Dynamite!

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you (Acts 1:8).

 

But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days.  People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God -- having a form of godliness, but denying its power

 (2 Tim. 3:1-5).

 

In the New Testament, the Greek word duonmis is translated into English as "power."  In fact, the Greek duonmis is the source of our English word "dynamite."  But, growing up, have any of us heard anything about the "power" of religion?  Religion was supposed to be obligation and commandments, not "power."  I would say that one of the defining marks of Christianity is that it is supposed to impart power to the believer through the Gift of the promised Holy Spirit. 

 

Just as in the early church, as we see in the Letter to the Corinthians, some people who catch a glimpse of the the "power" imparted by the Holy Spirit will attempt to use it for their own glory, giving Christianity a bad name.  But the power given to us is the power in Jesus Christ---power to overcome ourselves (the natural man), power to love our enemies, and to do good to those who persecute us.  I John says, "Anyone who loves God has overcome the world" ---  The world of personal ambition, of pride, of natural revenge and hatred, the world of natural barriers and differences, the world of hostility toward those who are different or weak.  If we want to know what kind of "dynamite" we have received from the Holy Spirit, we need to continue gazing at the Spirit in Jesus Christ, who when accused did not answer back, Who lifted up from the dung heap the outcast, the scorned, the sinner.  This is our power too.

 

The book of Ephesians tells us to "be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power....for our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."  Paul, from his prison cell in a dark hole in the ground, watching Roman soldiers daily putting on their armor, tells us to put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, we may be able to stand our ground.  This is "dynamite;" this is power and strength. 

 

The world in which we live does not recognize or acknowledge spiritual powers, whether evil or good.  We think that is the way "they" (in times past) dealt with unseen and unknown forces.  In our "chronological snobbishness," (C.S.Lewis' term), we think that we understand the causes of evil today.  We believe that science has the answer and the cure is just around the corner.  Until we see the force and strength of evil, we probably will not "need" the power given by God to overcome the world -- or at least, that's the way we think.  But if we have never known the power given to us by the Holy Spirit, we have no chance to stand against the "spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."

 

Would that we could get beyond the obligations of religion and the facade of "living a good life" to enter into the full gift of God given to us in the Holy Spirit.  A great place to begin is by reading Ephesians Chapter 6 until we begin to feel the power of God in our own lives!