Holy Spirit

Verse
Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit.

— 1 Corinthians 12:13 NLT

Thought
Rather than offering my insight on this passage, the amplified paraphrasing of this passage in Eugene Peterson's "The Message" is quite to the point: "By means of his [Jesus']  one Spirit, we all said good-bye to our partial and piecemeal lives. We each used to...

 

Verse
Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace.

— Ephesians 4:3 NLT

Thought
When we open the book of Acts, we hear Jesus promise twice in the first few verses to send the Holy Spirit to empower the early disciples as they go to all nations to share the good news of Jesus. As we read further, we see the Holy Spirit at work to break down every barrier — geographical, cultural, racial, economic, political, and social — to make the...

 

Verse
[Epaphras is]  the one who told us how thoroughly love had been worked into your lives by the Spirit.

— Colossians 1:8 MESSAGE

Thought
Epaphras had told Paul about the growth in Jesus by the Colossians. One vital element of this growth was in their love for each other. Paul recognized that the power of the Holy Spirit is what had inspired, empowered, and worked this love into the fabric of their daily lives. The Spirit empowers God's character to be formed in us (Romans...

 

Verse
The amazing grace of the Master, Jesus Christ, the extravagant love of God, the intimate friendship of the Holy Spirit, be with all of you.

— 2 Corinthians 13:14 MESSAGE

Thought
While most translations of this verse say "fellowship of the Holy Spirit," I find the phrase "the intimate friendship of the Holy Spirit" to be powerful and exciting. We are brought into close fellowship with God through "the intimate friendship of the Holy Spirit." Think about the implications of this...

 

Verse
If you've gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care — then do me a favor: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends.

— Philippians 2:1-2 MESSAGE

Thought
We have so many blessings being in Jesus. One of those blessings is the fellowship we have based on the Holy Spirit. Paul calls this blessing, "being in a...

 

Verse
And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.

— Romans 5:5 NLT

Thought
It's hard to believe that there is an endless supply of anything! But the promise of this passage, even in its context of suffering and difficulty, is that we have an endless supply of love as the Holy Spirit fills our hearts with love. It is as big as God and is supplied by the Holy Spirit's...

 

Verse
Therefore, anyone who refuses to live by these rules is not disobeying human teaching but is rejecting God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.

But we don't need to write to you about the importance of loving each other, for God himself has taught you to love one another.

— 1 Thessalonians 4:8-9 NLT

Thought
God keeps on giving us the vitally empowering presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. One of the great blessings about this presence is that God pours love into our hearts...

 

Verse
Samuel took his flask of oil and anointed him [David], with his brothers standing around watching. The Spirit of God entered David like a rush of wind, God vitally empowering him for the rest of his life.

— 1 Samuel 16:13 MESSAGE

Thought
Throughout the Old Testament, God's Spirit would come on leaders for a time and empower them in special ways. David was led and empowered by the Spirit for his whole life after he was anointed by Samuel, although his sinful time with...

 

Verse
They [the Gentiles]  were convinced by the power of miraculous signs and wonders and by the power of God's Spirit. In this way, I [Paul]  have fully presented the Good News of Christ from Jerusalem all the way to Illyricum.

— Romans 15:19 NLT

Thought
The proclamation of Jesus was confirmed by the miracles and signs that accompanied the message (Hebrews 2:3-4), as illustrated in the book of Acts, first among Jews and then primarily through Paul among non-Jews. Paul's...

 

Verse
[O]ur gospel came to you not simply with words but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction.

— 1 Thessalonians 1:5 NIV

Thought
When the gospel of Jesus is proclaimed, much more is happening than just the declaration in words of God's grace in Jesus. Not only did the Holy Spirit inspire the truth of God's message in Jesus we find in the Scriptures, but the Spirit is also at work in the proclamation of that message today. The Holy Spirit is at work in this...