Category: Encouragement

  • Ruach: Wind, Breath, and the Holy Spirit Who Gives Life

    I watched the wind blow across the countryside through the wheat fields. The waves of wheat reminded me of the ocean. The view changed moment by moment at the wind’s whim.

    The train of thought is too long to explain, but I ended up thinking of wind in the bible. The Hebrew word is ruach, but it means much more than wind.  It also means breath and spirit. One word, three meanings.

    I think the word leaves a fabulous trail through the Scriptures

    We see the spirit, the wind, the breath of God from the very beginning. 

    The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Genesis 1:2 ESV

    A few verses later, God breaths life into Adam. A different word is used, but it’s still God’s Spirit.

    Fast forward to Ezekiel standing in the valley of dry bones. The Spirit breathes life into the dead bones, and they rise.

    The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones. And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry. And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord God, you know.” Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord.” So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But there was no breath in them. Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army. Ezekiel 37:1-10 ESV

    Now let’s skip ahead to the New Testament; the wording is Greek now, not Hebrew, but it’s the same Spirit.

    Jesus is speaking… 

    And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. John 20:22 ESV

    God’s Holy Spirit is the giver of life and rebirth. 

    When you feel as dry and empty as dead bones, remember where life comes from. It’s God who gives life; turn to Him. Breathe Him in again.

    May you be filled with the Spirit today.

    Kevin

    SUMMARY

    Watching wind move through a wheat field sent me tracing ruach, the Hebrew word for wind, breath, and spirit. From Genesis to Ezekiel’s dry bones to John, it shows that God’s Holy Spirit is the giver of life and rebirth.

    TAKEAWAY

    Ruach means wind, breath, and spirit, so the Spirit of God hovering over the waters in Genesis 1:2 is the same breath of God you can trace through all of Scripture.

    In Ezekiel’s valley, the bones had sinews, flesh, and skin, yet no breath was in them until God sent it. The life you need is His to give.

    When you feel as dry and empty as dead bones, remember where life comes from. Turn to God and breathe Him in again, the same Holy Spirit Jesus gave with a breath in John 20:22.

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  • Snatched from the Fire

    Mercy without excusing sin

    I often hear people say the Old Testament has no value today, and I completely disagree. I was reading in the Minor prophets this morning and hit a verse in Amos where the wording immediately brought to mind some parallel passages.

    I was in Amos, and the Lord is rebuking Israel for their unfaithfulness. He had rescued them from harm and yet they still rebelled.

    “I overthrew some of you, as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and you were as a brand plucked out of the burning; yet you did not return to me,” declares the Lord. Amos 4:11 ESV

    That reminded me of another verse, one I wrote about recently. Satan is accusing the High Priest before God. The Lord extends compassion and mercy without excusing the sin.

    Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right side to accuse him. The Lord said to Satan, “The Lord rebuke you, Satan! The Lord, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebuke you! Is not this man a burning stick snatched from the fire?” Zechariah 3:1-2

    A burning stick pulled from the fire suggests something (or someone) being pulled from the very precipice of danger. The stick has already begun to burn; it will be unsalvageable shortly.

    That, too, led me to the New Testament book of Jude.

    But, dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold. They said to you, “In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.” These are the people who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit. But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life. Be merciful to those who doubt; save others by snatching them from the fire; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.  Jude 1:17-23 ESV

    The metaphor of the burning branch is clear in the New Testament as it stands, but our understanding is enriched by seeing it through Old Testament eyes, as Jude’s audience would have.

    There is an interesting progression in Jude’s letter.

    Jude 22 — mercy toward those who doubt

    Jude 23a — actively rescue those in greater danger

    Jude 23b — remain morally separated from the contamination itself

    That combination is very much at home in the Old Testament: compassion for the person, intervention to rescue the person, and rejection of the sin/uncleanness.

    Jude’s audience were living in dark times with many mocking and oppressing them, and things were getting worse. Does that sound familiar? Yet they were to be merciful, offer the grace of God and reject sin.

    That’s the way Christians are called to live. It isn’t a New Testament “thing”; it’s been God’s way from the beginning.

    May we find ourselves living and preaching the gospel and snatching others from the very fires of Hell.

    Be blessed

    Kevin

    SUMMARY

    A verse in Amos this morning tied together the rescue images in Amos, Zechariah, and Jude, all showing God’s mercy without excusing sin. Jude’s call to show mercy, rescue the endangered, and still reject sin isn’t new; it’s the same pattern God used long before the New Testament.

    TAKEAWAY

    Amos, Zechariah, and Jude all picture someone already burning, pulled out before the fire consumes them.

    You’re called to follow Jude’s pattern toward others: mercy for those who doubt, active rescue for those in greater danger, and a clear rejection of the sin itself.

    You can trust that pairing mercy with truth isn’t a New Testament invention. It’s how God has dealt with people from the start.

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