Category — Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit comforts, encourages and confirms us. Observe from the following texts all the ways that the Holy Spirit relates with us and communicates with us. Romans 5:5 encourages, “And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.” And Romans 8:26 explains, “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.”

Paul speaks the following blessing in Romans 15:13, “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.” Hope is not merely a warm feeling that comes over us from some stimulant. The Holy Spirit speaks hope into our lives by confirming God’s love and promises for us. [Read more →]

The Holy Spirit sometimes gives us a prophetic word. In Acts 21:10-11, a prophet named Agabus approached Paul, symbolically took Paul’s belt and with it tied his own hands and feet. Then Agabus declared, “The Holy Spirit says, ‘In this way the Jews of Jerusalem will bind the owner of this belt and will hand him over to the Gentiles.’” This prophecy was fulfilled just days later as we read in Acts 21:27 and following verses.

Perhaps the truly interesting thing about this prophetic word is the two differing responses it generated. Luke records that Agabus and the other listeners “pleaded with Paul not to go to Jerusalem” (Acts 21:12). But Paul answered, “Why are you weeping and breaking my heart? I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” Was Paul wrong in going to Jerusalem? I don’t think so. [Read more →]

The Holy Spirit guides us. We find an unusual example of this with Paul and his companions in Acts 16:6-7, they had been “kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to.”

When my wife and I moved to Anchorage, Alaska in 2002 it was an especially difficult move for her. We were moving very far away from our children and grandchildren. We have always been a close-knit family, so being separated by such distance was particularly hard. Also, Alaska comes with its own unique set of challenges including long, dark winters and short, cool summers. So when I accepted the job in Anchorage, Linda graciously committed to staying up to five years. I agreed to these terms. [Read more →]

In Acts 8:29 we read, “The Spirit told Philip, ‘Go to that chariot and stay near it.’” And Philip led this Ethiopian official to the Lord. The Holy Spirit gave special instructions to Ananias in Acts 9:10-16 when he told him to go pray for Saul. We find another example in Acts 10:19-20, “While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, ‘Simon, three men are looking for you. So get up and go downstairs. Do not hesitate to go with them, for I have sent them.’”

Some years ago, my wife and I were leading a small group in our home. The group had been meeting for about a year. Randy and Debbie were part of our small group. They had been married about seven years at the time and were unable to have children. From time to time throughout that year we had prayed for them that they might have a child, but as of yet they had not. [Read more →]

The Holy Spirit convicts us of sin. John 16:8 NLT, “And when he comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment.” A number of years ago, I began discipling a guy who had just come to Christ. He had been a drug dealer and was associated with all the other crime that revolves around drug trafficking. We were walking through a grocery store buying some items that I needed to pick up.

I noticed my friend picking up candy from the bulk bins and eating it in the store. We arrived at the checkout and I casually asked him in the hearing of the cashier how many candies he had eaten so we could pay for them. I asked him without any hint of accusation or condemnation. He stated a number and I paid for them. [Read more →]

The Holy Spirit teaches us what to say. In Luke 12:11-12 Jesus said, “When you are brought before synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say.”

In the mid 1970’s I was serving in the US Army in Berlin. The Army mandated several days of training to deter racial discrimination. The facilitator presented lots of issues, but didn’t seem to have any solutions. So when he asked for some, I volunteered to the group that I thought Jesus Christ was the answer to our racial discrimination troubles. The facilitator exploded in anger and verbally abused me publicly and forbade me to talk about Christ in our sessions again. [Read more →]