FUN!

When is the last time that you did something that was really FUN?  That thought came to my mind this morning as I was doing a little bit of study concerning water as a type of the Holy Spirit… Ha!  I bet you’re thinking: “What?”  Well, hear me out and maybe it will make some sense to you.

A few weeks ago I was talking in earnest to the Lord about my desire to invigorate my personal Christian walk.  With everything that has been going on in my life, the last few years have definitely been an emotional roller coaster.  And while I have been very diligent to bombard both my wife and I with the Word, Christian books and teachings, there are still times where it just doesn’t seem to be enough. As I honestly pleaded my case before the Lord I suddenly had the clear impression of the words: “The Holy Ghost.”

When I began to consider this, I was instantly drawn back to the many times throughout the last 40+ years of my active Christian life when I felt the most excited and satisfied in the Lord.  I discovered that all of these times were centered around periods in my life where I was actively expecting and involved in moves of the Holy Spirit.  From the anointing that fell during church services, or during a set of Holy Ghost meetings that our church participated in through a satellite hookup, to conventions, guest speakers and/or youth camps that we were a part of or led.  It was always the tangible presence of the Holy Spirit that brought the fullness of life into me.

Ephesians 5:26 says “That he might sanctify and cleanse it (the church) with the washing of water by the word.”  (KJV - parenthesis mine)  This is the verse that got me headed in this direction this morning.  The word “water” caught my interest and I looked through ten different commentaries to get their insight on its meaning.  All except for one related it to baptism.  The one hold out stated that it actually was a reference to the blood of Jesus.  While I don’t necessarily disagree with the commentaries, I tend to think that its usage here could also relate to a type of the Holy Spirit, as the Bible uses water as a symbol of the third person of the Trinity throughout both the old and new testaments.

Water, as with the Holy Spirit is the source of life.  Without the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit we could not become born again.  Without water this world would be a parched and desolate place.  Without the Holy Spirit our lives would be dry and dying.  (See Isaiah 44:3-4)  It was the presence of the Holy Spirit that transformed the original disciples from frightened men and women who were hidding in an upper room to that of world shakers and changers!  It is the Holy Spirit that brings real meaning, satisfaction and (here it comes…) FUN into the lives of Christians today.

Since that conversation with God, I have been spending extra time re-studying the work and moves of the Holy Ghost in the Bible, and in revivals from the 1700’s through modern times.  I also dusted off and began to re-read to my wife and I an old favorite book I have read numerous times since I bought it in the late 1970’s called “Nine O Clock in the Morning” by Dennis Bennett.  Father Bennett was an Episcopal rector over a large and prosperous church in southern California when he received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit in the late 1950’s.  The book chronicles his personal struggles and victories as he was basically forced to step down from his pastorate due to all the criticism and publicity (He was featured in Time and Newsweek magazines and on national TV).  

Shortly after the upheaval in Van Nuys, he accepted the pastorate of a small Episcopal mission church in Seattle with the complete blessing and support of the regional Bishop.  Dennis Bennett ended up traveling the world with his testimony and was one of the major forces in what became known as the Charismatic Movement.  With all the renewed effort, I noticed earlier this week that I was actually experiencing more uplifting, meaning and joy whenever I opened my Bible, shared the word with friends and taught our Children’s Church class!  You know what?  The Holy Spirit really does bring life into a parched and desolate wasteland.

So when is the last the last time you had some FUN with the things of God?  I was thinking at breakfast today that I haven’t really played my guitar in years.  My guitar(s) and I had been best of buddies since I learned to play in Junior High.  With all the events surrounding the attack on my wife’s health though, I seemed to have lost all inspiration to play.  Where as original songs used to just kind of roll off my lips, now I am hard pressed to even notice my 12 string that sits near the entrance to my study.  A good friend even had it repaired, (I had dropped it just before we went to Oklahoma during one of the hundred’s of trips the guitar had made to church with me and it split on one of its seams!) restrung and then returned with a brand new expensive hard case. 

As I munched on a pancake, I remembered the time when our band played at the party of a gal who attended our Baptist church when my wife and I were seniors.  What I envisioned was a picture we have of Piper and I standing together while rocking out and singing “Proud Mary!”  That was one of the first times that we sang together.  Little did I know how prophetic that was to become as we led praise and worship for years for Youth services, Children’s Church and adult church in many different congregations and settings over the years.  Well, with the Holy Spirit’s help, I’m not going to let that joy just be a memory of the past.  I am going to tune up the old acoustic (you know that they do get better with age!) and sing with her today!

How about you?  What FUN thing have you allowed to get pushed aside?  Go through the book of Acts and see how the Holy Spirit enlivened the activities of the early church, and then pursue some FUN in the Son!  Have a great weekend.  Stay in tune to His word and keep asking yourself… “What am I expecting today?”