Who is the Holy Spirit?

In my Bible studies a few weeks ago, I read a lot about the Holy Spirit. I had not thought much on the Holy Spirit, but God has brought a great friend into my life who loves the Spirit of God. Because of his praise and love for the Holy Spirit, I became interested in gaining some more knowledge of Him.

To gain more knowledge, I looked up "Holy Spirit" in my concordance and found many verses on it. I looked up every verse that mentioned the Spirit and then wrote down what I learned from each. As I read verse after verse and day after day, I began to really fall in love with the Spirit of God. What I want to do now, is point out to you several characteristics I saw repeated and reinforced in Scripture.

The Holy Spirit:

• Moves us to action: Before Saul is made king in 1 Samuel 10, The Spirit of God came upon him and he began to prophesy (verse 10). Also, in Nehemiah 9:30, the Israelites are confessing their sins and remembering how God was patient with them, counseling them through the prophets. The Spirit of God moved these prophets to prophesy and guide the Israelites. Again, Joel 2:28 speaks of God: He will "pour out His Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy..." The Spirit moves people to action. We can also look at the story of Philip and the Ethiopian from Acts 8:26-40. Verse 29 says "The Spirit told Philip, 'Go to that chariot and stay near it.'" The Spirit moved Philip to act so that the Ethiopian might be saved. I know I have experienced the Spirit's nudge in my own heart many times. Once, He called me to encourage our pastor before moving in to a new church building. Another time, He spoke through me and I was able to tell of God's goodness to a foreign exchange student at school. He has moved me to sit by lonely people in the church, the classroom, and at the cafeteria. The Holy Spirit's nudge is very real and absolutely exists today-not just in early church times.
  

• Gives us new life: Baptism is an outward symbol of the inward change that occurs when we become Christians. When John baptized Jesus in Matthew 3, he baptized with water. However, when we become Christians, the inward change is because of the Holy Spirit and when we are saved, we are baptized in the Him. John 6:63 states it clearly: "The Spirit gives life." Romans 8:1-17 is all about life through the Spirit. However, verse 11 is where I want to focus. It says, "And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit, who lives in you." In other words, The Holy Spirit raised Christ from the dead and this same Spirit lives in us! When we receive the Holy Spirit, we are raised from the dead and made alive. The power that raised Christ from the dead is in us.
  Finally, 2 Corinthians 3:6 says, "For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life." Do you know what this "letter" is? It represents the law. But how does the law kill? Well, it's not necessarily the law that kills, it's living by it. Before Jesus came, people were living by so many laws-many of them not set by God, but by the religious leaders. They lived rigidly and held tightly to the laws. Following the law and being "righteous" or "a good person" didn't save them then and it will not save you now. Following the law (in our terms: "being a good person") leads to death, but the Spirit gives life
  

• Guides us: This characteristic of the Holy Spirit is one I have seen clearly in my own life. In Matthew 4:1, we see the Holy Spirit as a guide in Jesus' life as He leads Him to the desert. In John 14:25-26, Jesus says, "All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things..." When Jesus was on earth, He was the counselor and guide to His followers. However, when He left them and ascended into heaven, He gave them His Holy Spirit. Now, although we don't have Jesus to walk around with and hear from audibly, we have His guidance through His Spirit. In John 16:13, Jesus tells His disciples "when the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth..." The Spirit of God is not only our guide in life, but our guide to Truth.

• Reminds us of His Word: The Holy Spirit does not teach us His Word, rather, we have to read it for ourselves first and then He will remind us of it. John 14:26 says, "but the Counselor, the Holy Spirit,...will remind you of everything I have said to you." Jesus was speaking to His disciples here. His disciples followed Him and spent time with Him-listening and soaking up all of His words. Like the disciples, we must spend time with Him, soak up His teachings from the Bible and then when we go out to the world, His Spirit will remind us of what He told us in our quiet times with Him. In Acts 11:16, Peter says "Then I remembered what the Lord had said: 'John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.'" The Holy Spirit reminded Peter of Jesus' words when He was on earth with them. In the same way, if we spend time with the Lord, His Holy Spirit will remind us of His Word.
  

• Controls us: Romans 8:6 says "the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace." The Spirit controls us. However, He doesn't control those who have their minds set according to the sinful nature. When we set our minds according to the Spirit, we allow Him to control us. Taking another route, check out Ephesians 5:18. It says, "Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit." What does it look like when someone is drunk? You can easily distinguish between who is under the control of alcohol and who is sober if you listen to their words and watch their actions. But what would it look like for someone to be under the control of the Spirit? If you were under the Holy Spirit's control, you would probably talk about God more and your actions would exemplify Christ. If you were under the control of the Spirit and filled with Him, you would be more like Christ-dedicated to your Father in heaven and spreading His love to all people. Be filled with the Spirit and put yourself under His control.
  

I found other characteristics, but these were not repeated like the ones above. However, I think these are important so that you know more about Him. So here they are: The Holy Spirit drives out evil (Matthew 12: 28, 32), gives us power (Acts 1:8), helps us in our weaknesses (Romans 8:26-27), and unites believers (Ephesians 4:4).

I want to encourage you to open your eyes and recognize the Spirit's work in your own life. Remember these characteristics and then praise God when you see His Spirit moving.

