At 8:30 sharp each morning, Agape Christi students and teachers gather for Assembly which includes a short teaching from Mr. Culbertson, review of the scripture of the week, and a hymn of the week. The students each receive an Assembly Book that contains the music and verses to learn. On the cover of the Assembly Book is the theme of the year with this Hebrew term: Ruach Acheret; which means: A Different Spirit.
When the Israelites were encamped by the Jordan, preparing to enter the Promised Land, they sent twelve chief men as spies to check out the land first. Upon returning, they bore tables of a land flowing with milk, honey, great fruits, and of course…GIANTS!
The people were very afraid and fell back into their grumbling ways. Even ten of the spies stirred the people up, claiming they could not safely enter the land.
Then one of the spies stepped forward and tried to convince the angry crowd that they could not only enter the land, but find victory, because the Lord their God fought for them. That spy’s name was Caleb. His Hebrew name was Kol Lev, which means, “Whole Heart.” He served God fully, so much so that God praised him before the people, declaring that Caleb had a “Ruach Acheret,” or a “Different Spirit.”
Caleb was not driven by fear of the giants or of the other spies. He was not cowered by the whims of the crowd. His only concern was to follow the Lord fully. For that faithfulness, the Lord allowed him to be one of the only two men of his generation to enter the Promised Land, but he would have to wait forty year before he would see that day.
Living with a whole heart and a different spirit is not always easy. In fact, it usually isn’t. But while it’s often difficult, it is also the best way to live.
“”Whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s.”
From Romans 14
May we purse Him with a ruach acheret, a different spirit in our relationships, our studies, and in every endeavor as we seek God, open his Word, and discover his world.