Breath of God

In the night in which He was betrayed, Jesus sat down with the disciples and told them that He

soon would be leaving them. As fear and anxiety began to pour over them, it felt like their breath had been knocked out of them.

I think I am safe to say that all of us at one time or another, have been gripped with fear of the unknown. Fear can take your breath away- drain the life out of you if you let it. But it was then that Jesus gently reassured them- “do not be afraid- Peace I leave with you- my peace I give to you. The Father is sending you an Advocate – the Holy Spirit, who is the Spirit of truth and who will remind you of everything I have said.

A lot had happened since that night that Jesus told them not to be afraid. They had watched Jesus die on a cross and laid in a tomb and as they watched, they tried their best to not be afraid. And whey went to the tomb three days later an angel asked them why they were looking for the living among the dead- he is alive- just as he said he would be. For the next 70 days, they basked in the presence of their risen Lord as Jesus appeared to the disciples and many others- until one day, they heard him give the command to go preach the gospel to the ends of the earth- and then they watched him ascend into heaven.

Forty days later as they were gathered together in prayer- the promised Holy Spirit came. But He did not come quietly, but came like a mighty wind with tongues of fire appearing and resting on their heads and they began to speak in other languages as the spirit gave the ability. The Holy Spirit- the third person of the Trinity had come with power- power to change lives-and the church- the one body of Christ- was born.

from all over the world to Jerusalem than did the Day of Pentecost did- and Jerusalem was

bustling with people from many countries and many languages.

All that noise got the attention of the crowds in the street- and when they heard them speaking in their own languages- they thought they must be drunk. But Peter stood up to explain that that wasn’t the case- and having gotten their attention- he proceeded to tell them all about Jesus – who He was and what he had done for them. And after hearing the good news of the gospel- the bible says that they were: “cut to the heart”- and they asked Peter what they should do? Peter had a ready answer saying: “Repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus.

As a result, 3,000 people repented and were baptized that day. Peter had not play on their emotions or tried to manipulate them in any way. He simply spoke with boldness the gospel in the power of the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit speaks truth to our hearts even when we don’t want to hear it. Billy Graham

called the Holy Spirit- “the hound of heaven”- relentlessly hounding us until we cannot ignore

him anymore. Jesus Himself said that we can’t see the wind or where it comes from- but we can

see it’ effects- changing, transforming lives from the inside out.

Martin Luther’s life was changed forever one night in his room as he read Eph 2:8-9 that says:

gathers, and enlightens us who believe- and in the same way calls, gathers and enlightens the

his commands, or learn and submit to His truth.

When we listen- we hear of God’s love for sinners, but hatred of our sin; we hear of his grace and mercy for repentant sinners, and that our sins have been paid in full by Jesus on the cross. When we honor God with our obedience, it is a response of our love for him; and when we seek his wisdom and guidance, it is a sign of our trust.

The Holy Spirit cannot be tamed to serve our purposes- it is us who need to submit to His calling and purpose. There is only one Spirit. We need to remember that when people respond to the message of the gospel- it is the working of the Holy Spirit- not us. There is only one savior- and it is not us- and there is only one Holy Spirit who calls and changes lives- and it is not us. We are only to be obedient and place ourselves as instruments in God’s hands to do His work.

Living in the world today, it would seem things have been turned upside down. Wrong has become right, and right has become wrong. It seems our nation and the world has become dead to the things of God and we wonder if it could ever become alive again.

long time. And looking at those bleached, dry bones, God asked him a question- do you think

these bones can come live? What would you say? What would you say of America? Ezekiel

And so Ezekiel obeyed God- and something amazing began to happen. The lifeless bones began

to come together and sinews and flesh began to grow on them and then skin, until they looked