Summary

Holy Smoke Word on the Week 10th May 2025.
This week we were treated to what is perhaps the greatest theatrical performance on earth. The election of a new Pope. Nothing comes near. Russia coincidentally had their annual parade of might - old men looking at war machines!
The sheer glamour of the assembled Cardinals decked in bright red parading through halls of splendour is without rival. The notion of shutting them up together and locking the door till a result is obtained is pure drama. Mischievously one wonders if it was more widely adopted by Governments decisions would be speeded up?
But the masterstroke is the suspense created by the smoke from the stove. No one knows when it will appear and what colour will belch forth from the stovepipe. This keeps the faithful waiting in its precincts on tenterhooks.
If the smoke is black the ballot is indecisive and the waiting goes on. Mercifully the next day in the second ballot a decision was reached and white smoke billowed from the chimney. The crowd reacted with great joy and soon Francis’s successor, Pope Leo, appeared on the balcony.
In Bible times there are a number of incidents where fire fell from heaven and consumed the burnt offering on the altar. One of the most spectacular was when Solomon’s Temple was dedicated. It reads; - When Solomon finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple ... “He is good; his love endures forever.” (2 Chronicles 7 verses 1 - 3).
But Solomon’s Temple was temporary; it was not intended to last forever. There was to be a Temple ‘not built by human hands’ that would be indestructible.
Jesus Himself was that Temple. The One who was killed and raised again in three days! (John 2 verse 19). After his death Jesus promised the Spirit would continue His work (John 16 verses 7 to 14).
In the days of the material Temple the Spirit was given to certain people for explicit tasks. But now, since the first Pentecost, the Spirit is given to all believers in Jesus.
The confirming fire from heaven appeared on the disciple’s heads and they were filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 2 verse 3). This fire did not recur. Now we walk by faith not by sight – trust in Jesus.