the pneuma of change

In Greek pneuma means wind, but also Spirit. This word-play is very helpful in describing reality today. The winds (pneuma) of change are blowing, and the Spirit (pneuma) of God is moving. There is change coming, orchestrated and promised by the Spirit, and it's gonna be big. I won't explain the contexts of the following snapshots of my life; they either will speak to you, or not.

Pastor G has been praying, or proclaiming really, that this is the year. Something is happening, some work, some plan, some transformation for which this year is crucial. I don't know if it's the completion of a good work in or around me, I don't know if it's some level of healing or blessing, or even the last year of my life. But I do not that God has been speaking and promising some sort of significance for me for this year. I could go on and on about all the changes and blessings I've already seen since January 1st.

God has revealed to me on more than one occasion, without mediation, that He is a God of promise, and that He is just moving like crazy all around me. My transformation from the archetypical man of introspection into this man who cares for others, is one example of pneuma-work in my life. My experience of the Divine is another - do you even know how real God is? He was so manifest this morning. Whatever, either you will experience it yourself and won't need my explanation, or you won't - in which case it won't do either of us any good to go on talking about it. But if you want my opinion on the Divine, on pneuma, it's really quite simply: get after it.

Apparently Kurt had a dream Wednesday night. To my knowledge, he only shared it with me and perhaps his wife (he told me yesterday at Joey's wedding). In the dream Whitman had become a Seminary again. It was renewed with passion for God. Its students were just on fire for Jesus. And instead of the inherent hostility towards pneuma which you find in many of its courses nowadays, there was a sensitivity and craving of His presence and will. In fact, Kurt saw me as a Professor of Religion. Everyone sought my classes, because God was so present there. Life, fiery passion, Truth, the very Spirit (pneuma) of God was manifest in the teachings I propagated. I don't mean to be vain, please understand, but when someone dreams something like this - I'll take it!

This morning in Church I felt a word that I simply *needed* to share with the whole Church. It came to me in worship, concerning my anxieties for this hellish upcoming week: God is there. His presence, his pneuma, is no more present during prayer or worship than He is during the struggles and toil of the majority of our lives. Read Genesis: we were created as stewards, as beings meant to toil and work for God, and from the very beginning He has been there as we do this, His will. Basically, as I toiled throughout this week, God promised He would be glorified, He would be present. I was promised pneuma all week, and I just knew it would sustain me. So I shared that with the Church. Then things got shaken up...

Immediately following my time of sharing, Andrew (him and his wife are crazy little prophetic entities) stood up and said he had a Word for me. The whole Church could benefit from it he said, but he received it for ME: Jesus says, when one knocks, the door shall be opened. When one man knocks, is there anything to stop Him from opening the door for a whole generation? Was there any power in hell that could have stopped Jesus from being raised from the dead on the third day? Is there any power of hell that can deny the promises of God? Moses was one man, and when he knocked, the door was opened for an entire generation. My question for you Josh is this: if you knock, is there any power of hell that can stop God from opening that door for this generation? That is the abridged version, but the potency is still there I hope. Pastor G then had Andrew lead us in prayer for Whitman, with all the Whitman students standing in prayer, for the opening of the door to that campus, for the pneuma to just invade. Andrew had me join him in praying for Whitman, and I have seldom if ever felt such a tangible presence of God. Pastor Gary whispered into my ear as Andrew began to pray, and he said "What is the Spirit saying; not what are you thinking, not what are you feeling, not you, but what is the Spirit saying?" When I prayed, I felt nearly ecstatic, but it was also a remarkable moment of clarity. I realized afterword I was trembling. I can't express it. I wish you could know it as I did, but just trust me this one time: the POWERFUL PNEUMA of God invaded Journey Church this morning, and it promised to do some more invading real soon...

Shane (sp?) also came up to me after the service, with another little something to top it all off. I've spoken to the guy once right, and this is all that I remember: I think I mentioned to him my desire not to limit the Spirit (pneuma) of God. I felt like I couldn't trust God sometimes as fully as I'd like, because I kept insisting that He fit into my box. I didn't want to limit the power of God, essentially. Shane said this morning that he'd had a vision, like a horse drawing a carriage with blinders on. He said he had seen God removing those blinders, removing that limitation, that box, so I could really see. A dream, a prophetic Word spoken into my life, and a vision for me, all on the same theme (Whitman) and within the same week? Where I'm going with this is that I've realized, when it comes to the moving of pneuma and the promises and the very Glory of God, its really simple: I'll take it.

the Way, the Truth, & the Life

This picture represents my soul today. I am full of joy. I am content. My thoughts and eyes are heavenword. My mind is focused on God. And all of this makes me more cool than in pictures where I pose, where I am aware and bound by my perceptions of how people see me. And now I am done justifying my vain desire to put this awesome picture Eduardo took of me on the web...

