Monday, January 10, 2011

A mysterious exchange

So, i've been through a few years of bible training now and I keep hearing about the Trinity - Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Well I find that there is a great discrepancy between the Spirit-filled believers and the yet-to-be-filled believers. I have heard from denominations that believe that the move of the Spirit can't happen anymore, except it does so I don't know how that works. I have heard from denominations that say it can happen, but it doesn't too often so I wouldn't call that belief so I don't know what to call that. What I might say I know is that beliefs are lived out and acted upon.
People at Bethany believe in the Baptism of the Spirit. We just had our Holy Spirit kick off chapel on Friday night, not the literal name for it - but that's what it was. The professed ideas are acted out here. That has been something I have noticed from the first time I stepped foot here when I visited last year. They love prayer so we pray for each other a lot! It is a missionary school, so we have required outreaches to stretch our comfort levels. There is a strong emphasis on fasting so we fast quite often - like every tuesday from lunch, for the first 6 months from dating, from media for the first 2 months and as often as personally desired. Truly living what is the spoken beliefs.
I think that so often we get caught up in the Trinity that we forget that they comprise one being. Now no true believer would ever say that, but it just seems to come through in peoples actions and speech. We classify "God" and "Jesus" and "Holy Spirit" so much but forget that as one they share attributes. Talking about Jesus for today is the same as talking about the Spirit. It is crazy to me that so many have such a hard time with this, because Jesus himself said it would be better for us that He would leave so that the Spirit could be sent. Like really, it is better! Our salvation comes through the work of Christ on the cross, I am not disputing that at all but like what about the 2000 years since then. The Spirit has been kicking it here that long but so many believers reject him.
Well I have seen the fruits from the commitment. At this moment there are 15 new January students plus 40/50+ students from the Rivendell school. Not surprisingly, each one of these new students is in a new place in relation to the work of the Spirit. On Friday night we had a chapel service for the purpose of having them receive Him. It was pretty much the most like intense 4 1/2 hours of ministry and Spirit time that I have had since like the first week of school. A mysterious and glorious exchange happened in many lives and it was beautiful to see.
Like honestly, I can't say that somethings that happen don't seem weird to me, but that is human logic. Anytime God moves throughout the scriptures it is supernatural aka strange. So why is it that we get bothered by it now when there is so much evidence in the scripture that barely phases us. Is it possible, because even people who say it can happen, don't believe it will and certainly aren't open to the reality that it will. I pray for the baptism of fire to come upon our church as it did at the first, but God in His infinite patients waits for us to open up to it. There is no greater thing than bowing before the cross and allowing the fullness of God work in us, to receive the exchange.

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