Holy Spirit : What A Friend!
Updated: Jul 19, 2020
A blog on Holy Spirit.
I'm taking a deep breath and diving in. I must be honest. It seems a bit daunting.
Theologians have committed careers writing about Holy Spirit.
Pastors spend weeks upon weeks during Sunday series trying to articulate His ways well.
People have experiences (good and bad) around the context of people talking about Holy Spirit.
But in our culture and context, it seems of upmost urgency to remind you of the Help we have on hand. A divine Helper, a consistent friend, a counselor and advocate. (I think we all can agree we need all of those things!)
I find myself, more than ever, uttering the phrase , "Thank you Holy Spirit!" and "How do people do this without Holy Spirit?!" and then I realize, sadly some people do. So in articulating some thoughts, I thought we may all be encouraged to welcome the turbo boost of help that is so deeply needed (and freely given!)
(*Disclaimer: This is a blog, not a book, not a teaching, not the Bible, so please know the framework diving in. It will not be complete. It will be opinionated with my experiences.)
Let's start here: The Trinity. What a fascinating concept.
God - Creator and Father (I call Him Faithful Father)
Jesus Christ - Savior and King (I call Him Jesus my Friend)
Holy Spirit - Helper and Gift-Giver (I call Him Holy Spirit or Spirit of the Living God to really get the point and punch in my mind)
These three make up the Godhead - three-in-one yet all equal. Like ice, liquid, and gas, each the same but in different forms. Three unique relationships to be had, three unique experiences to exchange, and yet they never contradict or "one-up" each other. They each prefer and promote the other. A miracle to say the least. We get to know each one through The Word of God. And then by the grace of God, we start to have real life encounters of these examples we see in scripture. (It's quite spectacular, if we're quite honest.) Twenty- three years ago today I had an encounter and my life has never been the same since.
July 19, 1997, I was six years old, one month into my friendship with Jesus, and met Holy Spirit in a profound way. I had been given adequate teaching, yet in my childhood framework had equated Holy Spirit with speaking-in-tongues (a cool secret heaven language) and taking naps on the church floor (what else were all those people doing?) Both of those sounded fun and so when the call was given, I was quick to respond.
The honest truth is even in my 6 year old incomplete understanding, God honored my faith. I did speak-in-tongues that night. (And still do today.)
I did experience His power. (And still do today.) But what I didn't know was that night was merely the splash in a very deep well that goes and flows for Eternity. I had no idea the plunge of power I had just taken. Fast forward 2 decades, and I can't begin to articulate the blessing it is to be filled with the Spirit of God! What joy I have because of Him! Holy Spirit has given me the best gifts.
Being about to hear the voice of Jesus
Having a desire to obey
Wisdom and understanding about life and scripture
Power to live in freedom
Peace in an anxiety-stricken society
Tools like praying in the spirit, hearing the voice of God, and praying with authority.
But the best of gift of all is being able to have a friendship with Jesus.
It is because of the Spirit of God that I can be friends with Jesus. It's how I can know Him. It's how I can spend time with Him. It's how I can enjoy Him. Holy Spirit gives me access to Jesus. WHAT A PRIVILEGE! I've taught it for years, but it's never been more true. Jesus is fully God, but also fully man. Jesus has skin.
Jesus has hair.
Jesus blinks and laughs. If He returned today, we would see Him on screens and social media. He is man.
(Shout out to "The Chosen" series that reminds us of this so well. I highly encourage you check it out on YouTube.) But being a man, Jesus can only be at one place at one time. (Right now, that's Heaven on the throne.) But because of Holy Spirit, Jesus can be everywhere at the same time. (In churches, in cities, in homes, in bodies.)
Without Holy Spirit, you would have to wait and wonder your whole life what Jesus is really like. But because of Holy Spirit, we can know Him now. We can have friendship with Him. (I love this song about friendship with the Lord). I heard a sermon once where the preacher gave a fictional scene of 5 chairs on stage for a Q&A. There sat 5 great men of the Old Testament Noah, Moses, David, Solomon, and Isaiah. The modern day crowd was asking all sorts of questions and soaking in every detail. "What was it like with all those animals for so many days?"
"Was the burning bush hot, or just bright?"
"What are your top 3 tips of being a Godly King?"
"Do you still have visions in heaven?" After back and forth answers to the crowd, David was chosen as the spokesman and with the microphone stated to the interviewer on stage, "We have a question for you." The interviewer was honored, He loved the Lord deeply. He had given His life to spread the Gospel of Jesus. He had read and studied these men of faith His whole life. What could they possibly want to ask him? He sheepishly replied, "Okay, what is your question?" With curiosity and glimmer in their eyes, the panel of men of faith waited with anticipation as David asked, "What is it like to have the Spirit of God live in you? Whenever you want access to God, you have it. We could never dream that that would be possible." I love that sermon story. It puts things in such perspective. Again I say, we are so privileged to be able to carry the presence of God. To have the Holy Spirit live inside of you.... whoa. To have 24/7 access to the mind and heart of God. Whoa.
The Holy Spirit will help you make decisions.
The Holy Spirit will show you how to parent.
The Holy Spirit will remind you that you left your curling iron on after leaving the house so you can go back and prevent your house from burning down. (Just me?)
The Holy Spirit will take a page of gibberish words in the Bible, and point out exactly what they mean for you, on that day, before going to work. The Holy Spirit will shine a light of favor on your life, and promote you in ways you could NEVER promote yourself.
The Holy Spirit will comfort you when you are crying alone in your bed full of grief and questions.
The Holy Spirit will protect you from people and places that are traps for your life.
The list goes on and on.
Seriously just in the past 24 hours the Holy Spirit:
- Gave me a strategy on how to get Oliver to brush his teeth.(It's been a battle, ya'll)
- Reminded me of a text I had forgotten about but needed to respond to.
- Took my worry and gave me peace when I had weird pregnancy symptoms.
- Gave me a desire to read my Word.
- Instructed me to delete a social media post I had up about Oliver for 2 min. (Not sure why, it was simply cute, but I trust Holy Spirit.)
- Gave Ryan new revelation that sparked an awesome conversation in our marriage.
Just to name a few things.
More than ever, in 2020, we need the Holy Spirit. Yes, to represent Jesus well. Yes, to walk in miracles. But also... just for deeply needed help and friendship.
1. If you have Holy Spirit living in you. DO NOT TAKE IT LIGHTLY. This is not a fancy stamp you have on your heavenly passport. "Live a life worthy of your calling." Great price went into giving you access to the Spirit-Filled life. Pray, live, act, give in the reality that you have the SPIRIT OF GOD living in you. (It really is a miracle that our skin is not exploding right now. We are carrying the most powerful and potent and precious thing possible). Do you feel different than the world? Good. You're suppose to. As the world walks in fear, we can walk in faith. 2. If you don't know if you have Holy Spirit in your life. ASK.
God's gift to the world is Jesus.
Jesus' gift to the Church is Holy Spirit. Starting a friendship with Jesus is a conversation you have. It's not a magic spell or scripted prayer, it's a "My life is nothing on my own, and I need and want Jesus. Jesus will you be my friend? Will you clean me and help me and give me your best." The same is with Holy Spirit - ask Him. Ask someone to pray with you. Holy Spirit is so good at creatively and uniquely filling thirsty people. Our family is singing and praying with you! We are enjoying one of Oliver's favorite song (linked below) and praying that your homes and hearts would be filled fresh again with Holy Spirit! Don't try to get through this season without Him. He is ever present and so very excited to help! More Holy Spirit Moments For Us All, Abby ***Don't Forget... The Cirkles are cheering you on.