May 26, 2009

I will put my spirit within you...

and you shall live.

I've mentioned here before the vast multitude of religious broadcasting available in our household.   With two (or three) prophetic/local/prosperity stations and EWTN (the catholic station) there are plenty of opportunities for me to get sucked in by a preacher/teacher/evangelist who has a nice smile and a good preaching cadence and often some theology that makes me nervous (yep even on EWTN).

What these stations all seem to have in common (yep even EWTN) is their heavy focus on the third person of the Trinity.  The Holy Spirit is so often giving them words of wisdom or prophecy or healing.  And I learned long ago to never doubt when someone says the Spirit is at work (yep even on EWTN).

What I'm gleaning from the lessons for the Day of Pentecost, however, is that the main task of the spirit, even in the days of Ezekiel (even in the days of Creation) is not to offer wisdom, council, healing, or prophecy, but to give life.

Ruach - the Hebrew word for wind, breath, and spirit.  God's breath, breated into each and every human being gives us life.  God's Spirit, breathed, I believe, into each and every human being longs to be made manifest in life abundant, life eternal, kingdom living.

Maintaining life is fairly easy for me.  I eat, I sleep, I breath - I live.  But that sort of living is not the fullness of God's dream.  If His Spirit is within me, then life should be something new, something different, something great.  Are you alive?  Or are you just eating, sleeping, and breathing?  God wants to give you life.

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