The Gift

As believers, when Jesus came we might understand the concept of God changed from God for us, to Immanuel (God with us), and finally God within us. As Christians, God’s Holy Spirit indwelling us, is our greatest gift from God; this is our guarantee we have been cleansed of our sins. When we receive the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit, we receive the gift and the giver. The Holy Spirit indicates unity with God, our source of communication with God, and the seal that we belong to Him - we become His children. In this verse, "being" indicates a continual process. "For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him." Rom. 8:14-17 (NASV).

Body a Temple

At the time the Bible was written, worship of any gods was usually done at a site where that particular god dwelled or lived within. This site was called a "temple." Such sites were considered sacred since once entering them, a follower thought they would be closer to that particular god. This also applied to the Jewish temple for Jehovah God, except entrance was limited to only a priest once per year. Paul used this common understanding to communicate that because of Jesus, the Curtain separating God from the people was eliminated individual people became the temple of God and Jehovah God as the Holy Spirit dwells within people, so individual people become temples of God. "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body." - 1 Cor. 6:19-20.

Proper worship

 When challenged by the woman at the Samaritan well, Jesus shared with her that a time was coming when worship of God would move beyond special places, special people, and special actions to a time when each person would worship God wherever they were and whenever they desired. He said, "Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” - Jn. 4:23-24 9 (NIV).

Remembering

 One of the ways the Holy Spirit communicates to us is via remembrance. We read and study His Word but it seems sometimes we receive nothing from it, at the time. However, when we read His Word, all the information to which we are exposed is retained in our minds. Sometimes when we need to use that information, the Holy Spirit helps our recall and we remember the parts we need at that time. When we lack understanding, perhaps we have not yet gathered or experienced adequate supporting information. Perhaps we have not yet read a needed portion of scripture. The Holy Spirit understands this and may prompt us to explore a portion of scripture we have not considered before. When the time is optimum, the Holy Spirit can cause us to remember previously gained information. This is not NEW information; it is just a new realization of the information that was already revealed. This happened to Jesus' apostles, "Jesus, finding a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written, “Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your King is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt.” These things His disciples did not understand at the first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written of Him, and that they had done these things to Him."- Jn. 12:14-16 (NASB).

Emotions

In His life here on earth, Jesus displayed many earthly emotions. Focusing on ourselves, as we try to follow His practices, it is helpful to know some of the feelings we have were displayed by Jesus. Regarding His physical body, He was tired, thirsty, and hungry. To know that He grew angry, became frustrated, felt sorrow, and even was indignant should give us great comfort. The depth of the emotions of God are difficult to fathom, but they are nevertheless there. Jesus was touched by what He saw surrounding Lazarus' death. He already knew that He would raise him, but the family and mourners did not. To observe the pain about the loss of His friend had an observable effect on Him, even to tears, "When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews weeping who came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled, and said, “Where have you laid him?” They told him, “Lord, come and see.” Jesus wept," -  Jn. 11:33-35 (ISV).

 

Control

 Many of us would like to think we are in control of our lives to some extent. Many times, we rely on the , "cause and effect" concept from Physics. Our decisions and actions usually produce predictable results, to some extent. We learn to make decisions that usually cause good or bad results to occur based on the expectation that repeated actions produce an expected result. Better, we learn which decisions produce the outcomes we desire. Although this sounds manageable, sometimes bad things happen in a good context, we may call this learning life-skills. However, events sometimes occur that are totally unexpected and perhaps difficult to grasp, or even shatter our understanding of how to manage life. When these events occur, we desperately seek for explanations guided by a power higher than ourselves. As in a race, we are often greatly disappointed when the results of our words or actions do not produce the results we want and expect. Although, sometimes really good things happen with no logical explanation. We did not plan or define the way to become a child of God, nor did we deserve it. The gift offered by Jesus is not payment for anything we did; we cannot control it or manipulate it. This is a free gift because of His love, which defies explanation. All people are invited to become children of God, to be born from above. Sadly, some will not give up trying to control their own eternity based on their own understanding; some will not want to receive this wonderful gift for something they cannot personally achieve. "But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God," - Jn. 1:12-13 (ESV).

