Mulled Vine

Gaspar ran into the room, panting heavily from exertion, “Melchior, Balthasar, the star that was prophesied has appeared in the west!”

Melchior looked up, “West? Don’t you mean east?”

Balthasar chuckled, “Leave him alone, Melchior – you can be such a literalist at times.”

“Literalist?” Melchior pouted, “It clearly says ‘the wise men will see a star in the east’.”

Balthasar put his cards down and sighed, “But if we are east of the event then does not the phrase still apply?”

Gaspar threw up his hands in frustration, “Will you two cease! Are we going or not?”

“Count me out,” said Melchior, “I fancy a nice relaxing Saturnalia at home this year, not a long, dusty traipse through the desert in the wrong direction.”

The church I fellowship at is a fairly standard Baptist place. When the Spirit “moves” this generally manifests itself in lots of hands going up, and the occasional speaking in tongues or word of prophecy.

So this morning a chap two rows ahead of me stood out because as he worshiped he convulsed repeatedly as if he was going to throw up. Needless to say this caused quite a few people to stare. Then when the song ended he would stop abruptly and behave as if nothing had happened. What’s all that about? Surely if the Spirit moves in you so that you convulse then that’s going to have a lasting impact?

The other thing is that this particular type of “movement” of the Spirit is very common in another church in our town, so much so that I would, if I were a betting man, bet that he was visiting from that church.

Is this learned behaviour I ask myself?

This weekend, apart from the usual manic activities such as driving children to dance classes and preparing to lead the music group at church, involved putting up Christmas decorations and attending a seminar on Prophecy.

A prophecy seminar?? This is a bit unlike you, Robert!?

Yes, but I have for the last 2 years had a nagging inkling that I might have a leaning that way, a spiritual “gifting” if you like, and this has been strengthened at various time by things people have said to me.

So I didn’t comb my hair this morning, came into work wearing animal skins and packed a lunch of yummy locusts.

Not really.

I learnt that prophecy is simply speaking the Word of God into people’s lives, and that “In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.” (Acts 2:17)

So here’s the thing. Prophecy requires the Spirit.

Now I believe I have the indwelling of the Spirit, and having come to faith in a conservative Christian church, even believed at first that the whole business of spiritual gifts such as tongues and prophecy etc was for those days alone.

Now I’m not so sure. There’s a lot of what I call “Whooooooo” stuff going around, and some of it by eminently sensible people, and I don’t want to miss out!

But no matter how hard I try to make myself open to God, to get up every day at the crack of dawn to pray, to go up to be prayed for by anyone who seems to “have it”, to have raving lunatics slap me on the head as they shout gobbledey-gook, nothing happens.

What do you want to happen, Robert?

I dunno, something, anything.

But anyway, apart from the usual lack of “something” this weekend, some of the people who prayed for me and had “words” for me, seemed to have an uncanny knack of knowing me intimately, despite being complete strangers…

Whooooooo…….