Holy Spirit, Breathe Afresh on Us

During the past couple of months, I have prayed for our young people to experience more of the Holy Spirit as they prepared for a short mission trip to Baltimore for “Compassion Commission.” I heard a voice in my heart saying the word “renewed normal.” It reminded me of the early 1980’s, when I attended a crusade and the preacher preached about the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Being a baby Christian for only a few months, I had never heard anything like that.

Since my conversion, there was a big desire for me to know HIM more. When there was an altar call to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit, I came forward. Several men prayed for me, telling me that Jesus is the Baptizer. Many people that came forward received the baptism and I heard them speak in other tongues, including my roommate who stood next to me - he got it, but not me.

Going back home, I kept on asking the Lord to baptize me with His Spirit. Two days later, as  I was sleeping, my roommate was awakened because he heard me speaking in a heavenly language. When I woke up, I found myself still speaking in tongues. All I remembered at that time was feeling such an extraordinary peace and a joy that filled my heart. I had no clue what I was saying. It sounded like gibberish, yet I felt so close to God. My relationship with God was energized, it is a precious spiritual gift that edifies the believer, and I’ve been praying in tongues ever since. I have more love for the Lord, the Word of God and compassion to reach the lost souls.

God wants us to remember and go back to the normal basics of Christianity. For so many years, before we were saved, we lived in darkness, sin, oppression, had bad habits and a bad lifestyle. We can be under that kind of condition for so long that they become part of a normal lifestyle — they became a routine, a custom, a tradition, our character, and a culture of this age.

“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is-his good, pleasing and perfect will.” (Rom.12:2, NIV)

The Holy Spirit is speaking to us to go back to a “renewed normal”. The prefix “re” means again. God wants us to be as who He intended us to be when He first created man. “Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what He wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.” (Rom.12:2, Message)

It’s time to ask the Holy Spirit to breathe afresh on us — to give us a fresh hunger so that we are not satisfied with shallow Christianity, but have a renewed love for the Lord and compassion to reach the lost.