Holy Spirit

He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant — not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

—2 Corinthians 3:6 NIV

Key Thought
With the coming of Jesus and the outpouring of the Spirit, God brought his promised new covenant (Jeremiah 31:31-32). This new covenant does not revolve around the giving of a law. It is "not of the letter" of the law commanding certain behaviors, but it revolves around the purifying power of the Holy Spirit...

 

We follow this sequence in Scripture: The First Adam received life, the Last Adam is a life-giving Spirit.

—1 Corinthians 15:45 MESSAGE

Key Thought
Adam needed God to breathe the breath of life into him. Jesus, "the Last Adam", triumphed over death and poured out life through the Spirit both at Pentecost (Acts 2) and also at our own conversion (Titus 3:3-7). Jesus breathed this new life into us! Jesus became our source of life, our freedom to find life, and our goal in life when he...

 

[God said through Ezekiel to the Israelites in exile,]  "I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the LORD have spoken, and I have done it, declares the LORD."

—Ezekiel 37:14 NIV

Key Thought
Just as for the Israelites in exile, the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost (Acts 2) brings new life. The Spirit also brought us new life in our own conversion (Acts 2:38-39; Titus 3:3-7). God promised to fill us...

 

He [God]  said to me [Ezekiel], "Prophesy to the breath. Prophesy, son of man. Tell the breath, 'GOD, the Master, says, Come from the four winds. Come, breath. Breathe on these slain bodies. Breathe life!'" So I prophesied, just as he commanded me. The breath entered them and they came alive! They stood up on their feet, a huge army.

—Ezekiel 37:9-10 MESSAGE

Key Thought
God took the dust of the ground and shaped it and breathed into it the breath of life, and man became a living...

 

Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord's Messiah. Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying: ...

—Luke 2:25-28 NIV...

 

The hand of the LORD was on me [Ezekiel], and he brought me out by the Spirit of the LORD and set me in the middle of a valley; ...

—Ezekiel 37:1 NIV

Key Thought
I don't know about you, but that's where I find myself: in the middle! I'm in the middle of trying to help people overcome problems in their lives. I'm in the middle of trying to figure things out for myself. I'm in the middle of ministry opportunities in the lives of people looking for Jesus. The Holy Spirit has placed me...

 

[Paul said,]  "And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there."

—Acts 20:22 NIV

Key Thought
A rocket is propelled by rocket fuel. A follower of Jesus is compelled by the Spirit of the living God and the love of Jesus. So let's honestly look inside our hearts and ask ourselves this important question: "What compels and propels me?" All other sources of compulsion and propulsion other than the Spirit of the living God and the...

 

Next Paul and Silas traveled through the area of Phrygia and Galatia, because the Holy Spirit had prevented them from preaching the word in the province of Asia at that time. Then coming to the borders of Mysia, they headed north for the province of Bithynia, but again the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them to go there.

—Acts 16:6-7 NLT

Key Thought
Part of being guided by the Spirit involves the Spirit preventing us from mistakes in place and timing. I have prayed, and heard others...

 

The Spirit told Philip, "Climb into the chariot."

—Acts 8:29 MESSAGE

Key Thought
I am not sure that I have ever heard a command uttered this clearly by the Spirit of God. But I do know, however, that the Spirit has led me to deep conviction about sin in my life and given me answers to questions about what I should do and where I should go, as well as given me warning about danger and given me assurance when I was uncertain and afraid. I fear that we often do not recognize the...

 

Then the Spirit lifted me [Ezekiel]  up and brought me into the inner court, and the glory of the LORD filled the temple.

—Ezekiel 43:5 NIV

Key Thought
Not only does the Spirit of God get us to the places we need to be to minister to others in the name of the Lord, but the Spirit also gets us to the places — both physically and figuratively — we need to be for us to better understand God and his glorious purposes for us and his other children. The Spirit's guidance and insights are...