Prayer ~ Lord, reveal to me an even greater depth of knowledge of the Holy Spirit. I am calling on You and asking You for more wisdom and understanding, too, that my prayers would be powerfully answered and bring You glory and honor, as I follow the Holy Spirit.
Meditate. Who is the Holy Spirit to you? Will you follow
His directions?
But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that
is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of
everything I have told you. John 14:26
The
Holy Spirit. Most people—Christians I know—don’t focus much of their
emphasis on the Holy Spirit. Oh, they pray to God the Father and to Jesus…but
barely acknowledge the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is part of the Triune God,
coexisting, coequal and coeternal together with the Father and the Son (see the
description of the Holy Spirit in the Strong’s Lexicon of the Blue Letter
Bible.) In the Old Testament there are actually only three times that the Holy
Spirit title is specifically used.
Do not banish me from your
presence, and don't take your Holy Spirit from me. Psalm 51:11
But they rebelled against him
and grieved his Holy Spirit. So he became their enemy and fought
against them. Then they remembered those days of old when Moses led his people
out of Egypt. They cried out, "Where is the one who brought Israel through
the sea, with Moses as their shepherd? Where is the one who sent his Holy
Spirit to be among his people?" Isaiah 63:10-11
Jesus
promised all His followers, including us, that if He left earth and went back
to be with the Father, in heaven, that the Holy Spirit, also called the
Comforter would come…to each of those who believe in Him… to teach (John
14;26, John 12:12, and 1 John 2:27), to remind (John 14:26), to console,
gives spiritual birth (John 3:6), to encourage (Acts 9:31). Also see Jesus’
description of the Holy Spirit’s responsibilities.
But in fact, it is best for you
that I go away, because if I don't, the Advocate won't come. If I do go away,
then I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the
world of its sin, and of God's righteousness, and of the coming judgment. The
world's sin is that it refuses to believe in me. Righteousness is available
because I go to the Father, and you will see me no more. Judgment will come
because the ruler of this world has already been judged. There is so much more
I want to tell you, but you can't bear it now. When the Spirit of truth
comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his
own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the
future. He will bring me glory by telling you whatever he
receives from me. All that belongs to the Father is mine; this is why I said,
'The Spirit will tell you whatever he receives from me.' John 16:7-15
One
of my favorite promises about the Holy Spirit involves prayer. He helps us. He
is there for us…our Advocate. Groanings. We don’t know what to pray…but He does
and He intercedes for us. I’ve been there…done that…and relied on the Holy
Spirit to get me through some rough days.
And the Holy Spirit helps us in
our weakness. For example, we don't know what God wants us to pray for. But the
Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in
words. Romans
8:26
The
Holy Spirit is more than an Advocate. Like Jesus, He is our friend…knowing us
better than we know ourselves. Praying for us…showing us the way to go…teaching
us what to say and when to say it. I don’t know about you…but I need the Holy
Spirit, daily filling me with God’s love, mercy, joy, peace, strength and
understanding. Without Him I would be tossed about on a wave…lost and alone.
Women's section of the Western Wall. Jerusalem, Israel |
As Jesus came up out of the
water, he saw the heavens splitting apart and the Holy Spirit descending on him
like a dove. Mark
1:10
Glory
be to Father, to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. I will follow the guidance of
the Holy Spirit—yielding to His direction. The Holy Spirit is mine…is He yours?
Verses of Salvation ~ As for us, we can't help but thank
God for you, dear brothers and sisters loved by the Lord. We are always
thankful that God chose you to be among the first to experience salvation--a
salvation that came through the Spirit who makes you holy and through your
belief in the truth. He called you to salvation when we told you the Good News;
now you can share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Thessalonians
2:13-14
© 2023 Text, photos, and illustrations by Mickey M. Hunacek. All
rights reserved.
Revised from June 4, 2019 “Banquet With The King Blog”
All scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless
otherwise noted.
New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale
House Foundation.
Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream,
Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Biblical search from Blue Letter Bible - http://v3.blueletterbible.org/search.cfm.
Books by Mickey M.
Hunacek
Available as e-books or paperbacks at Amazon.com
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