# The breath of God Day 4 > Come to Stillness: Take a few minutes to allow your mind and heart to be still before God. ### Opening Prayer: *O Loving God, who breathed me into being, breathe your Divine Breath in me again this day—that I might be filled with your life and guided by the winds of your Spirit. For the sake of your Son. Amen. (JLB)* #### Psalm for the Week: Psalm 104 #### O Lord My God, You Are Very Great *104 Bless the Lord, O my soul!O Lord my God, you are very great!You are clothed with splendor and majesty,2 covering yourself with light as with a garment,stretching out the heavens like a tent.3 He lays the beams of his chambers on the waters;he makes the clouds his chariot;he rides on the wings of the wind;4 he makes his messengers winds, his ministers a flaming fire.* *5 He set the earth on its foundations,so that it should never be moved.6 You covered it with the deep as with a garment; the waters stood above the mountains.7 At your rebuke they fled;at the sound of your thunder they took to flight.8 The mountains rose, the valleys sank down to the place that you appointed for them.9 You set a boundary that they may not pass, so that they might not again cover the earth.* *10 You make springs gush forth in the valleys; they flow between the hills;11 they give drink to every beast of the field;the wild donkeys quench their thirst.12 Beside them the birds of the heavens dwell;they sing among the branches.13 From your lofty abode you water the mountains;the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work.* *14 You cause the grass to grow for the livestock and plants for man to cultivate,that he may bring forth food from the earth15 and wine to gladden the heart of man,oil to make his face shine and bread to strengthen man's heart.* *16 The trees of the Lord are watered abundantly,the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.17 In them the birds build their nests;the stork has her home in the fir trees.18 The high mountains are for the wild goats;the rocks are a refuge for the rock badgers.* *19 He made the moon to mark the seasons;[a] the sun knows its time for setting.20 You make darkness, and it is night,when all the beasts of the forest creep about.21 The young lions roar for their prey,seeking their food from God.22 When the sun rises, they steal away and lie down in their dens.23 Man goes out to his workand to his labor until the evening.* *24 O Lord, how manifold are your works!In wisdom have you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.25 Here is the sea, great and wide,which teems with creatures innumerable,living things both small and great.26 There go the ships,and Leviathan, which you formed to play in it.[b]27 These all look to you,to give them their food in due season.* *28 When you give it to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are filled with good things.29 When you hide your face, they are dismayed; when you take away their breath, they die and return to their dust.30 When you send forth your Spirit,[c] they are created, and you renew the face of the ground.* *31 May the glory of the Lord endure forever; may the Lord rejoice in his works,32 who looks on the earth and it trembles,who touches the mountains and they smoke!33 I will sing to the Lord as long as I live;I will sing praise to my God while I have being.34 May my meditation be pleasing to him, for I rejoice in the Lord.35 Let sinners be consumed from the earth, and let the wicked be no more!Bless the Lord, O my soul!Praise the Lord!* #### The Lord's Faithless Bride *16 Again the word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, make known to Jerusalem her abominations, 3 and say, Thus says the Lord God to Jerusalem: Your origin and your birth are of the land of the Canaanites; your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite. 4 And as for your birth, on the day you were born your cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water to cleanse you, nor rubbed with salt, nor wrapped in swaddling cloths. 5 No eye pitied you, to do any of these things to you out of compassion for you, but you were cast out on the open field, for you were abhorred, on the day that you were born.* *6 “And when I passed by you and saw you wallowing in your blood, I said to you in your blood, ‘Live!’ I said to you in your blood, ‘Live!’ 7 I made you flourish like a plant of the field. And you grew up and became tall and arrived at full adornment. Your breasts were formed, and your hair had grown; yet you were naked and bare.* *8 “When I passed by you again and saw you, behold, you were at the age for love, and I spread the corner of my garment over you and covered your nakedness; I made my vow to you and entered into a covenant with you, declares the Lord God, and you became mine. 9 Then I bathed you with water and washed off your blood from you and anointed you with oil. 10 I clothed you also with embroidered cloth and shod you with fine leather. I wrapped you in fine linen and covered you with silk.[a] 11 And I adorned you with ornaments and put bracelets on your wrists and a chain on your neck. 12 And I put a ring on your nose and earrings in your ears and a beautiful crown on your head. 13 Thus you were adorned with gold and silver, and your clothing was of fine linen and silk and embroidered cloth. You ate fine flour and honey and oil. You grew exceedingly beautiful and advanced to royalty. 