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March 31, 2022

William T. Howe Ph.D.

The Year of our Lord, Jesus Christ


John 3:12

If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?


Indeed! If anyone believes not that which Jesus told us about earthly things, how shall that person believe that which He says about heavenly things. Earthly things can be seen, heavenly things cannot be seen. Earthly things can be proven by study, science and through scholarship, Heavenly things cannot be proven. Earthly things are things of substance, Heavenly things are things spiritual.


So, what did Jesus tell us about earthly things? Much. An example is found in verse 8 of John 3: The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit. Each and every person on earth can feel the wind. They can see its results; the flapping of a flag, the pushing of an automobile in high winds, the flying of a kite, the ocean breeze flowing gently on a warm summer evening. The wind can be felt. It can be studied, which direction it is coming from can be monitored, its speed can be registered, the downward or upward pressure can be observed. But where it originated, where it first started, where it began its circuit, who can learn that?


Can any meteorologist prove with all certainty that the wind began here, or there? Or where does it go, the direction yes, but where does the wind end? Also, can the wind currents be controlled or perfectly predicted? It can be heard, it can be felt, its aftermath can be observed, but where it starts or where it ends, who can know that?


The same is true with anyone who is born of the Spirit of the Living God. They blow through life like a leaf that is released from the branch of a tree. Seen yes, observed, yes. But where they begin or end, who knows. The Holy Spirit leads believers of Christ in an incredible fashion. Ask any pastor, they know. Here is an example: sometimes a church needs a certain thing at a certain time. To make it simple, let’s say a church needs something in the way of financial support, perhaps building a new building, taking care of a costly repair, or some other monetary need. God, through the Holy Spirit, may bring a person into that church, for a service, or a month, or a year, and through that person provide for that financial need. Then the person is gone, moved on, either on good terms or bad, but they are no longer around. They came to the church mysteriously, and they leave the same way, mysteriously.


Jesus uses the human understanding of wind to teach a lesson about the Spirit. No one can fully understand the moving of the Spirit of God. The results, yes, the impact, yes, the influence yes, but the beginning or the ending, no. But if Jesus’ teaching about the physical wind is ignored, rejected, and unbelieved, how then would that person understand the lesson of the Spirit. Consider the example used earlier about financial help for a church. If that which Jesus taught about the Spirit is believed, then the pastor and the church would not blame themselves, harbor feelings of betrayal, or any other negative emotion or fallout of someone who was a blessing being gone. Praise the Lord for those who are faithful members of a local church for a lifetime. But sometimes people breeze in and blow out just as fast, there for a time to do something that was needed then moved on by the Holy Spirit. Just like the wind.

Until next time,


William T. Howe, Ph.D.

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