7 Dec, 2011

Windy Affect

Hundreds of thousands of households in California were without power...

Almost 1,900 customers of Pacific Gas and Electric Co. in the Bay Area and 22,630 customers in Santa Cruz County are still without power after high winds knocked down power lines throughout Northern California. PG&E say it could take  until Saturday for it to restore electricity to all its customers.

The outages started Wednesday night when winds whipped through most of California. At the peak, more than 24,800 customers lost power in Santa Cruz and Monterey counties after a tree took out a transmission line.

Roughly 8,800 Bay Area residents didn't have power Thursday morning."We are working diligently to get the majority of our customers restored by today, but we expect that some customers in more remote locations ... will be restored on Saturday," said PG&E

...Strong winds toppled trees, downed power lines, and delayed flights. A gust of 97 mph was recorded at Whitaker Peak in Los Angeles County Wednesday night, according to the National Weather Service. The storm is expected to peak Thursday night. “We anticipate that it’s going to get worse before it gets better,”. Officials said 250,000 were without power in Southern California, along with an additional 26,000 in the northern Santa Cruz Mountains. Twenty-seven flights have been delayed from Los Angeles International Airport due to debris on the runway and severe crosswinds. 

Article from MSNBC and Google. 

John 3:5-8 (New International Version)

 Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.' The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit."

What does God's story teach us about the wind?
Have you ever experienced high winds? Wind is a powerful thing!  And it is unpredictable.  

Think back to when you started getting to know Jesus.  Did you expect him to work in your life like he did?  Most likely the Holy Spirit surprised you as he began to work in areas of your life.  

Jesus explained that we cannot control the work of the Holy Spirit.  He works in ways we cannot predict or understand.  Just as you did not control your physical birth, so you cannot control your spiritual birth.  It is a gift of God through the Holy Spirit. (Life Application Study Bible)

How Do I connect God's Story with my Story?
 
I have heard powerful wind in this last week and I sat without power, I could not get rid of the image of the Holy Spirt roaring through and having an influence on everything around it. I began to ask myself what role does the Holy Spirit REALLY play in my life, beyond the sunday school answer. 
 
Does the holy Spirit have and Affect/influence in your Life? Ask God to make that real this week. 
  • Thank God for sending His Holy Spirit to work in your life.
  • Ask God for a fresh experience with the Holy Spirit this week.
  • Read these other passages from God's Story for more about the Holy Sprit: Romans 8:16, 1 Corinthians 2:10-12, 1 Thessalonians 1:5-6.
How do I connect God's Story, & My story to others?
  • Do you have a friend with whom you've been sharing God's Story?  Ask them for ways that they have been surprised by God's Story. 
  • Ask them what areas of their life have been most surprising.
  • Talk with them about the parallels between the wind in Today's Story and the Holy Spirit working in our lives.
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The Daily Bide is brought to you by a team of writers from Youth for Christ/USA. The writers all have various years of experience in youth ministry but share a common bond in serving Jesus and discovering what it means to abide deeply everyday and to connect God's Story with those around them. A number of the Daily Bide writers have also written portions of our 3Story® resources. You can check out our resources at the 3Story.org website or connect with our writers at 3story@yfc.net. If you have a question or a story you would like to share, please reference the Daily Bide date in your email.

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