Breathing life into dry bones October 11, 2009
Posted by Alien Drums in Holy Spirit.Tags: Ezekiel, Holy Spirit, Jesus, John Shelby Spong
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“I saw a great many bones that were very dry,” Ezekiel wrote. And the Spirit of the Lord asked him, “Son of man, can these bones live?”
He was not talking about the church of recent years, of course, but he could have been.
Those who know the Ezekiel story, know that the answer to the question was a resounding “yes.” The prophet did as the Lord commanded and said, “Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe into these slain, that they may live.” The result: “… breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet–a vast army.”
John Shelby Spong has something special to say about the breath of God, the wind of God, the Holy Spirit — though he would not say it thus.
“The task of spirit was always to give life,” Spong writes. “In this ancient understanding, the spiritual person was not the pious person or the religious person, but the vital, alive, whole, and real person.” (Why Christianity Must Change or Die, p.105)
“Jesus was a ‘spirit person’,” Spong says. “He was alive. He gave life to others. His life was expansive. It was not bound by traditional limits. Thus those who were touched by his spirit also came alive and began the expanding process of entering the limitless dimensions of their own lives. That was the experience to which the word spirit pointed.” (p. 106)
Spong is pushing for a God-less understanding of reality. I don’t know about that, but I think he’s right about spirit and Jesus — and therefore us in relation to them.
The breath of life is upon us to give life in a new and profound way. If we do not understand it completely, and I do not; that’s OK. Experience it as best we can.
Needed for the pilgrimage July 26, 2007
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Jim Cymbala:
“… [W]e never stop needing the power of the Holy Spirit during our whole pilgrimage here on earth. We never reach a place where we can live vicariously apart from his daily grace in our lives. Only the Spirit can produce his fruit, in and through us, that makes us the people God wants us to be.”
Why do I need to be reminded of this? We all know the reason. We are proud, self-centered, not God centered. Since I needed reminding, I thought some others might need it, as well.
My prayer for today:
That God will remind me of my need for His presence, His Spirit in my life; that I would enable His Spirit to bring forth His fruit in my life.
A little jarring. Is it true? January 30, 2007
Posted by Alien Drums in Bible, Christianity, Emerging church, Holy Spirit, Religion, Salvation, Scripture, Spirituality, Theology.2 comments
“There is need of greater light than the word [Bible] of itself is able to give; for it is not all the promises in Scripture that have … wrought any gracious changes in my soul.” — John Cotton, 17th century
Cotton, a Puritan who was a pastor in early Boston, was emphasizing the work of the Holy Spirit in salvation and sanctification.
The Bible, we often say, has an amazing power to speak to our lives today. I think John Cotton would say that the Holy Spirit has an amazing power to speak to our lives today and that the Spirit often uses Scripture. I think this is correct. And by attributing the real power to the Spirit, we are really attributing it to God.
I think it also is true that we are in need of greater light than the word alone can give. God’s Word is greater than the words on the pages of the book we call the Bible. We all may know that, but we don’t act like it.
Cotton’s theology differed from most of the other ministers in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. It was more centered on the work of the Spirit and on grace, as opposed to law. It is, in short, a scarier way to do faith.
“Without the work of the Spirit, there is no faith,” Cotton said.
(Cotton quotes come from American Jezebel: The Uncommon Life of Anne Hutchinson, by Eve LaPlante.)
Mystery of the Spirit August 22, 2006
Posted by Alien Drums in Christianity, Evangelism, Holy Spirit, Revival, Spiritual.Tags: Spiritual
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“The operation of the Spirit in believers … is a great mystery. He works more on them than they feel or know; and they feel more than they can express in words; and they express more than any who have not received ‘the same Spirit of faith’ (2 Cor. 4:13) can understand.”
Those are the words of Puritan Robert Traill. I read them this morning in Iain H. Murray’s book, Pentecost – Today? The Biblical Basis for Understanding Revival (Banner of Truth, 1998, p. 5)
I love to read something that resonates with your own thoughts or experience even though you have not been able to articulate it as such. This was such a reading.
Here are a couple of other quotes from Murray’s opening pages:
“If we could understand revivals they would not be the astonishing things which they are.” (p. 5)
“Our thoughts are not to be left hanging loose like clothes impeding one who must run. We must earnestly desire to understand.” (p. 6)
Alien Drums 