At Joey's request I re-committed to having devotional times each day. My tentative structure is real praying and some Bible in the morning, and more real prayer at night. I did this on the one hand begrudgingly because it seemed to me that there was no direct correlation between the rest of my life and whether or not I was in God's word, and on the other hand with thanksgiving in my heart that someone finally stepped in and gave me an exhortation I could somehow ignore when it came from myself. It is ridiculous how much of a difference it makes. I challenge you: try reading half of an epistle, or two or three gospel chapters, or a solid psalm, per day. After only a few days, I feel like my twelve year old self, amazed for the first time at how much joy the Gospel can generate within my soul and wondering how anything can be this real and how I never noticed the difference before. I know you can't be high all the time, or being high wouldn't be being high--but I thank God for the high's that sustain us through the lows. Have you ever read 1 Corinthians? Not just chapter 13, I mean the whole thing. It's incredible! The nuances, the themes, the overall message: at every level Paul screams "Jesus!". And at every level, wherever you are and whatever you need, it is the Living Word of the Living Water nourishing our spirit. Cephas couldn't be more right; where else could we go? Lord [...] You have words of eternal life. We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.* Are Galatians or Romans any different? Or Revelation? Or for that matter any other book of the Bible? The Life it gives! The good kind, the zoe, that Jesus so frequently promises. Verily, verily, I say to thee: The mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace.**

* John 6:68-69
** Romans 8:6

thoughts

I love Sonic the Hedgehog and Zelda music. Hyrule Field or Starlite Zone, Zora's Domain or Emerald Hill Zone--my, my, how I love you all!

I am so incredibly excited about Whitman Christian Fellowship (InterVarsity) next year, and my role there. I will be leading Bible Study/Small Group in Jewett with absolutely incredible people. Brian, my good friend, brother, and classmate--a rare intellect--will be my comrade in arms. A friend of Zoey and I's named Rachel will also be seeking the Kingdom of God in that dormitory--she's friendly, fun, and beautifully hard to dislike. And also Sydney, one of my newer and dearer friends, will be taking on her share of leadership in next year's Jewett BS--the flavor that she will add will be one of lightheartedness, joy, humor and other good things. And then of course, the final element is Joshua (that's me), who I would best describe as being more excited than he can stand about leading with that fine group of people. Plus, what if Nato comes to our group every week? COULD IT GET ANY BETTER?!

I should have jogged this morning.

HR4437 is the most idiotic law the House of Representatives could possibly come up with. A felony to come to the land of opporunity out of desperation and equally criminal to help those immigrants? I just hope that my friend Paul Apostolidis is right--that this outrage was merely created to thwart the soft-toward-immigrants bill that the Senate came up with, in hopes of making a reconciliation between the two documents impossible. I also hope that, as he perceives, there is absolutely zero chance of this becoming law as is, or even remotely close to as is. I hate this bill, and wish I had went to the march in Walla Walla last Friday. The details are far worse than "merely" making it a felony to be, or even help, illegal immigrants (check it out at http://www.ilrc.org/HR4437.html). Molly, I really don't think this bill has any redemptive qualities: our rights as American Citizens to have more, better, more securely (by not having crime-committing immigrants threaten our dear security) should not be a priority in the least compared with Christ's intense passion for the poor and oppressed. He came to preach, proclaim, and otherwise (say, by his crucifixion) advance the Kingdom of God (or Kingdom of Heaven, if you're Matthew). Social Justice is probably the biggest single aspect of that program. This bill cannot pass--it's mere existence is further evidence that no matter how much certain liberals might lament our "Christian" nation that we are indeed not a Christian nation. Pray with me Molly, that God's values have more sway in our country than it so often appears...

My sister is here, lying in bed behind me (conked out, naturally). This should be a fun week.

Next year I'll be living at theBirch again, staying in this room that will be eternally etched in my mind as "Flynn's Room". Rent is now $295 for me, with five people in the house, yet somehow next year with four it will only be $280. I'm really confused about that. But even more exciting than the fact that there will be one less person in the house and my rent will go down is that Colin will live down the hall, Nato above me, and Andrew below me. YES!

I am so behind in school work.

I miss people. I miss Spring break. I don't like school. I can't wait til' summer, and also dread it's approach. I love God, but often don't act like it. I love people, but act like that too little also. I love you. You should leave a comment...