The topic of the Holy Spirit is a hot one among some; often to the extent the subject is avoided. Why is that? I think it is a thing with our mental training. We say we have no problem believing in God. Yet, the Holy Spirit seems to be an entirely strange ball of wax…..as if an Invisible and Immeasurable God isn’t. Our grooming has given mental assent to the fact God exists with not a lot of emphasis upon Him working. The range of the Holy Spirit hits us as if we are suddenly way out there….wherever “there” is…..in the absurd and ridiculous. Our protectionary mechanism kicks in to keep us from looking goofy as we have been led to believe those who believe in the Holy Spirit are goof-balls. How tragic.
The Holy Spirit is not a Christian freak show. We need to be assured the person of the Holy Spirit is Christian-friendly. The Holy Spirit is not an it but a He. He is a person. He lives and works from within us. He…..is God in spirit form residing in His people. He is God. We don’t receive Him at baptism to take off on flamboyantly odd tangents which cause nervous eyebrows to rise. Rather He permeates through our bodies the fruit, Holy Spirit fruit, which causes mankind to be graced; not grieved. Who does not need love and joy and peace and patience? Name the one who is about to have a breakdown because they are far too admired and approved? There is no law against the fruit of the Spirit. Then why do we get skittish due to His presence in the first place?
The Holy Spirit is a dilemma to the fleshly thinking Christian. Theirs is battle of control and order. To not know is not wise….to the carnal-minded believer. Yet, the Bible says of the father of all faith that he went out not knowing where he was going. The Word further states that one led by the Spirit is as the wind; blowing one direction one day and another the next. This flexibility does not set well with control-seekers. These want to know how, when, why, where, and what. They live as if from Missouri…Show Me. The Holy Spirit will lead us to effectiveness in regions and zones of greater levels than we dare imagine. The Holy Spirit will help us shift from negative to positive; from neurotic to stable. Who wouldn’t want more of Him?
As we grow in the life of the Spirit, we do not find ourselves running headlong into disaster. After all, one segment of his fruit is self-control. Therefore, we find ourselves surprisingly visionary, stable, effective, and full of purpose; all items we wanted on our own but could not attain. The Holy Spirit takes us to these places. Our confidence is in Him; not in ourselves. Our adequacy is in Him; not in ourselves. Our life counts because of His reality; not because we drew up the maps and did life on our own.
Our God is a Trinity; not a Duality. The third Person in the God-head is the vital power residing in the common Christian and is there for the common good of the Body of Christ on earth now.
2 comments:
Having just moved into our new home (it's been almost 30 years since we've bought a house), I was unpacking books the other day and came across your book on the Holy Spirit ... I set it aside as one I need to re-read. I got rid of about 800 books before moving from Long Beach, then got rid of about 200 more for a church yard sale, leaving about 30 cases of books for this move. Of the 30 cases, I gave away another 13 cases to our preacher. Good news: Your books made the cut! They will stay with me.
Implications of Holy Spirit being a "He" as opposed to a "She"?
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