The Person of the Holy Spirit

Living in tornado alley, one gets to feel the gravity of very high winds that, at times, form a funnel and cause incredible destruction. High wind is part of life living in the plains states. I know as I have lived in Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas all my adult life. But the idea of “wind” doesn’t have to be scary. It can be empowering.

In the Old Testament, the word is “ruach” which means wind, breath, Spirit. In the New Testament, the word is “pneuma” which also means wind, breath, Spirit. Both words are used as the word for Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit is the the breath or wind we need in our lives to function and have life to the full.

J.I. Packer said, “A Christian’s life in all its aspects—intellectual and ethical, devotional and relational, upsurging in worship and outgoing in witness—is supernatural; only the Spirit can initiate and sustain it. So apart from him, not only will there be no lively believers and no lively congregations, there will be no believers and no congregations at all.”

What you and I need to do is develop a relationship with the Holy Spirit in order to have the power in our lives to be who we are created to be. We see the life of Jesus reflected in the Gospels. John 1 tells us Jesus put skin on and moved into our neighborhood. So, we see Jesus as a person and it makes it easier to have a relationship. But the Holy Spirit is a person as well. The better we understand that the deeper our relationship will be with the Holy Spirit.

In John 14, Jesus has gathered all of his closest followers and friends. He’s going back to the Father and he knows it’s going to be hard for them. He’s telling the disciples although he’s leaving, they will never be alone. So Jesus says in John 14:16-17, “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you.”

Jesus uses the word, “Another”. The word he uses in the original language means, “another, exactly the same kind.” Jesus is saying, he and the Holy Spirit are the same person. Wow! That blows our mind I know. See we tend to think of the Holy Spirit as a “what” rather than a “who”, speak of the Holy Spirit as an “it” rather than a “he”, and relate to the Holy Spirit as a “force” rather than a “friend”. Jesus wants us to know that the Holy Spirit is person who we can have a relationship with. Take a look at some key texts.

The Holy Spirit can be lied to. Now, you don’t lie to a force or an inanimate object. You lie to a person. In Acts 5, we see the story of Ananias and Sapphira. It’s lengthy so I won’t tell it here but this married couple offered some money to the Apostles to help with church work and they lied about how much they gave in order to look good to all the other disciples. They both wanted to impress other believers so they lied about the truth of what they were doing.

So for us, maybe a way to lie to the Holy Spirit is we pretend to be more spiritual than we are. My pretending and hypocrisy to impress you seems to be offensive to the Holy Spirit. So praising God on Sunday but at home you yell and condescend your family is pretending. When you take communion and feel the grace of God in your life but you’re harboring resentment toward another, that’s hypocrisy. When you chastise someone for sin in their life yet go home at night and watch porn, that’s pretending and hypocrisy.

Which leads to grieving the Holy Spirit. Paul calls us to live in ways that don’t offend and grieve the Spirit in Ephesians 4:30. When we don’t look like Jesus in our life day to day, it saddens the Holy Spirit. We both know there have been moments we had a poor decision and it broke our mom’s heart. Equally, you have been hurt by people you love as well. So, since we can sadden the Holy Spirit by our actions, we realize how much he loves us and cares for us.

Finally, the Holy Spirit can be your friend. Jesus says in John 14:16 that He would send another Advocate. That original word can be translated as counsellor, helper, comforter….or friend. So Jesus is saying, “My Father will send you a friend that will always be with you.” Now that’s comforting isn’t it?

This week, I want you to pray that the Holy Spirit will be revealed to you in your life. That you’ll begin to see how closely he’s working in you to shape you into Jesus. He’s a friend who loves you dearly and wants only the very best for you. Blessings on the journey.

"You'll Never Change"

You have probably heard that lie, “You’ll never change”, about you in your life. Maybe from a parent or a coach or a teacher or even your pastor. You and I must discern between what is truth in our life and how the enemy lies to us about who we are. You and I must concede that God and his truth can and will set us free.

