Wherever you live on this planet, you can feel the wind…you can’t see it, or hold on to it…but it’s there. The wind comes and goes at will…it can be a gentle breeze that cools us on a hot day, or a driving force that heralds the coming rain. The word wind comes from the Greek – pneuma – which means spirit, wind, and breath…and in this verse Jesus is comparing the wind to the Holy Spirit. But if you think about it, the Holy Spirit is just like the wind…even though we can’t see Him, we know He’s there.
Month: April 2014
The Past
For many of us, the past is filled with events we’re not too proud of. Our Past was filled with – Poor Actions & Sinful Thinking. And even though we’ve received forgiveness from the Lord for these past sins, the devil loves to remind us of them, or – Painfully Anguished Sad Thoughts. But the Lord also reminds us that the Past has been forgotten and hidden from His sight, and He wants us to do the same. For Him the Past is – Permanently Absent & Shrouded Times.
Acts 9:17 ” …Saul, the Lord Jesus has sent me so that you may see again…”
When Saul got up off the ground on the road to Damascus he was blind, and he remained that way for three days – but on the third day…(remind you of something else?)… he received his sight. It says that flakes of opaque skin fell from his eyes after Ananias prayed for him… And when Saul opened his eyes – he saw, both physically and spiritually, Jesus for the first time.
Hebrews 13:15 ” Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise – the fruit of lips that confess His name.”
When was the last time you confessed Jesus as Lord? When was the last time you celebrated with public praise -(which is what confess means)- for what He’s done in your life? Not only does it build up your faith, but it builds up the faith of those around you.
Today, practice public praise!
Isaiah 29:13 ” The Lord says, ‘ These people come near to Me with their mouth and honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. Their worship of Me is made up only of rules taught by men.’ “
Our lips are the gate to honesty or deception…and giving lip service or insincere devotion to our Lord is the height of falsehood. And when we worship the rules more than worshiping God, it takes it to a realm of legalism that He never intended. Mankind has a bad habit of focusing on Rules… while God wants the focus to be on the Relationship.
John 11:44 Jesus said to them, ‘Take off the grave clothes, and let him go.’ “
The Lord was standing at the open grave of Lazarus…it had been four days since he had died, but that didn’t deter Jesus. In a loud voice He had called out, “Lazarus, come out!”
And out he walked – slowly, awkwardly, still covered with the burial shroud. Many times this happens to new Believers…Jesus calls them from death unto life, but they’re still bound up by “things” of the world…things such as addictions, and thus can’t be totally free. But Jesus desires that we all be free from the hindrances that bind us to the past…He wants us also to be loosed from our grave-clothes.
Safetypinlove 