THE HOLY SPIRIT

I have been getting into Scripture the past 2 weeks and am learning about the Holy Spirit. I was putting together a bible study and thought I'd share it :)

1. Who or what is the Holy Spirit? 

• Our bridge to God, the voice of God to guide, direct, love, and restore your thinking; its your constant resource, companion, and speaker of truth

       Scripture: John 14:20

"That day you will know that I [Jesus] am in My Father, you are in ME, and I am in you." 

    
      2.  What is the Holy Spirit?

• Jesus gave us the Spirit as “compensation” for His absence, to perform the functions toward us which He would have done if He had remained personally with us. 
• The Spirit’s presence within us enables us to understand and interpret God’s Word.

     

       Scripture: John 14:26

"The Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you." 

       Scripture: John 16:13

"When He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come."

• The Holy Spirit was given to us to live inside in order to live through God's character.
• The Holy Spirit will build into our lives: peace, joy, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23)
• The Holy Spirit convicts us of how sinful we are and that we need God's forgiveness. The Holy Spirit is kind of like our WWJD compass (when we are heading in the wrong direction the Holy Spirit tugs on our hearts)

My Personal Experience: 

a few months ago I was in a spiritual slump. Not in the word, community, fellowship, church...nothing. But one night I was bored and was trying to find something to do. (I have a hard time sitting down on my own reading the bible. I have probably done it once or twice and read a passage and stop, checking it off my list). However, this night I randomly picked up my bible and read through Philippians and Ephesians all the way through, learning and growing. That night I realized this was definitely of the Spirit. I could not do that alone, and wouldn't. 

Overall, I have learned a lot from the past 2 weeks and it is all because of My glorious God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit which work together to create, grow, and mold me into the person I am. God is too good :) 
Thanks for allowing me to share. 

God is TOO good :)

So its been a while since I posted anything and that's because I have been at a plateau spiritually. I had such a high spiritual growth over the summer and now I am having withdrawals, hahaha just kidding.

Something I have recently realized is I am in a time of peace and joy. I am not in a tribulation or struggle at the moment and kind of wish I were. It is so much easier to be in the word and talk to God when something is going wrong. It's so easy for us to run to God for help, forgiveness, and wisdom.

In the fall, I was sent a Forward Chain email which was an illustration of God and prayers. It said that God has zillions of letters filed away of prayer requests and only a few hundred thanks and glorified prayers. Although this is just an illustration and story it really go me thinking. So this season I have really been praising the Lord whenever something good comes. In reality these praises and thanks are the only prayers I have been focusing on.

However, I am really struggling with all the good the Lord has given me because I know I do not deserve any of it. I find myself constantly questioning God why he has blessed me so much? and why me? So many of my friends and family, and people in the world in general are struggling and not as blessed as me. Last Sunday I realized that it comes down to me not wanting to accept God's Grace, and wanting to be selfish and in control. I want to punish myself because it is so hard for human beings to understand how much the Lord loves us and Jesus was crucified on the cross for me. Him dying there was the punishment I deserve but he took it all to bare. So why do I insist on trying to bare that burden too?

John 10:11 "I am the good Shepard. The good Shepard lays down his life for his sheep."



With all this said I think it is important to remember that our Lord our God loves us more than we can comprehend and therefore has saved us.

I like the song Beloved by Tenth Avenue North, it's a beautiful song which talks about the Lord's love for us.