Holy Spirit

Verse
[Jesus said,] "If you love me, show it by doing what I've told you. I will talk to the Father, and he'll provide you another Friend so that you will always have someone with you."

— John 14:15-16 msg

Thought
Love is shown by the actions that back up a person's words. We show our love for Jesus by what we do, especially by obeying what he has taught us. Jesus, however, doesn't expect this demonstrated love to be a one way street. He shows us his love for us by having the Father...

 

Verse
On the final and climactic day of the Feast, Jesus took his stand. He cried out, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Rivers of living water will brim and spill out of the depths of anyone who believes in me this way, just as the Scripture says." (He said this in regard to the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were about to receive. The Spirit had not yet been given because Jesus had not yet been glorified.

— John 7:37-39 msg

Thought
Jesus is looking forward...

 

Verse
[Jesus said,] "The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you — they are full of the Spirit and life."

— John 6:63 tniv

Thought
The apostle Paul said it this way, "I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him ..." (Philippians 3:7-9). It was his way of saying that everything is nothing...

 

Verse
[Jesus said,] "For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth."

— John 4:24 nlt

Thought
Must! That is a hard word when spoken by Jesus! So we must pay attention. Our actions must conform to his words. Must! Yet this must is not one we can do on our own. The requirement to worship God acceptably cannot take place because of our effort — because we do it right, say the right words, do it in the right place or follow the right procedures. God is...

 

Verse
[Jesus said,] “Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.”

— John 4:23 tniv

Thought
Jesus' words, spoken to the woman at the well, echo down through time. They cut through the worship wars of every era. They rattle our selfish preferences and challenge our dogmatic positions. They remind us that worship is something much more than a responsibility, a...

 

Verse
For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the Spirit without limit. The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands.

— John 3:34-35 tniv

Thought
John's gospel declares it again and again. Jesus is God among us. He speaks the words of God. His actions are the actions of God. He follows the will of God. Jesus is God among us. On Jesus and in Jesus, the Spirit of God operates with absolute power and authority, yet in complete harmony —...

 

Verse
[Jesus continued,] “The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can't tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can't explain how people are born of the Spirit."
"How are these things possible?" Nicodemus asked.

— John 3:8 tniv

Thought
As a young boy, I remember taking apart an old clock radio to figure out how it worked. I learned a great deal — including the importance of unplugging something like that before taking it apart! But, I can't...

 

Verse
[Jesus said,] “So don't be surprised when I say, ‘You must be born again.'”

— John 3:7 nlt

Thought
We sometimes fail to realize that Nicodemus is the ultimate good guy — he is the best of the best. He is a religious leader and teacher. He has come to Jesus out of darkness to find light. He has noticed what Jesus has said and done and believes that the only way Jesus could do those things is because he has come from God. But knowing and saying the right things about Jesus are...

 

Verse
[Jesus continued,] “Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life.”

— John 3:6 nlt

Thought
Ten times in the Bible's first chapter we are told that each living thing produced "according to its kind" (Gen. 1:11; Gen 1:12; Gen. 1:21; Gen. 1:24; Gen 1:25). John reminds us that this principle is still true: human beings can only produce human life; they can't give birth to true spiritual life. The power to give birth to spiritual life only...

 

Verse
"What do you mean?" exclaimed Nicodemus. "How can an old man go back into his mother's womb and be born again?"

Jesus replied, "I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit."

— John 3:5 nlt

Thought
We can begin life all over again. This is called the new birth. We can "be born of God" (John 1:12-13). While a physical re-birth is not possible, each true follower of Jesus is "born of water and the Spirit." Confessing Jesus as Lord...