For several years, I was part of an American Civil War reenacting group called the Trans-Mississippi Rifles (that has nothing to do with gender identity, by the way). We were attached to the 3rd Louisiana infantry and “fought” for the South. Our U.S. Civil War pit us Americans against ourselves and for some reason we like to replay that.

We are spiritually in a civil war as well. We are fighting with who we are and whom God called us to be. Paul talks about his personal frustration with this civil war in Romans 7:15-19. You can just feel his frustration in the words he pens. “We don’t do what we want to do and the thing we don’t want to do, we do.” So how do we overcome this within ourselves?

Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 10 that we demolish the stronghold Satan has on us by taking our thoughts captive for Jesus Christ. We make our thoughts and then actions obedient to Jesus. And when we take every thought captive, the walls will fall. For some reason, we believe Satan and God are equally matched but NOTHING is equal to the power of God’s love for us.

Proverbs 4:23 says, “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.” In other words, protect what you think about or dwell on each and every day. Whatever you’re allowing into your thinking will direct your attitudes, emotions, and behavior. Paul tells us in Romans 12:2 not to conform to the world’s way of thinking but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. So to do this, I want you to think about a couple of things.

First, think process, not perfection. Becoming more like Jesus doesn’t happen overnight. But use this metric…am I different as a follower of Jesus than one year ago? Since the first of 2024? Have a changed any since summer began? You’ll want to do some investigation in yourself to see if you are growing spiritually. We’re all in process. Even the Apostle Paul says that in Philippians 3 about himself.

Now we are justified or found to be righteous the moment we say “yes” to Jesus. But sanctification or becoming more holy and like Jesus is a lifelong process. We are made right through Jesus immediately upon making him our Lord and Savior but our journey is a life-long process.

Secondly, think God’s power, not your own. That word “transform” in Romans 12:2 in the original Greek is in passive form meaning we don’t do it to ourselves, it’s done to us. There is power with filling our minds with Godly moments and thoughts.

One final point. Paul tells us something so important in regards to power. Our enemy, Satan, gets us so busy and distracted we forget about the power of God in our lives. But Paul reminds us in Ephesians 1:19-20, “I pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms.” Wow! That kind of power lives within you if you’ve said “yes” to Jesus.

Jesus came to set us free. He’s come to give you life. He’s come to empower you. He’s come to change you. And if you will let him, your life will never be the same again. Blessings on the journey.

Take Over the Garden.

Jesus told them a parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field.” (Matthew 13). Jesus tells a seed parable—this time about a mustard seed. It is among the smallest of seeds.

We tend not to like things that are small. In many ways, we think “Bigger is better.” The person with the big house and big bank account is seen as more important. The larger the portfolio or the position in society, the more attention we give and get. Everyone wants to be part of something big. Small is not valued, not to be taken serious. Small is inconsequential. 

Though the mustard seed was the smallest of seeds known to Jesus’ listeners, what would it do? Jesus said, “When it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree.” Surprise! The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed. The kingdom of heaven may present itself like a small seed, but it has the potential to grow huge—and even to spread everywhere.

We might think that the efforts of people presenting the kingdom are insignificant, but let’s not overlook God’s power potential. We are called to marvel at even the least presentation of the kingdom—to marvel and wonder what power and potential God has poured into it.

In your own life, you may believe your particular giftedness is not worth much…it’s small and inconsequential. God has given each of us a Kingdom gift. Paul reminds us that we are ALL part of the body of Christ, each of us having a part to play in Kingdom work. So, do not think you are not worth being part of the story God is unfolding around you.

Remember that God changed the course of history with just a few believers, who shared the good news of Jesus with ­others, who spread it further and further. And you can be that person, that believer who is also taking the commission of Jesus seriously and using what you have to tell the story of God. Don’t be shy. Plant your seed and with the power of the Holy Spirit, watch it grow. Blessings on the journey.