So Blog Action Day 2010 is about WATER.

Water has become a popular charity to support…if you don’t already know that then you likely will know it by the end of today. Thank God for this, because THOUSANDS of people DIE every day because of the lack of clean drinking water. I could give you a bunch of sites and addresses where you could send money…I have done it before…and you shouldn’t have a hard time finding a place to give (see related post below). That is not what I want to do here today.

What I would like to do, is to share some words with you…words that were written in the 4th century by a priest named Cyril. It’s describes the similarities between water and the Holy Spirit.

The water I shall give him will become in him a fountain of living water, welling up into eternal life.  (John 7:38)

This is a new kind of water, a living, leaping water, welling up for those who are worthy. But why did Christ call the grace of the Spirit water? Because all things are dependent on water; plants and animals have their origin in water. Water comes down from heaven as rain, and although it is always the same in itself, it produces many different effects, one in the palm tree, another in the vine, and so on throughout the whole of creation. It does not come down, now as one thing, now as another, but while remaining essentially the same, it adapts itself to the needs of every creature that receives it.

In the same way the Holy Spirit, whose nature is always the same, simple and indivisible, apportions grace to each man as he wills. Like a dry tree which puts forth shoots when watered, the soul bears the fruit of holiness when repentance has made it worthy of receiving the Holy Spirit. Although the Spirit never changes, the effects of his action, by the will of God and in the name of Christ, are both many and marvellous.

The Spirit makes one man a teacher of divine truth, inspires another to prophesy, gives another the power of casting out devils, enables another to interpret holy Scripture. The Spirit strengthens one man’s self-control, shows another how to help the poor, teaches another to fast and lead a life of asceticism, makes another oblivious to the needs of the body, trains another for martyrdom. His action is different in different people, but the Spirit himself is always the same. In each person, Scripture says, the Spirit reveals his presence in a particular way for the common good.

The Spirit comes gently and makes himself known by his fragrance. He is not felt as a burden, for he is light, very light. Rays of light and knowledge stream before him as he approaches. The Spirit comes with the tenderness of a true friend and protector to save, to heal, to teach, to counsel, to strengthen, to console. The Spirit comes to enlighten the mind first of the one who receives him, and then, through him, the minds of others as well.

As light strikes the eyes of a man who comes out of darkness into the sunshine and enables him to see clearly things he could not discern before, so light floods the soul of the man counted worthy of receiving the Holy Spirit and enables him to see things beyond the range of human vision, things hitherto undreamed of.

What a wonderful symbol of the Holy Spirit…WATER…

What do you think?

In the Evangelical churches that I have attended I never remembered the Nicene Creed being a part of what I was to believe. I admit, they could have been saying it between the Sunday school report and the hell, fire and brimstone preaching…but I don’t remember it. Even after I stepped out of the denominational infighting churches and switched my church going habit to the liberating Non-denominational brand, we still didn’t hear much about this creed deal. I guess it’s because the creed is not in the Bible and we all know God ONLY speaks to us through the Bible? Really?

I have a confession, I have been quietly attending the early Eucharist at a neighborhood Episcopal Church for the past six months and it has been very refreshing and very worshipful. Entering the service quietly and in prayer is a great way to prepare your heart to be with God. It’s not passive…I get to kneel and pray out loud. They have this book called The Book of Common Prayer and it is full of these sayings and prayers. This Nicene Creed is one that we seem to say a lot…this is how it reads…  

We believe in one God,
the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is, seen and unseen. 

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one Being with the Father.
Through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation
he came down from heaven:
by the power of the Holy Spirit
he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary,
and was made man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again
in accordance with the Scriptures;
he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end. 

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son.
With the Father and the Son he is worshiped and glorified.
He has spoken through the Prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come. Amen. 

If you read it fast please reread it slowly thinking about what you are saying…is that rich or is it just me? Come to find out it was written a few years ago (325AD) by some pretty smart and holy men. I am humbled by those words and I am humbled by reciting them with other believers in worship. Now that you know that I am a closet Episcopalian…let me say that I firmly believe in the Nicene Creed…do you?

Don’t get me wrong – I love Christmas. It’s time for family, for comfort, for love. And for Christians, it’s a time to celebrate what’s most important, the birth of Jesus Christ.

But there are a lot of things we get wrong about Christmas.

For one, we give each other so much stuff. Whether it’s out of obligation or just to truly show someone we care, we’re still essentially material-rich people giving other material-rich people more… materials. The purpose of our holiday, though, is Christ. And Jesus made his purpose clear to us – sacrifice. He died so that we could live. And we struggle to keep that the focus of Christmas while we’re busy buying and unwrapping gifts.

Let’s face it, we actually sacrifice very little. But what’s small to us can be huge to someone who lacks basic health necessities. Just $20 is enough for one person to have clean water for two decades, for example.

So, this year, I’m asking others of you to join me and give up some gifts and donate that money to help me build a well. 100% of all funds raised go directly to the water projects. Between now and Christmas, I aim to raise $2,500 in my charity: water campaign.

Jesus sacrificed himself for us. This is the least I can do.

Please join me and donate whatever you can…..http://mycharitywater.org/ebroussard

THANK YOU!

‘To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure.  In fact, both their minds and their consciences are corrupted.  They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him.  They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good.’  Titus 1:15-16

 This verse is directed to non-believers but has implications for believers as well.  The mind represents part of our Soul (mind, will and emotions) and the conscience is part of our Spirit (intuition, conscience, communion with God).  How can we grow if we are corrupted?  After coming to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, we have to deal with the areas of our lives that are broken…but how?

 I think of a computer that is ‘corrupted’.  It won’t work properly, and neither will we.  We need to run an anti-malware program to clean it up.  It is the same with us.  We need the Holy Spirit to search us to see if there is any evil way in us.  We need a firewall to keep out the evil one because he is constantly probing our defenses looking for a way in.

 Could it be that the reason we see so little passion and commitment in our churches today is because they are full of saved but ‘corrupted’ people?  We need the healing and deliverance that Jesus promises.  Come Holy Spirit and do your work in us.

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I invited my good friend Bob Lee to post here…please leave your thoughts and comments below…thanks ebroussard