Reb Rev's Blog

“The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” – John 3:8

Recently, we were camped near the base of Grandfather Mountain in western North Carolina. It was pretty windy all weekend, but come Sunday night, the wind was blowing very hard.

In fact, it set a new record of 124 mph! One of the park rangers said it blew over 100 mph for at least 11 hours. It sounded like a jet going over the mountain, except it was a constant sound. THAT is a LOT of wind!

But, it was soon gone. If it was a rock, we could see it. If it was sand, we could bring it home in a jar for a souvenir. We took a picture that afternoon, but you can’t see the wind.

But… There were tress falling over. The cold air was made much, much colder. It was easy to see, hear, and feel the effects of that wind. There is no question it was there. No one was saying, “I don’t believe in the wind.” Or, “If I could see it, then I’d believe in the wind.”

Jesus tells us the same is true of the Holy Spirit. He goes where He wills, and He does what He wants. We can’t see Him, but we see the effects of His power. Part of that is the change He brings about in the life of those who are believers.

My prayer is for each of you to know and trust the power of God working in your life on a daily basis.

“In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that^[b]they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” – Matthew 5:16

Recently, while going through some old boxes, I found a package of “glow sticks.”

These are those liquid filled plastic tubes you open, break a tube inside, and then it glows for several hours.

Just taking it out of the package does nothing. Shaking it up does nothing. To get the “glow,” you have to break the vial inside.

A lot of folks are familiar with the verse above, but not the context.

In the previous verses, Jesus tells His listeners they are going to go through some very difficult times. They will be persecuted and treated in an evil fashion – because of their faith in Him.

It’s in those times Christ says our light is to shine. This means our faith in Him should be evident.

It’s easy to let our light shine when things are going well, but how do we do when the going is rough? How do we respond when we are treated with contempt for the sake of Christ? Does our light shine bright in those circumstances?

Just like those glow sticks, the way we respond when we are broken is a testimony to the world about our relationship with Christ.

My prayer this week is for each of us to let our light shine in those difficult times.