Walking in the SpiritSample

Nothing lives in the Dead Sea. No animals or plants can survive in water that is ten times saltier than the ocean. Yet, in 1980, after a particularly rainy winter, the surface of the lake turned from dark blue to red. Fresh water from the rain diluted the hyper-salty water enough for algae to temporarily flourish, changing the colour of the Dead Sea for a season.

This is a tiny picture of the amazing life-giving water that flows from the Temple down to the Dead Sea in Ezekiel 47. The lake so full of salt that it is called ‘dead’ is totally transformed so that swarms of living creatures teem in it. The banks will be full of fisherman, there’ll be so much life!

This is a picture of God pouring his Spirit into the world and bringing the fullness of life, where previously there was only barrenness. We were dead in sin, enslaved to wicked desires, but when God immerses us in his Spirit, we are made clean. The sin that stifled life is removed from us and we are finally free to live to the full.

Jesus talks about the river of life, the Holy Spirit, flowing from him to all who believe in him. We come to him and drink, and his life wells up within us, becoming rivers that flow out from us! Like the trees on the bank of river, when we drink deeply from the river of life, good fruit grows on us that blesses the world. We receive life from Jesus, and we share this life when we hold out the words of life – the good news of Jesus – with those around us.

How can you see the work of the Spirit in your life? Do you feel like a salty swamp, stuck in your old ways, or like a living lake that has been saved from death? If your spiritual life is feeling stagnant, it could be because you aren’t drinking from the water of life. Perhaps you are not willing to share the life of Jesus with others.

Let’s pray, confessing our sins to God and trusting him to sweep them away. Ask him to fill you with his presence so that you can live a life full of worship. Ask for courage and clarity so that you can offer the message of life to those around you.