It is not uncommon for Christians to claim that the saints of the Old Testament period experienced God’s Spirit in a fundamentally different manner from that of New Testament believers or modern Christians. Many have relied on specific idioms of the Old Testament to argue that the Holy Spirit only came upon people in the Old Testament but into people in the New Testament. Thus, the Holy Spirit was only bestowed temporarily, and then externally, to Old Testament believers as opposed to the permanent indwelling of the early church. Such preaching and teaching drives a wedge between the Testaments, placing too much emphasis on disunity rather than on mutual interdependence between the Old and New. This is an inadequate and incomplete understanding of the role of the Spirit in the Old Testament. Though the Spirit of God sometimes comes upon individuals in the Old Testament to empower for specific (and temporary) tasks, there can be no doubt that His role is also more extensive. He has an indwelling and transforming presence in the Old Testament believers as well and is described as the animating feature that effects spiritual renewal.

Bill Arnold

CATEGORY	CUISINE	TAG	YIELD
Eggs		Cookies	1	Servings

INGREDIENTS

1	c	Butter, unsalted at room tem
1	c	Brown sugar
1		Large egg yolk
1	ts	Vanilla
1/2	c	Finely chopped crystallized
1/4	ts	Ground ginger
1 1/2	c	Flour
3/4	ts	Baking powder
1/2	ts	Salt

INSTRUCTIONS

Cream together the butter and brown sugar.  Beat in the egg, vanilla,
ginger.  Sift the flour, baking powder and salt, and then combine with the
other ingredients. This may be put in the fridge for a half hour or so to
make the dough easier to handle. Roll out cookies and cut. Put on an
ungreased baking sheet at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes.
From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini

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