attention to spiritual gifts, particularly those mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12, but there is also the Fruit of the Spirit, listed in Galatians 5:22-23. No one is perfect, but it is questionable whether someone completely lacking in the fruit of the Spirit is indeed a Christian at all. Simeon, I’m sure, demonstrated the fruit of the Spirit in abundance, as can be seen even in his brief appearance in Scripture. The point, I think, is for believers today to be more aware of what is available to them, and actively seek to be open to His operation in their lives. We need to be honest about how much of the fruit of the Spirit we are manifesting, and repent of our deficiencies. We also should desire to be more useful to God by exercising gifts of the Spirit, not at all for personal pride but for His glory. After all, when He has provided for us to be supernatural, it is foolish and ungrateful to hold back! We aren’t to try to dictate how the Spirit is to be manifested in our lives, but if we see no signs of Him, then we are to seek God as to why that is. God works in and through us by His Spirit, and we are to seek, yield to, and delight in that reality.

I was introduced to the active working of the Holy Spirit back in 1973, but my availability to Him has been varied. My fruit-bearing likewise hasn’t been very consistent! In our church Thanksgiving dinner last night I saw Him working, as someone who is not yet a committed Christian was moved to tears when he was talking about his gratitude for what he has encountered in coming to our church. (We have a time for each person to say something for which they are thankful.) After that, I was able to invite him to step firmly into the world, the dimension, that he has discovered here, and I believe he will do so soon. There are many other people with whom I am in contact who likewise need to make that step, but it is the fruit of the Spirit that will draw them, more than anything I could say or do on my own.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Yesterday was exhausting for both Cathy and me, but if that man commits his life to Christ, it will certainly have been worth it. Help me be an open channel for Your Spirit at all times to all people, so that many may open their hearts to repent and believe for their salvation, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!