Preparation 101

Lately, God has challenged me to be reverent as I come into His presence. There were a couple of Sunday mornings that I would be walking into the church building, reciting and repeating Ecclesiastes 5:1-2 "Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools who do not know they do wrong. Do not be quick with your mouth or hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. He is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few." That is how I prepared myself. But that is exactly the problem. I prepared myself. The results of this were pretty ugly. I walked down the halls into the worship service without a smile. I usually didn't wave at anyone, but gave them a solemn tip of my head. To top it off, during the worship, you would find me with my arms crossed and my lips closed during an upbeat song. I wanted to be reverent, but I had no idea what that really meant.
However, last Sunday, I woke up early and left the room by 9:00 am. I drove to the church and parked. I opened my Bible onto my lap, but didn't read it. I bowed my head and spoke to the Lord for about 10 minutes. I just closed my eyes and asked God to prepare my heart. To give me the right attitude as I walked in and to go in with pure motives-- to meet Him there. I spent time inviting Him to meet with us because if He isn't there, there's no reason for us to go inside. After 10 minutes, I decided to walk in and the results were completely different than before. I saw my brother, went to him and gave him a big hug. I wasn't solemn and I didn't ignore anyone. I was happy to be there! This next part is great. The first song played was called "Wake Up the World" and was very upbeat. This time though, you would not have found me with my arms crossed and my smile upside down. You would have found me clapping my hands and praising the Lord, who had just prepared my heart.
Before, I thought reverence meant only slow movements, isolation, and quiet. Although God leads me to these at certain times, He doesn't want me to be rude. When I let Him prepare my heart, He gave me the right attitude about entering His presence and the right motives for doing so.
Psalm 110:4-5 "Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His Name. For the LORD is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations."

Trusting. REALLY Trusting

Being raised in church, I have heard about trusting God all my life. However, "trust in God" was more of a church phrase than something I could understand. After talking to my youth minister's wife, and meditating on the concept, God gave me understanding.

Trusting in God means knowing and truly believing that in every circumstance, God is there for you, beside you, behind you, in front of you, and all around you. In every situation, God takes care of you.

Trusting God is NOT believing everything will always be great. We have been warned many times in the Bible of trials we will face. In the trials, we are supposed to believe God is in control like He says He is.

Also, trusting God is NOT life will turn out exactly how you want it. Have a possible spouse in mind? Trusting God means believing wholeheartedly that God has the right one for you and will bring you together in His perfect timing.

Trusting God is believing He is in control.

Principal or President?

The other day at the end of class, we were discussing the President, and principals and election and all that jazz. So, as usual, my brain wandered off and tried to apply it spiritually. Here is what I cam up with:

The Principal was not elected. He was hired. Not by vote, but because he earned it.

The President was not hired. He was elected. Because of the grace of the people.


We cannot earn our salvation; We cannot be hired. If we COULD be hired, we would be able to boast about what we earned. But the Bible says in Ephesians 2:8-9, "It is by grace you have been save, through faith-and this is not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast."

Instead, we have been elected by God to be a part of His family. God voted for us like we vote for the president. He saved us by His grace because He knows we can never earn it. (If we were the principal, we would never get the job). The reason we cannot earn His saving grace is because of our sin. Our daily shortcomings. Romans 3:23 says "For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God."


In my life, I have learned to take God's grace even when punishing yourself seems best. We are not perfect, therefore we cannot punish perfectly. If we beat ourselves up everytime we fall in a specific area, we will turn ourselves one way. You are not your own LORD. Rather, Jesus is the Perfect Father. He is a Perfect Disciplinarian because when He punishes us for our sin, He does it in a way that will still bring Him glory and will lead you down the right path. So please stop beating yourself up and realize God will forgive you and pick you back up. So get back up and know God's grace.

Summer Pictures!

1). One happy family. haha. Leah was NOT happy. 2). Super Summer! I am such a dork! I thought I was being really cute, but turns out I was just holding the 1 backwards.....oh gosh... 3). This is my new friend Stephani on our icee date at falls creek! yay! 4). My cousin, Lyndsy and I at falls creek. Love her! 5). Me and Leah at silver dollar city on a caterpillar. 6). This is a baptism that took most of our church service! 29 students obeyed God and were baptized. Then, an invitation to our whole church was given. If they wanted to obey God by being baptized, they could do it right after church in that big pool. 5 more were baptized. Praise the LORD!

My Promise

I just finished reading Every Young Man's Battle-no, its not a typo...-and I have learned MANY facts about guys. You might think its a little strange, but I think its smart. I wanted to read it because I thought it would help me help you (guys). During my teen years, I have dressed modestly and that has not really been a huge deal for me because of my parents. But since reading this, I have realized that modesty in clothing is great, but I also need to be modest in my actions and my body language. I have probably been a stumbling block to my brothers in this area, but since reading Every Young Man's Battle, I want to change. So, here is my promise to guys and since I am making it known to everyone, you may keep me accountable.

I Promise to act in a way pleasing to the LORD

and in a way that will not cause my brothers

to stumble or fall because in a world full of sexual

impurity and temptation, my brothers need

an example of a pure and modest young woman.

Romans 14:13b says "Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block in your brother's way."

Romans 14:21 says "It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother to fall."

Romans 15:1-2 says "We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up."

EPIPHANY!

An odd epiphany came to me while mowing the lawn with my dad. I was sitting on the riding lawn mower trying to mow the straightest lines I could while my dad was weed eating the perimeter of the yard. When he had finished, he began watching me while he took a break from working. Then, he began to show me small patches of grass I had looked over and missed. From there, he just guided me in straight lines so I would not become distracted, look away, and miss any more patches of grass. And I found out that if I continued to focus on his back, I would go straight.

The epiphany I had was about how much this scene is related to life. If you become distracted and look away from the LORD, you will no longer make straight lines, or paths. But! If you do keep your focus on God's leadership and guidance, your paths will be straight. God will guide you, but you must focus on Him and commit to following Him.

Here are some verses about God's guidance:

• Exodus 15:13
• Psalm 23:3
• Psalm 25:9
• Psalm 48:14
• Psalm 67:4
• Psalm 73:24
• Psalm 78:14
• Psalm 139:10
• Isaiah 42:16
• Isaiah 58:11
• John 16:13