Holy Spirit

[Jesus said,]  "But I will send you the Advocate — the Spirit of truth. He will come to you from the Father and will testify all about me."

—John 15:26 NLT

Key Thought
When someone suggests that things are "all about me," we are usually put off by the arrogance. Not so with Jesus. Jesus is the greatest message God has ever given about himself (John 1:14-18). Jesus is God's clearest way of speaking about himself (Hebrews 1:1-3). Faith in Jesus is the key to applying the...

 

[Jesus said,]  "If you love me, obey my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth."

—John 14:15-17a NLT

Key Thought
Translators have tried to capture the essence of the Spirit's role as revealed in the word Jesus used here to describe the Holy Spirit. Different versions use Advocate, Comforter, Counselor, and Helper to translate the original Greek word...

 

My dear friends, don't believe everything you hear. Carefully weigh and examine what people tell you. Not everyone who talks about God comes from God. There are a lot of lying preachers loose in the world. Here's how you test for the genuine Spirit of God. Everyone who confesses openly his faith in Jesus Christ — the Son of God, who came as an actual flesh-and-blood person — comes from God and belongs to God. And everyone who refuses to confess faith in Jesus has nothing in common with God...

 

Then the angel carried me [John]  away in the Spirit into a wilderness. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns.

—Revelation 17:3 NIV

Key Thought
The Spirit carries John away in a vision to see the ghastly, awful truth about Satan's work to destroy the people of God. The vision exposes the great evil that Satan does and reveals his allies who do his evil work and follow his bidding. However...

 

When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away. The eunuch never saw him again but went on his way rejoicing.

—Acts 8:39 NLT

Key Thought
Jesus. Baptism. The Holy Spirit. Cross-cultural sharing of the Good News about Jesus. Rejoicing. These things go together. In his last words, before he ascended back to the Father, Jesus commanded that his followers share the Good News about him to all nations (Matthew 28:18-20). The apostles' first public...

 

So you received the message with joy from the Holy Spirit in spite of the severe suffering it brought you. In this way, you imitated both us and the Lord.

—1 Thessalonians 1:6 NLT

Key Thought
How can a convicting message, a message that calls us to turn our lives around (1 Thessalonians 1:8-10), bring joy in the middle of suffering? First, that message is true. Second, that message points us to a better way, a way that leads to glory that is far greater than any suffering now could...

 

But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

—Galatians 5:22-23a NLT

Key Thought
Even in life's darkest hours, the Holy Spirit, our Comforter, can bring the light of God's joy to the darkest corners of disappointment. Because the Holy Spirit is alive within us, joy will sooner or later bubble to the surface. The Spirit's very presence is our reminder of these truths: that...

 

And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

—Acts 13:52 NIV

Key Thought
Soup and sandwich. Love and marriage. Horse and carriage. These things go together according to a couple of old songs. But there are two things that go together far better than any of these. No, I am not talking about ham and eggs — or even green eggs and ham. I am talking about the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit within us and the deep rivers of lasting joy. When you find the Holy Spirit...

 

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

—Romans 15:13 NIV

Key Thought
Rather than having much commentary on this beautiful blessing, let's share the joy of this blessing and the confidence of our hope with those we love! As we in the USA continue to celebrate our Thanksgiving season, may this blessing be for all of you. May hope be yours because of the precious gift of the Holy Spirit...

 

For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or drink, but of living a life of goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. If you serve Christ with this attitude, you will please God, and others will approve of you, too.

—Romans 14:17-18 NLT

Key Thought
While we in the USA are enjoying our Thanksgiving meal, let's all of us remember that life in God's Kingdom is not about what we eat or drink. Because of the Holy Spirit's presence and power within us, no matter where we...