The Complete Opposite

The Spirit Brings Life

We tend to take the air that we each breath in and out 23,000 times a day very much for granted. And yet, without it you and I couldn't survive for more than a few minutes. Every breath you take sucks in a trillion, trillion oxygen molecules that rush into your lungs, cross into your bloodstream, binding to your haemoglobin, and reach every cell in your body in less than 20 seconds. Breath isn't just air — it's the spark of life coursing through you moment by moment. And yet, the one thing science has never been able to achieve - not for want of trying, I might add - is to create life from non-living matter. Never! But … Genesis 2:7 … the LORD God took dust from the ground and made a man. He breathed the breath of life into the man's nose, and the man became a living thing. The original Hebrew word for "breath," ruach, is also used throughout the Old Testament to refer to the Holy Spirit. It has the same meaning as the Greek word pneuma, used to denote the Holy Spirit in the New Testament. Both words carry with them the sense of breath or wind - invisible, powerful, life-giving. And just as God breathed life into your body (the only One who could), so the Holy Spirit breathes life deep within your spirit. Like you, I've travelled through times where I felt like a zombie, the walking dead, as though the world had drained all the life out of me. But each time, when I've turned to God for help, His Spirit - His ruach, His pneuma - has breathed life back into my soul. It's the Spirit who brings life. In fact, He's the only One who can! That's God's Word. Fresh … for you … today.

The Spirit Brings Order

Life can be a tad chaotic at times. Making order out of the things that unexpectedly confront you, that unsettle you, can be a challenge. But behind the chaos lies a hidden order … if only we'll go looking for it. Science has made huge strides forward since Isaac Newton posited his laws of motion back in 1687. In fact, the more science has advanced, the more evident it's become that the universe is governed by mathematical constants so finely tuned that even the smallest change would plunge creation into complete chaos. If gravity were only a fraction stronger, stars would burn out almost instantly: Slightly weaker, and galaxies would never form. The same is true of the speed of light, the charge of electrons, and everything else. Without doubt, this extraordinary precision — often referred to as the fine-tuning of the universe — points to a God of order, not chaos. Genesis 1:1-3 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. (ESV) Do you imagine that the God who created this whole universe can't bring a bit of order to the chaos of this world, to the messy things you travel through in life? The same Holy Spirit who hovered over the deep, who created everything from nothing, who fine-tuned the universe, is the One who, despite all that the world shouts at you, despite all the evidence that confronts you, will bring a wondrous order to your chaos. In fact, He's already begun. That's God's Word. Fresh … for you … today.

Shifting Boundaries, Shaking Lives

There's an old maxim that politicians use in deciding on policies that'll win them the next election: if in doubt, back self-interest. In other words, pander to the self-interest of others and they'll vote for you. Sadly, self-interest is used to justify all kinds of abuse and injustice as we collectively shift the boundary markers that separate right and wrong. During the so-called Highland Clearances in 18th and 19th century Scotland, powerful landowners forced thousands of poor tenant farmers off their ancestral lands to make way for more profitable sheep farming. Boundaries were literally redrawn, villages were destroyed, and people who'd lived there for generations were driven into poverty, exile, or emigration. It was, in essence, the moving of "ancient boundary stones"—ignoring heritage, community, and justice for the sake of profit. The vulnerable—often widows, orphans, and the poor—were left without fields or homes. Proverbs 23:10 Do not remove an ancient landmark or encroach on the fields of orphans, for their redeemer is strong; he will plead their cause against you. (NRSV) Self-interest is a powerful motivator for each one of us – perhaps the most powerful of all. So long as we're comfortable, who cares what happens to everyone else? Who cares about their suffering? In this verse, God warns us against greed, exploitation, and taking advantage of the vulnerable by shifting boundaries for selfish gain. Greed that displaces the powerless corrodes both justice and society. And God will see that, in the end, His justice is done. Don't move the ancient landmarks. Don't start calling that which is wrong, right. That's God's warning, and … That's God's Word. Fresh … for you … today.

Know When to Walk Away

Our capacity for self-delusion, for being led by the nose by this conspiracy theory or that radical dogma, is remarkable. Just look around. Amidst the swill of social media, many are being sucked into the deep vortex of delusion. Imagine you meet someone who's convinced that the earth is flat or that aeroplanes spray chemicals to control people's minds. So you patiently sit with them, showing them NASA photos, explaining basic physics, even quoting trusted scientists. But no matter what evidence you bring, your friend just shakes their head and says, "That's what they want you to believe." Your words of wisdom and truth wash over them like water off a duck's back—completely wasted. What do you do with that? Proverbs 23:9 Do not speak in the hearing of a fool, for he will despise the good sense of your words. ESV Fool is such a harsh word. But sometimes, it's also the right one. Doing what I do, I receive a lot of hate mail from people who call me all sorts of names, accusing me of all sorts of things. It really bothered me at first and I'd spend hours writing to each one, trying to shine the light of God's love into their hearts. But can I tell you, not a single one of them came round. And harsh as it may sound, eventually you have to heed God's advice: Do not speak in the hearing of a fool, for he will despise the good sense of your words. That's God's Word. Fresh … for you … today.

The Power of a Gentle Word

The combined talent of the more than eight billion people walking the planet right now is truly staggering. And yet what proportion of that talent goes to waste, simply because the world doesn't value or acknowledge it? Think about it. The loss of all that talent to the collective human enterprise is mind-blowing! So many people have been damaged by the rough and tumble of life in a world where everyone's clamouring for attention and success; where, because how they look or where they come from, their value is diminished in the eyes of others. You have to ask yourself, why do we do that? And why does God allow it? Proverbs 15:3-4 The LORD sees what happens everywhere. He watches everyone, good and evil. Kind words are like a life-giving tree, but lying words will crush your spirit. Make no mistake. None of this has escaped God's attention. The terrible things we do to others happen right under His nose. God sees the evil, and He will deal with it when the time comes. But in the meantime, there's something that you and I can do that'll make a huge difference in countless people's lives: Kind words are like a life-giving tree. The original Hebrew language paints a beautiful picture of those kind words - a healing tongue. Speech that restores, soothes, and encourages brings vitality, growth and blessing - like a life-giving tree. It's remarkable how little encouragement some people actually need to begin the process of becoming all that God made them to be. You can be the one who, through your kind words, your healing tongue, restores their life to all that it was meant to be. Yes … you. That's God's Word. Fresh … for you … today.