Will we be moved?

Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the LORD Almighty.

Zechariah 4: 6b

For the past week I’ve been studying Acts and I see a recurring pattern: the believers pray and God’s Spirit moves and works in response to their prayers.

They start with a group of 120 followers gathered in a house, fasting and praying, waiting for the Holy Spirit, who was promised by Jesus. When the Spirit comes He moves them, He gives them courage to speak, He works miracles through them and He sends them out. Every day their numbers grow working their way like yeast through the dough. Not in a forceful way but by laying down their lives, many of them literally dying on the way.

In Acts it says that while they were together in one place, suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.

Wind sets things in motion, even though it is invisible it’s power is very strong.

Without the wind of the Spirit, the church will become
a static building
a death pool
an empty tradition
a hollow theology
a skeleton without life.

The church can try to cover up her deadness with some nice wrapping paper.
She can try to move things herself as a substitute for the work of the Holy Spirit.
But this will just exhaust her people.
Without the power to bring the death to life, she will have now power at all, and the movement will stop and die. People will look at the empty building and they will walk away…

This challenges me to pray and to want to become a praying church, to enable God’s Spirit to move through us and to plant us like seeds so the world will see the resurrecting power of Jesus.

“You can’t see the wind, you can see the effects of the wind but you can't see the wind”




The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” John 3:8

I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat is planted in the soil and dies, it remains alone. But its death will produce many new kernels—a plentiful harvest of new lives. Those who love their life in this world will lose it. Those who care nothing for their life in this world will keep it for eternity. John 12: 24-25

The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you. Romans 8: 11

I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms. Ephesians 1: 19-20

Fool?

"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose"


Jim Elliot
For his life story click here: Story Jim Elliot

Horses

 

Have you given the horse its strength
or clothed its neck with a flowing mane?
Did you give it the ability to leap like a locust?
Its majestic snorting is terrifying!
It paws the earth and rejoices in its strength
when it charges out to battle.

Job 39:19-21



The spreading of te clouds

foto by Cornel Pufan

A while ago I saw the video below and when I was reading Job I thought the verses and this video fitted well together. The video below gives images to the words and gives me a glimpse of how great God is.

I also read the following part in the book "The knowledge of the Holy" by A.W. Tozer, which helps me to look at nature with a different perspective:

"Science observes how the power of God operates, discovers a regular pattern somewhere and fixes it as a “law.” The uniformity of God’s activities in His creation enables the scientist to predict the course of natural phenomena. The trustworthiness of God’s behavior in His world is the foundation of all scientific truth. Upon it the scientist rests his faith and from there he goes on to achieve great and useful things in such fields as those of navigation, chemistry, agriculture, and the medical arts. Religion on the other hand, goes back of the nature of God. It is concerned not with the footprints of God along the paths of creation, but with the One who treads those paths. Religion is interested primarily in the One who is the source of all things, the master of every phenomenon."

Description from Elihu (Taken from Job 36 & 37):

27 For He draws up drops of water,Which distill as rain from the mist,
28 Which the clouds drop down And pour abundantly on man.
29 Indeed, can anyone understand the spreading of clouds,The thunder from His canopy?

32 He covers His hands with lightning, And commands it to strike.

9 From the chamber of the south comes the whirlwind,And cold from the scattering winds of the north.

6 For He says to the snow, ‘Fall on the earth’; Likewise to the gentle rain and the heavy rain of His strength.

10 By the breath of God ice is given,And the broad waters are frozen.
11 Also with moisture He saturates the thick clouds; He scatters His bright clouds.
12 And they swirl about, being turned by His guidance, That they may do whatever He commands them On the face of the whole earth.

15 Do you know when God dispatches them, And causes the light of His cloud to shine?
16 Do you know how the clouds are balanced, Those wondrous works of Him who is perfect in knowledge?
17 Why are your garments hot, When He quiets the earth by the south wind?
18 With Him, have you spread out the skies, Strong as a cast metal mirror?


God himself speaking to Job (Taken from Job 38):

24 What is the way to the place where the lightning is dispersed, or the place where the east winds are scattered over the earth?
25 Who cuts a channel for the torrents of rain, and a path for the thunderstorm,
26 to water a land where no one lives, an uninhabited desert,
27 to satisfy a desolate wasteland and make it sprout with grass?
28 Does the rain have a father? Who fathers the drops of dew?
29 From whose womb comes the ice? Who gives birth to the frost from the heavens
30 when the waters become hard as stone, when the surface of the deep is frozen?

34 “Can you raise your voice to the clouds and cover yourself with a flood of water?
35 Do you send the lightning bolts on their way? Do they report to you, ‘Here we are’?

Eternal price

Climbing Mount Everest to the summit is an enormous challenge, even to the most seasoned high-altitude climber. You must devote years of preparation and training before you can attempt to summit Mount Everest

All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize.
1 Corinthians 9: 25

• 1
Work on your fitness. Climbing Mount Everest will test your physical and mental strength. Develop fitness by maintaining a workout regimen that involves cardiovascular training, strength training and stair climbing with weights. Run on flat and hilly terrains, hike on steep trails with a heavy backpack and take extended overnight camping trips as preparation for wilderness skills. A physical goal should be to ascend a peak of 3,500 feet carrying 55 to 65 pounds in a period of two to three hours. Start from short workouts and gradually build your way up to longer and higher intensity exercise programs and other preparation activities.


• 2
Learn technical climbing and mountaineering skills. Mountaineering may involve bushwhacking, river crossings, rope handling, belaying and tying knots. Skills for navigation, rappelling, crevasse and rock rescue skills are important for safe mountaineering.


• 3
Learn about the risks and dangers of climbing Mount Everest. Many have died attempting to ascend or descend the mountain due to various factors such as fatigue, harsh weather conditions, lack of oxygen, high altitudes, ice falls, frostbite, etc. Familiarize yourself with risks, symptoms of illness, emergency treatments and prevention techniques.


• 4
Gain experience and start climbing smaller mountains, then work your way up to higher summits. Build your mountaineering experience gradually; allow a period of three to four years to climb several mountains with elevations of at least 18,000 feet above sea level. As the world's highest mountain above sea level and with a peak of 29,035 feet, you will need extensive experience to climb Mount Everest successfully and safely.


• 5
Select an expedition company to guide your climb. Expedition companies provide professional guides who climb with a group throughout the entire trip. This may include four guides, 10 to 12 climbers and 18 climbing Sherpas. Expedition guides provide necessary climbing permits, oxygen supply, Sherpa assistance for carrying loads, food and base camp support. Expect to pay a large fee for services that can run up to $70,000.


• 6
Follow the extensive list of gear requirements from your chosen expedition company. This includes climbing equipment such as an ice axe with leash, crampons, alpine climbing harness, carabiner, climbing helmet, ascender, rappel or belay device, prusiks and tekking poles. Other types of gear include footwear, technical clothing, hand wear, head wear, personal equipment and first aid supplies

Taken from How to prepare for a summit of mount everest