Holy Spirit

Verse
When the Feast of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Without warning there was a sound like a strong wind, gale force — no one could tell where it came from. It filled the whole building. Then, like a wildfire, the Holy Spirit spread through their ranks, and they started speaking in a number of different languages as the Spirit prompted them.

— Acts 2:1-4 MESSAGE

Thought
The image of "tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them" (using the...

 

Verse
In those days Peter stood up among the believers (a group numbering about a hundred and twenty) and said, "Brothers and sisters, the Scripture had to be fulfilled in which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through David concerning Judas, who served as guide for those who arrested Jesus."

— Acts 1:15-16 NIV

Thought
The crucifixion of Jesus was not an accident. The passion of Christ was part of God's plan from the beginning (1 Peter 1:18-20). The Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms...

 

Verse
Jesus was filled with the joy of the Holy Spirit...

— Luke 10:21 NLT

Thought
All too frequently, we pursue the wrong things hoping that they will make us happy. Real joy, however, comes from the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. When we look at the life of Jesus and at the lives of Jesus' early followers, we see that the presence of the Holy Spirit brought them joy. The Spirit's presence can do the same for us. This joy from the Spirit comes from many things, including...

 

Verse
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[Jesus, in the synagogue, reading from Isaiah:]

"The Spirit of the LORD is upon me,

for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released,
that the blind will see,
that the oppressed will be set free,
and that the time of the LORD's favor has come."
— Luke 4:18-19 NLT

Thought
Luke makes clear that Jesus is conceived in Mary's womb through the Holy Spirit, anointed by the Holy...

 

Verse
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[The LORD said:]

"I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your old men will dream dreams,

your young men will see visions.
Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days."
— Joel 2:28-29 NIV

Thought
Throughout the Old Testament, God's Spirit would come upon special leaders or agents of God's will to do his work. Most of the time, the Spirit's presence would be...

 

Verse
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When you send your Spirit,

they [all creatures]  are created,
and you renew the face of the ground.
— Psalm 104:30 NIV

Thought
Psalm 104 praises God as creator and sustainer of the earth. One of the dimensions of his providential care has to do with the work of the Holy Spirit. The same Spirit that was hovering above the primordial formless creation (Genesis 1:1-2) waiting for the Father's word to complete the work of creation is even...

 

Verse
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Yes, weep and grieve until the Spirit is poured

down on us from above
And the badlands desert grows crops

and the fertile fields become forests.
— Isaiah 32:15 MESSAGE

Thought
Throughout the Old Testament prophets, there are statements made about the coming of a new day for God's people. It will be a day of healing, victory, and joy. It will be a time when bad things are made right, and even the land will be healed of harshness, desolation...

 

Verse
"As for me, this is my covenant with them," says the LORD. "My Spirit, who is on you, will not depart from you, and my words that I have put in your mouth will always be on your lips, on the lips of your children and on the lips of their descendants — from this time on and forever," says the LORD.

— Isaiah 59:21 NIV

Thought
Isaiah 59:1-16 is one of the most crushingly sad sections in the entire Bible. God is frustrated and heartbroken because his people are in such blatant...

 

Verse
Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

— Matthew 28:18-20 NIV

Thought
"All authority"! No one else can contradict, raise questions, or cast doubt: Jesus has "all authority"! He...

 

Verse
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Jesus responded, "Then why does David, speaking under the inspiration of the Spirit, call the Messiah 'my Lord'? For David said,

'The LORD said to my Lord,
sit in the place of honor at my right hand
until I humble your enemies beneath your feet.'"
— Matthew 22:43-44 NLT

Thought
We cannot forget the claims of the scriptures that their messages are from God. The scriptures reference God's inspiration of the...