Monday, November 27, 2023

Do You Know the Holy Spirit?

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
When I visited the Western Wall, known as the Wailing Wall, where many people gather to pray in Jerusalem, I thought I saw a white dove. I was so awed…but it was probably a pigeon, not a dove. Oh well. It reminded me of verses in the Bible where the Holy Spirit came down in the form of a dove, like at the baptism of Jesus. What an awesome experience that must have been to see a beautiful dove appearing as the Holy Spirit as He rose out of the Jordan River.

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

 

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