wind

As I start the day today the wind is already blowing, the weather forecast said it would be breezy.  It’s a matter of definition I guess as to which is more accurate.  But it occurred to me that the virus is less effective in our state because the wind moves it all to Kansas and Nebraska.  So, I praise God for the wind.  Okay so that is probably not very factual at all, but hey, I’ll praise God for the wind anyway!

When I think of wind in the Bible, I think of Jesus calming the wind in the storms that rose against the disciples as they traversed the Sea of Galilee.  The Old Testament has many references to the wind, often being used by God like in Jonah, or with God’s dealing with Elijah.  But for the most part, I think about Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus.  Jesus told Nicodemus that He must be born again.  In John 3:7-8, Jesus said, “Do not be amazed that I told you that you must be born again.  The wind blows where it pleases, and you hear its sound, but you don’t know where it comes from or where it is going.  So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”  The interesting thing about the words “wind” and “spirit” is that they both translate the Greek word pneuma.  Jesus told Nicodemus that he does not know where the wind comes from but that he could hear it, and observe it’s effects with the trees, dirt, or sand, but where its ultimate destination would be is unknown.  Then Jesus says it is the same with everyone born of the Spirit.  Today with all the meteorological science there is a lot known and understood about the wind, but the understanding was not the same in the first century.  For Jesus to make the statement about the Spirit and believers carried the idea of the wind not being understood, but primarily heard by people.  So, the one who is born again or anew by the Spirit is something that could not be seen but the effects of the new birth were observable to others.  Even today we cannot see the Spirit of God, we sometimes can see where he is at work in people’s lives, but we don’t always see how He is at work in people.  However, when the Spirit of God draws a person into new life and relationship with Him it becomes visible through the changed attitudes, behaviors, priorities, and values that come from a person’s very being.  All because the Spirit convicts them of sin, convicts them of the truth about Jesus, and calls them into a new born-again relationship with God the Father through His Son Jesus Christ.  The Spirit then indwells the new believer to guide them into truth, holiness, and a growing relationship with Jesus.  The Spirit continues to work today, moving like the wind, to bring people into relationship with God through the new birth.  I praise God for the moving of His Spirit and lives being born-again.


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