225 mph Part 3

(left to right)

Fusion Kidz Pastors, Lead Pastors Cory & Richelle Smithee

& CORE517 Student Youth Pastors

(see more @ nechruchtx.com)

As we move into the last days before Christmas life has begun it's yearly ramping up. We're not talking about experiencing life at 225 mph but at a rate twice that. This would be a great time and opportunity to get to know my personal friend the Holy Spirit as he really is.... as a real person.

I think a lot of people have a difficult time with the Holy Spirit being a person. Why? I think it's easier to refer to God as Father and Jesus as Son, but for some reason so many just can't get the Holy Spirit connected into that language. However, the Holy Spirit is a person nonetheless.

Maybe it would be better if the Holy Spirit had a name like Mike or Chuck, maybe even Henry. Lets see how that works- Father, Son & Chuck. I would bet you the formal churches would call him Charles. It's vitally important that we see him as a person.  If you don't you will never develop a personal relationship with Him.

Let me unpack something about life we all experience. A person wants to either use you or help you in most cases but in the end they want to influence you.  The Holy Spirit does not want to use us, he wants to help us. He wants to help us so we are useful in making a difference in our families and the culture around us. 

Let me unpack something else.The Holy Spirit wants to influence us, matter of fact, He wants to influence us to act & think like Jesus.  He wants us to feel what God feels. He wants us to want what God wants. He wants to influence us to change our minds, emotions & our will toward God's ways. He will help us if we will let Him.  He will help you have the wherewithal to accomplish this change... moving in God's ways.

Bottom line is this, The Holy Spirit, the Person wants to help us-To want what God wants-To feel what God feels-To think what God thinks.

Next time we will look deeper into the Holy Spirit the Person.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

 

225 mph Part 2

MY FRIEND THE HOLY SPIRIT

My best human friend is my wife Richelle. Here is a very important fact, I do not refer to her as an "it", I refer to her as my best friend of all friends the one I love.  Let me start this written conversation off right with this statement, “The Holy Spirit is not an "it", He is my friend whom I cherish in my life.”  The Bible never refers to Him as an "it."

We will explore what the Bible says about Him and what I have learned from Him. The most important information you can have about the Holy Spirit is that He is my friend and he wants to be yours too. Read this reality being expressing in the following verses of scripture.

John 14:16-17 16 I will talk to the Father, and he’ll provide you another Friend so that you will always have someone with you. 17 This Friend is the Spirit of Truth. The godless world can’t take him in because it doesn’t have eyes to see him, doesn’t know what to look for. But you know him already because he has been staying with you, and will even be in you!

John 14: 25-26 25“I’m telling you these things while I’m still living with you. 26 The Friend, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send at my request, will make everything plain to you. He will remind you of all the things I have told you.

John 15:26  “When the Friend I plan to send you from the Father comes—the Spirit of Truth issuing from the Father—he will confirm everything about me.

John 16:7  So let me say it again, this truth: It’s better for you that I leave. If I don’t leave, the Friend won’t come. But if I go, I’ll send him to you.

John 16: 12-13 12 “I still have many things to tell you, but you can’t handle them now. 13 But when the Friend comes, the Spirit of the Truth, he will take you by the hand and guide you into all the truth there is. He won’t draw attention to himself, but will make sense out of what is about to happen and, indeed, out of all that I have done and said.

I have found two major reasons people think the Holy Spirit is weird and spooky.  First, because of what they have seen people do and Second, what they have been told.  He is my personal friend... listen, he is not spooky or weird.  He is a person, that’s right a person who you should not fear.  I hear people say I am afraid of the Holy Spirit... