Holy Spirit

Verse
So, my dear friends, don't take my rather bold and blunt language as criticism. It's not criticism. I'm simply underlining how very much I need your help in carrying out this highly focused assignment God gave me, this priestly and gospel work of serving the spiritual needs of the non-Jewish outsiders so they can be presented as an acceptable offering to God, made whole and holy by God's Holy Spirit.

— Romans 15:15-16 msg

Thought
Yesterday we talked about the sanctifying work...

 

Verse
Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To God's elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance.

— 1 Peter 1:1-2 tniv

Thought
"Sanctifying work of the Spirit" sounds so formal and religious. Some translations put, "his...

 

Verse
How much more severely do you think those deserve to be punished who have trampled the Son of God underfoot, who have treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified them, and who have insulted the Spirit of grace?

— Hebrews 10:29 tniv

Thought
When we reject Jesus, we reject everything that God is and has given. We have insulted Father, Son, and Spirit. We have rejected grace at every level. The message of Jesus is precious and must never be spurned...

 

Verse
The Holy Spirit confirms this: "This new plan I'm making with Israel isn't going to be written on paper, isn't going to be chiseled in stone; This time I'm writing out the plan in them, carving it on the lining of their hearts."

— Hebrews 10:15-16 msg

Thought
The Holy Spirit used the prophet Jeremiah to speak of a coming new covenant with his people where the Spirit of God places the will of God on their hearts (Jeremiah 31:31-34). There won't be a need for a written law...

 

Verse
Through the Spirit, Christ offered himself as an unblemished sacrifice, freeing us from all those dead-end efforts to make ourselves respectable, so that we can live all out for God.

— Hebrews 9:14-15 msg

Thought
Jesus' sacrifice, his offering of himself as an “unblemished sacrifice,” was not an accident. Yes, evil men put Jesus to death, but it was God's plan (Acts 2:23). The Holy Spirit guided, prophesied, directed, and led the story through history and brought Jesus to this...

 

Verse
By these regulations the Holy Spirit revealed that the entrance to the Most Holy Place was not freely open as long as the Tabernacles and the system it represented were still in use. This is an illustration pointing to the present time. For the gifts and sacrifices that the priests offer are not able to cleanse the consciences of the people who bring them.

— Hebrews 9:8-9 nlt

Thought
The story of the Bible is not a disconnected set of stories. Underneath all these stories is...

 

Verse
For it is impossible to bring back to repentance those who were once enlightened — those who have experienced the good things of heaven and shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the power of the age to come — and who then turn away from God...

— Hebrews 6:4-6a nlt

Thought
This very tough and frank passage has a powerful promise: those who belong to Jesus have "shared in the Holy Spirit." Following Jesus, being forgiven, receiving the...

 

Verse
For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

— Hebrews 4:12 tniv

Thought
The Holy Spirit inspired Scripture and uses Scripture to teach, rebuke, correct, and train us so we can be useful to God and equipped to do good things in the world (2 Tim. 3:16-17). This means that the Spirit penetrates into the areas of our being using...

 

Verse
So, as the Holy Spirit says: "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion, during the time of testing in the wilderness..."

— Hebrews 3:7-8 tniv

Thought
God has spoken to the hearts of his human children over the centuries inviting them back into relationship. These Spirit-inspired messages came in many and various forms, but the clearest came through Jesus (Hebrews 1:1-3). Through the Holy Spirit, Jesus speaks to us and to those around...

 

Verse
So what makes us think we can escape if we ignore this great salvation that was first announced by the Lord Jesus himself and then delivered to us by those who heard him speak? And God confirmed the message by giving signs and wonders and various miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit whenever he chose.

— Hebrews 2:3-4 nlt

Thought
Some things are simply more important than others. And the most important thing of all is Jesus and our response to him. This message was announced...