The Holy Spirit

Last week at Taco Tuesday, we talked about the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit, one part of the Holy Trinity, is just as much God as the Father and the Son are. Ephesians 4:30 says, "And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption." He is a person. He has a will and He has emotions.

Ever since I was little, my dad has hammered into my head to make logical decisions, not emotional ones. Now... Any one of my friends will tell you that I'm pretty rash. I'm not a planner and I don't really care about details. I tend to do things on a whim and I just wing it. Needless to say, I'm not the most logical person in the world. In my head, I think those logical rules don't, or shouldn't, apply to me and I'm going to be fine ignoring them. Obviously, I'm wrong every time, but, thankfully, I have the God of the universe living inside me to, if I let Him, guide my steps. He is loving and He is joyful. He is peaceful, patient, kind, and good. He is faithful and gentle and self-controlled. On my own, I am not capable of producing those character traits. On my own, I am irrational and illogical. I'm impatient and bitter. But when I am abiding and presenting myself to Him, I am saying, "Holy Spirit, share yourself with me." And He does.

I've grown up in the church and I've grown up as a Young Life kid and, really, not until last summer when I went through a discipleship program in Branson, MO, did I begin to understand the Holy Spirit and His role in my life. He is the Spirit of Truth. He is my Counselor. And He "dwells in me richly." (Colossians 3:16)

After Jesus died and was resurrected, and before he ascended back into Heaven, He said that it was for our benefit that He go away and the Holy Spirit come. Why? Because the life God calls us to is a life of faith. It's not always comfortable or easy or secure. In fact, He promises it's going to be hard. But He doesn't ask us to do it alone. He gives us the Holy Spirit to live in us and guide, counsel, teach, remind, and reveal to us Truth (John 14:15-31). The Holy Spirit testifies about Jesus (John 15:26-27).  He convicts us (John 16:5-11). He helps us in our weakness and prays for us (Romans 8:26-27). He pours out God's love in us (Romans 5:1-5). He gives us power to serve (Acts 1:1-8). He manifests gifts in us (1 Corinthians 12:4-11). He produces His character in us (Galatians 5:22-25).

I'm only 19 years old and I know that God has barely scratched the surface in revealing Himself to me. The Holy Spirit seems like a pretty neat guy and I'm excited to see what adventures He has for me.

Amy