14 And your renown went forth among the nations because of your beauty, for it was perfect through the splendor that I had bestowed on you, declares the Lord God.* #### Scripture for the Day: John 3:1-12 #### You Must Be Born Again *3 Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 2 This man came to Jesus[a] by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” 3 Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again[b] he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 4 Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?” 5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.[c] 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You[d] must be born again.’ 8 The wind[e] 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.”* *9 Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” 10 Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things? 11 Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you[f] do not receive our testimony. 12 If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things?* #### Reading for Reflection: *“Can a person really start over again from the beginning?” Nicodemus asks. “I’m not sure you realize what that would entail—trying to wipe the slate clean and start all over from scratch. You may as well expect to climb back into your mother’s womb. How can these things be?” The Pharisee looks at the younger man, so earnest and confident, and shakes his head. “Take an old man like me. I’ve spent a lifetime learning, studying, working to get where I am. Surely you’re not suggesting I’d be better off scrapping all our heritage and starting all over again?”* ​ *“It depends if you want to live in God’s kingdom,” the young rabbi reports, undaunted by the older man’s years and experience. “That’s the essential question. Scholarship doesn’t get you an entrance ticket. And the only reward for following the rules is a reputation for respectability. If that’s enough for you, then fine. But if you want to live with God—in his kingdom—then you have to undergo a radical restructuring, as drastic as being formed again in your mother’s womb. But first you have to give up the old life. That’s what the ritual water is for—to wash away the old you.”* ​ *Nicodemus strokes his wispy beard. Baptism—this is a concept he’s familiar with. When a gentile converts to Judaism, he has to make certain prescribed sacrifices at the Temple, but he also must undergo a ritual bath. After that, he’s considered an entirely new person, freshly born into the Jewish inheritance. Nicodemus gives a provisional nod and waits to see where the young rabbi is going with this.* ​ *“Just as your body grows gradually—and without your direction—inside your mother’s womb, your spirit must take shape within God’s spirit. When you are born into that kingdom, then you’re living God’s own life, breathing God’s own breath. It becomes your very heartbeat.”* ​ *Now Nicodemus sits back and frowns, shaking his head. God’s own breath—What can this young fellow possibly know about the Spirit of the Eternal One? God’s life isn’t like human life. Far from it. The kingdom of the Eternal will arrive on this earth when people learn to do their duty, not when rash enthusiasts try to turn the system topsy-turvy. Wait till this youngster has lived in this troubled world a little longer. He’ll find out what life is really like—a long chain, each link forged by hard work and difficult compromise. What would become of God’s people if it weren’t for men like himself who would work to make the weight of the chain bearable?* ​ *The young rabbi, as if discerning Nicodemus’s objections, holds up a hand. “Don’t be put off by my talk about being born a second time. I know it sounds wild—scary even. Especially if you’ve dedicated your life to judicious management, diplomatic mediation. But life comes from God’s spirit , and that’s outside our control. Living in God’s kingdom means getting blown about by his spirit. You never know what direction the wind will come from next. It’s totally unpredictable. Its power comes from something we can’t even see. An invisible force fuels the new life I’m talking about. You can’t hope to corner it or fence it in. You simply surrender to it. (Looking For Jesus by Virginia Stem Owens)* #### Reflection and Listening: silent and written #### Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself #### Song for the Week: Wind of God *Spirit, come, like a mighty wind;* *Raise these bones back to life again.* *Lift us up from this desert land;* *Breathe upon us and we will stand.* *Come and blow, Wind of God;* *Blow, Wind of God* *Lead us out of our wilderness;* *Be our Savior, our hope, and rest.* *All our idols have turned to dust;* *You alone can deliver us.* *Wind of God, come and blow;* *Holy Spirit, let your power flow.* *Stir our hearts, Breath of Life;* *Speak your Word, and we will rise.* *Come, revive, come, restore;* *We can't live without you, Lord.* *Come and blow, come and blow,* *Wind of God* ### Closing Prayer: *Father, you alone know what lies before me this day, grant that in every hour of it I may stay close to you. Let me today embark on no undertaking that is not in line with your will for my life, nor shrink from any sacrifice which your will may demand. Suggest, direct, control every movement of my mind; for my Lord Christ’s sake. Amen. (A Diary of Private Prayer by John Baillie)*