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.