Guarantee

Humans are constantly reminded of the value of our physical bodies. Men and women compete with one another for superior appearance, academics, and greater lists of accomplishments. At the end, this is an attempt to satisfy our own desires for physical prowess. Alongside this is the spiritual part of humans - the real superior part. The foremost accomplishment a human can make is beyond concerns for the dying physical body - to be indwelt by the Holy Spirit and guaranteed an eternity with God. "For while we are still in this tent, we groan under our burden, because we wish not to be unclothed but to be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee." — 2 Corinthians 5:4-5 (NRSV)

Willing

God chose a people called Christians. He does not control their decisions and actions, but from His omnicience, He is aware of all their choices before they make them. God has set a pathway for Christians, those who accept Jesus as Messiah, but humans make many personal choices to stay on the pathway. Speaking of His children, James reflects on how involved the Father becomes in the lives of His willing children. "[you are] the people chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father through the sanctifying action of the Spirit to be obedient to Jesus, the Messiah, and to be sprinkled with his blood. May grace and peace be yours in abundance!." — 1 Peter 1:2 ISV

Coach Holy Spirit

People who are interested in the Holy Spirit will usually ask questions like what goes the Holy Spirit do or how can He help me? These can be difficult questions because the Holy Spirit was not sent to help humans accomplish their own goals. He remains here to help humans accomplish God’s goals for them. When a person aligns their personal goals with those stated in the Bible (God created good works for us to go), that person may observe more of their desires fulfilled. So how does the Holy Spirit go about those sanctifying acts?

In many places around the world, sports activities and games are a large part of people’s interest, regardless of gender. Within those activities, the coach is crucial. The coach is the team leader, this person usually has the end goal in mind always. In this sense, the Holy Spirit is a coach. He does not perform the actions of the game, but guides the players down needed pathway. The players have the personal option to do or not do what the coach advised them to do.

Lord

 In this modern age, how do we understand the meaning of the word "Lord" as used in the Bible? During the time the Bible was written, the word Lord meant the one who had ultimate control of one's life. Today, many of us are our own Lord. We consider ourselves as wise, knowledgable, and powerful as any other entity - we are self sufficient. We are "independant." But are we really? If this were true, what is the reason tasks we want done are not done nearly as quickly or as robustly as we would prefer? What is the reason our relationships disappoint us at times. No, we are not self sufficient, all people heed to follow God's direction and have confidence the Holy Spirit will help us grow closer to what He wants and thereby closer to divine guidance. This pathway will result in a better position for eternity. "Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought. — Jeremiah 17:7-8

Frustration

I once saw a poster that read, “You don’t really know someone until you tell them no about something.” In the secular part of the world, this indicates some form of disagreement for any number of reasons. Based on our desires, and self authority, we react - badly sometimes. When God says no, it is based on His knowledge and the result is always best for us; we need to seek better desires. "Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the LORD your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you." Deut. 31:6 (ESV)

Dwelling place

The statement is sometimes made that we are a temple of Jesus. Perhaps more understandable is that many Christians who are indwelled by the Holy Spirit assemble and become a dwelling place from which the Holy Spirit can radiate to others. "And in [Jesus] you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit. Eph. 2:22 (NIV)

Blessings

Have you gotten an email or a note when the ‘closing’ was “Blessings”? Did you consider this a positive statement, or are “blessings” sometimes other than what we might desire? My point is the “blessings” we receive might not seem like good things at first, but believing that God never gives anything to His children that is not good must be retained. A blessing from God may appear like a curse at first, but later the faithful person realizes what they received was a better gift than they first imagined. "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." Jas. 1:17 (NIV)

The unforgivable sin

People tend to exercise caution around those things that are regarded as extremely dangerous. Many times this occurs without really understanding the thing of which they are afraid; for some people that thing is forgiveness. We should examine very closely the one thing Jesus described as unforgivable. This is not to decide how closely one might try to get before crossing some threshold, but how to avoid this threshold completely. The scripture in focus is Mk. 3:29 "but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin.” If we accept that the Holy Spirit is one with Jesus and the Father, we can grasp the magnitude of such an action. If one blasphemes the one who can forgive; they are rejecting Him and His sovereignty. This is essentially stating a denial of God's existence, and therfore His importance.

Never

When God says "never," that has a different meaning than when a human says a similar thing. Mankind speaks of intentions, God speaks of certainty, only He can guarantee the results. Ezekiel was led by the Holy spirit to speak of a future time when He would indwell God's people and never leave them, yes, never! When a person becomes joined to God because of Jesus, no external force can remove them from this promise. "And I will never again turn my face from them, for I will pour out my Spirit upon the people of Israel. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken!" — Ezekiel 39:29 NLT

Doing Good

Doing Good: In the days Jesus lived on the earth, many things were communicated about His activities. "God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, and because God was with him, he went around doing good and healing everyone who was oppressed by the devil." — Acts 10:38 ISV

Breath of life

While limited to specific individuals in the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit has always been available to those needing his help. This is evident in the case of Job's activities. "The Spirit of God has made me; the breath of the Almighty gives me life." — Job 33:4 NIV

Pour Out

When we think of something being poured out, we usually think of a substance which flows out of some container with little control. Sometimes we might use the word, "gushing" to describe this observation. The first century believers in Jesus experienced just this. The Holy Spirit gushed out to creation to provide praise and honor to God the Father and welcome His children into a close relationship with Him. Isaiah predicted this action, "The LORD said, For I will pour out water to quench your thirst and to irrigate your parched fields. And I will pour out my Spirit on your descendants, and my blessing on your children." — Isaiah 44:3

Bubbling

Have you ever though of the Holy Spirit as bubbling up inside you? He will if we allow Him to do so. "Jesus replied, 'Anyone who drinks this water [from Jacob's well] will soon become thirsty again. But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.' " — John 4:13-14

Conversation

What we call prayer should really be understood as a conversation with God. He has given us so many things as information from Him in the Bible, available constantly. Prayer is our opportunity to discuss our understanding of what He has said. When we feel the need to reach out, the indwelling Holy Spirit is always there. As we ponder scripture, we may become aware of things we had not realized before. Sometimes new experiences and struggles in life lead us to consider our surroundings in ways we have not before. When we experience different situations and make new conclusions according to His Word, then, God has spoken to us. We should treasure this guidance, always. "In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans." Rom. 8:26 (NIV)

One Spirit

Paul preached about a relationship that set aside cultural and individual preferences. Because God placed His Spirit in anyone who would obey Jesus, it was a great humanity leveling statement, ""For we were all baptized with one Spirit into one body--whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free-- and we were all given the one Spirit to drink." 1 Cor. 12:13 (NIV)