Speak to Me

 As a believer, do you desire for God to speak directly to you? Jeremiah also struggled with this and was told, “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” Jer. 29:13 (NIV). One quick answer to this is to say read the Bible and God has just spoken to you. While this is certainly true, your real desire is for God to speak to you in a way you can understand about your specific question. In order for this to occur, you must realize that the communication is likely not to be teaming with praise and accolades toward you. God is perfect, you are not. Communication from Him is meant to help you become more of what He wants you to be, meaning much of what He communicates may be corrective. But that leaves the question how do I understand what He wants me to understand? You might compare this to a recorded conversation with another person. When you replay the recording, you will likely perceive ideas or concepts that you did not when you first heard the words. Sometimes, time and reflection are required for the communication to be understood. This is especially true for the things that God communicates. In order to help overcome this communication difficulty, God has given us the Holy Spirit to dwell within us and clarify His desires for our understanding. So how do any of us receive His communication? Every day, God, speaks to the Christian through the Holy Spirit in some way. One challenge for us is that He may speak at different times and different ways to various people. At times He invites us to draw close and listen as He reveals Himself, His character and His direction. Other times He calls us to participate in His purposes. Still other times He my simply whisper, reminding us of His amazing love for us. Hearing from God is one of those topics that can easily stir up confusion and frustration. A critical question to ask is, "How do I know if God is speaking to me?" "How do I discern whether it is His voice speaking or just my own ideas and desires?" "What if I feel God telling me to do something that doesn’t seem logical? A basic truth is, there’s no magic formula for discerning God’s voice. We learn to recognize it the way we recognize voices of those close to us: by knowing Him. And when we know Him, we can tell if what we are thinking or feeling led to do is from Him or not. At only one time, I had a direct communication from the Holy Spirit. It was a dark time in my life, after some life changing events. I was seeking relief and solutions for issues that troubled me. As I was driving and praying "when is this going to change", a voice as if from the passenger seat came into my mind saying, "When it is time." I was so shocked, I pulled to the side of the road to examine the other seat. Was there a voice that caused my eardrums to vibrate or did the thought skip that sense? I am unsure, but the Holy Spirit used the necessary means to cause that information to sear my mind. It is an event that I have not forgotten for 17 years. I treasure that thought and I have been blessed in many wonderful ways in the years since. Communication from the Spirit can be startling and reassuring. When struggling to interpret communication from the Holy Spirit, these questions may help arrive at a clearer answer: 1. Does what I perceive line up with Scripture? God will never speak to us or tell us to do something that’s contrary to His Word. But unless we know Scripture, we will not be able to discern whether or not what we hear is consistent with the Word. We will learn the will of God when we read and pray the Word of God. 2. Is what I perceive consistent with God’s character? God’s Word also provides rich information regarding His character. Just as God always speaks in accordance with His Word, He speaks in accordance with His character. God will not say anything inconsistent with who He is. The longer we know Him and the more we experience Him personally, the more we learn about His character. 3. Is what I perceive confirmed through messages at church or in my quiet times? When God speaks to you about a particular issue, you cannot escape it. Around every corner there’s a sermon or Bible study lesson or speaker’s topic or conversation with a friend that’s consistent with what you’ve been hearing from God in your time alone with Him. When you invest in time spent alone with God, He will speak to you. Listen for His voice, and then look for the message to be confirmed. 4. Is what I perceive beyond me? Sometimes the Holy Spirit may call you to do something big that you can’t do in our own strength -- either it is beyond your ability or beyond your natural human desire. Perhaps this thing can only happen through the Holy Spirit's divine intervention. Don’t look at your inabilities and dwell in insecurities. Look at what God wants. See this call as your opportunity to watch Him work in you and through you. 5. Is what you perceive pleasing to God? Depending on many personal pressures, it is sometimes easy to reject the idea that we have heard something from the Spirit. In these situations, especially if the information is not pleasing to us, we might use any excuse to convince ourselves it is not His voice so we don’t need to act. If what you’re doing pleases God, then even if what you thought you heard from Him wasn’t His voice, you are still pleasing Him. You should always seek to do those things that please God. When these 5 questions align, the Holy Spirit will help you accomplish the task. Please remember, God's word says much about His desires and character; immerse yourself in learning more about Him. The Holy Spirit will provide understanding over time.

Frustrated

Paul was frustrated with the Christians in Galatia. They had accepted Jesus as Lord, were indwelled by the Holy Spirit, but were attempting to return to the pathways they had chosen to give up. "So again I ask, does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you by the works of the law, or by your believing what you heard?" - Gal. 3:5 (NIV). The Holy Spirit is given to those who accept Jesus’ gift. If they will ask and follow, He will use them to perform great helps to the people around them. But, He will not overpower our personal decisions. If our decisions are to ignore His guidance and return to the practices we had before, He has been pushed away. We cannot force God to act by adhering to a set of rules or demanded actions. We should follow His guidance as we walk along our unique independent spiritual journey to Heaven.

Waiting

We wait for traffic, we wait for a doctor, we wait for our turn at the cash register, we wait for friends. A wait person once told me, "I'm sorry for the wait." my response was, "Thanks, but I don't mind, if I wasn't waiting here I would be waiting somewhere else." It seems like most of us are always waiting for something every day. More challenging, we wait for entrance into our eternal home; our place is decided, we must wait until it is time. Like us, even the world waits for salvation (Rom. 8:19). The indwelling Holy Spirit can help comfort us as we wait for our eventual and permanent home. If we will only ask, He will guide us along our unique individual spiritual journey in the ways we need to go to please the Father, a foretaste of our eventual celebration.