Three blind men gathered together to explore a strange creature called an elephant. But they each experienced different parts of the same thing. The first blind man felt all over the leg of the elephant and said to the others, "It is like a strong tree." The second held the trunk, explaining, "It is like an ever changing vine." The third blind man ran his hands across the large body of the elephant and exclaimed, "No, it is endless, like a wide mountain." [show less]

Lots of people struggle to find God. They become agnostic (believing that they cannot know God), atheistic (denying the existence of God), or simply indifferent. The Bible recognizes that God is beyond our comprehension, but the it also poses a solution to help us understand him better. We know that God created us as companions, and that he loves us. So, since sin has separated us from him until we get to heaven, he’s made a plan to keep us connected. He’s sent his Spirit to help bridge the gap. The Bible says that “the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God”, and human beings may “speak [of the things of God], not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words”. Being spiritual means being connected with God’s Spirit and learning how to listen and converse with him. When you don’t know the Spirit of God, it’s only natural to wonder how you can explore further on your spiritual journey. Let us look a bit closer at what the Bible says. spirit We’re all aware of spirits. People talk about spirits, movies exaggerate them, music refers to them. But have you ever pondered the word itself? What does it really mean? How do you define a spirit? Generally, spirits are assumed to be fundamentally different from physical matter, something that exists beyond our normal senses. With a powerful influence. You feel it and you know it, but you can’t describe it. But when we speak about the Holy Spirit in the Bible, we’re talking about the Spirit of God, a Person or Being, whom we can’t see but who has the power to change us. Jesus talked about this Spirit: The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit. The Bible was written essentially in Hebrew (the Old Testament) and Greek (the New Testament). The Hebrew word for “spirit” is ruach and the Greek word is pneuma. Both words literally mean “wind, or breath”. This is the word-sense describing the Holy Spirit of God. The Bible describes this Spirit as invisible and outside our control, and yet powerful. I’m reminded of the story of the prophet Elijah, hiding from persecution in a cave. God appeared to him, manifesting his presence not in the violent storm, not in the earthquake, not in the fire -- but in the gentle breath of a whisper, which led to a conversation. For biblical writers, the speech/breath of God is intimately connected with the appearance of His Spirit. Jesus breathed on His followers and told them to receive the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God emanates from Him, belongs to Him, and exists to accomplish what God wants. Bible readers see God’s Spirit often associated with mystery and power. It is never dependent on man’s feelings. This Spirit wasn’t born in a human community and cannot be invoked by ‘magical’ acts or words. He isn’t the product of need or emotions. He’s always manifested as a super-human power coming in from the outside, from God himself. who is he? God reveals himself in the Bible as one entity through the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, a unity of three co-eternal beings. The Holy Spirit is a being in this threesome, or “trinity” as it is often called. Statements in the Bible, such as: ‘it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us’, show that the earliest Christians accepted him as a distinct being. Christ also spoke of the Spirit distinctly: ‘He will glorify me, because he will take of mine and disclose it to you.’ The passages in Matthew 28:19 and 2 Corinthians 13:14 reveal the Holy Spirit as a living being beside the Father and the Son. So you could conclude that the Holy Spirit is God and “God is Spirit”. The Bible also associates divine attributes with the Holy Spirit: life, truth, love and holiness. ‘The Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God…the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God’. Other biblical characteristics of the Holy Spirit include omnipotence, omnipresence, and omniscience. No one can escape this divine influence. God’s gift of life is also associated with the Spirit. The creation of man and resurrection from the dead is achieved by God through the Holy Spirit. “The spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.” The Bible presents the Holy Spirit as equal with the Father and Son in baptism, blessing, and the spiritual gifts discourse. When we talk of the Holy Spirit, we are really talking about God, the Spirit of God who leads us to belief, and instructs us about truth. his work The Holy Spirit reveals God. And when God acts in the world, or in the lives of human beings, He does so together with or through the Holy Spirit. As you read your Bible, you will find that the Holy Spirit has been at work in the world from the moment of creation. God’s Spirit interacts closely with humanity. Ancient Scripture also promised that God’s Spirit would rest on Jesus, the the Messiah, the Christ. “The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to captives and freedom to prisoners.” Reading this text to a crowd hundreds of years later, Jesus said: “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing”. After his resurrection from the dead, Jesus sent his followers into the world to share about their experiences with Him, and he promised them the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus promised that the Spirit would come to them, a “Helper, the Holy Spirit, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.”. Jesus also assured His followers: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you”. These promises of the Holy Spirit came true on the day of Pentecost in Jerusalem, when 3,000 people became followers of Jesus after listening to Peter preach. New Testament writings reveal that the Holy Spirit’s work is especially manifested in the gifts of the Spirit (a power that enables the believer to witness about Jesus Christ), and by the life of the Spirit through Christian virtues. In order to accomplish this, the Holy Spirit works in the believer’s life in two ways: He enlightens your mind and resides in your body. God’s spiritual enlightening of our minds implies that knowledge of the things of God is important. While our personal experiences matter, the revealed truth of God matters more. So we should avoid saying that what matters in the end is “not doctrine but experience”. The Holy Spirit enlightens our minds to understand the things of God. Especially when we read and study the word of God, which the Holy Spirit inspired. God’s spiritual residence in our bodies means that, through the Holy Spirit, God is living and working in us. When we realize this, we become more careful of what we eat, drink, watch, read or listen to. You might even decide to strengthen your faith by various spiritual disciplines, such as abstinence (solitude, silence, fasting, frugality, chastity, secrecy, sacrifice) or engagement (study, worship, celebration, service, prayer, fellowship, confession, submission). For as you know him better, he will give you, through his great power, everything you need for living a truly good life… But to obtain these gifts, you need more than faith; you must also work hard to be good, and even that is not enough. For then you must learn to know God better and discover what he wants you to do. Next, learn to put aside your own desires so that you will become patient and godly, gladly letting God have his way with you. This will make possible the next step, which is for you to enjoy other people and to like them, and finally you will grow to love them deeply. The more you go on in this way, the more you will grow strong spiritually and become fruitful and useful to our Lord Jesus Christ. But any spiritual discipline we choose to follow must never obscure the fact that it is the Holy Spirit who works within us. We cooperate with Him by seeking Him. We place a priority on using our spiritual gifts for God and living a spiritual life. A very common theme in the Bible is “life in the Spirit”, particularly during instructions to the early Christian church. Living in the Holy Spirit is living a new life from God through Jesus Christ. Closely connected with this is the association of the Spirit with water, cleansing and renewal. In the gospel of John, “the idea of “water” merges with the expression “Spirit” to signify purification, initiation, and newness”. Often the identification between Spirit and water as a sign of renewal is also connected with life-giving rain. The two rain seasons in ancient Israel started the concept of “the early rain”, which gave the first fruits (associated with Pentecost and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the first Christians), and “the latter rain” which came at the end of the year during the final harvest time. conclusion The Bible tells us that the Holy Spirit activates the power of God in our life, and explains the things of God to us through the inspired reading of the word of God. Wouldn’t you agree that before we dismiss God as non-existent or indifferent, maybe we ought to test it out? In our search for God, the Holy Spirit is a key. And Jesus said that your prayer for the gift of the Holy Spirit will be answered. [show less]

Have you ever personally felt the presence of God’s Spirit? Share about it. How would you like to have the Spirit of God work in your life? If you lived your life as though the Holy Spirit were part of you, how would it change things? Your habits? Your sensory input? Share. Have you asked for the Holy Spirit before you read the Bible? Would you like to try that “inspired reading” this week? [show less]

Will you think about asking God to send the Holy Spirit into your life and see what happens?