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    Thursday, July 28, 2011

    Children of the Wind

      In Scripture, the Holy Spirit is sometimes referred to as "Wind" or "like the wind".  I love this picture because the wind is a mysterious force.  We can feel it, we can see it's effects, but it is invisible.

      The Spirit is much like the wind.  He is powerful, mighty and we can see his works and might.  We see the effects of the Spirit, yet he is invisible.

      In the book of John, we see an exchange between Jesus and Nicodemus on the issue of being born again.  Nicodemus is perplexed by the idea of a new birth or being born again and so Jesus is explaining it in a simpler way.  He says:

    "The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit." (John 3:8 ESV)


      Wind is powerful.  Wind is strong.  The wind changes things, yet people have no idea where it came from or how it came about...it just happens.  For us who have witnessed a storm, or any wind moving, bending or changing things, this is easy to accept.

      The same is true for everyone who is born of the Spirit.

      The Spirit is powerful.  The Spirit is strong.  The Spirit changes things, yet people have no idea where it came from or how it came about...it just happens.

      The world sees a drug addict turn to Jesus and lives the rest of their life free from addiction.  The man addicted to porn encounters Jesus and never looks at porn again.  The angry woman, rejected by her earthly father despises marriage, meets Jesus and her heart is changed.  The sinner meets Jesus, is changed and releases the burden of their sin.

      Born again.  Change.  New Birth.  New creation.  All made possible by the death of Christ and the indwelling Holy Spirit.

      The word for spirit in this passage is also the word for wind.  When you see the word wind in the beginning of the passage, it is the same word used for Spirit...the exact same one.  So, when we are children of the Heavenly wind, that is the Spirit we change.  We don't go back in our mother's womb.  We don't get a new physical birth.  We are born of the Spirit of God.  When this happens, we change.  Our nature has shifted from sinner to saved.  Our chains have been released from Sin and now we can take up Jesus burden, which is lighter.

      The wind is mysterious, so is the Spirit.  The wind can be dangerous, so can the Spirit.  The wind is unexpected, so is the Spirit.  The wind doesn't warn you when it will make a change, the Spirit doesn't always.  The Spirit in the believer is one of the most amazing things about God, that he would choose to dwell in us.  That he would choose to give us the power to live the Christian life.   That He would teach us by His Spirit.  It's amazing.  I am a child of the wind, the Spirit of the living God.

    BEWARE: sometimes the wind makes changes we don't like.  Breaks things we have become accustomed to in life.  The Spirit does the same.  He may move us to change.  He will give us new desires, desires to read His Word, desires to serve Him only. Will you yield to His promptings?  Will I yield to His promptings?  The wind doesn't hold back, neither does the Spirit.  Are we willing to ride the winds of change that the Spirit will bring to our hearts?  Will we release our burdens and take His upon us?

      Being a child of the wind means we too are dangerous, we too have power...not of our own but from Him.  We are not weak robots who are on this earth to simply go to church once a week and call that our "religious requirement".  We are to be Warriors, listening for where the wind (The Spirit) would have us go.  Speak to those who need his touch.  Pray for those who need his healing. 

      Being a child of the Wind is an adventure, an exciting ride.  Am I ready?  Are you ready?

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