The Refreshing Breeze of the Holy Spirit

Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again" (John 3:3).

So what exactly is this thing He is speaking of - being "born again?" How can something that you can not see, like the wind, come into a persons heart and change the entire course of their life forever? Still, this is precisely what Jesus said, "You must be born again." Then He also said, "The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you can not tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit" (John 3:8).

It is impossible for anyone to catch a piece of wind in their hand and examine it and yet its evidence is unmistakable and real. We see leaves on trees flutter, but that is not the wind. When I am in our backyard in the Summer I can sometimes catch on the breeze a refreshing smell of someone’s newly mown grass or the neighbor cooking chicken, but that is not the wind because it has no odor. The wind can be so strong that it uproots a giant oak tree, or, it can gently carry a butterfly. Such is the case with being born again. It is not something that we can touch with the human hand but when it happens, we can see its unmistakable evidence. Why is it that you and I chose to receive that gentle and refreshing wind of the Holy Spirit while millions of others throughout the world reject it? Because the first instinct of a guilty heart is to run away from God. Such a person is so constantly and frantically on the move looking for answers in the wrong places that they do not stay still and allow the convicting breeze of the Spirit to move upon them. Our heavenly Father tells us to, "Be still........and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:10). How many of us actually take time just to literally be still - and quiet - and know that He is God?

When we are born again Christ comes to live within us. We have knowledge of Him and we feel His presence within us, guiding us and strengthening us. And those of us who have received that refreshing breeze of the Spirit into our heart must be perpetuators of that life-changing breeze, which is the only way that we can effectively advance the kingdom of God.

God bless you.
Mark Shutts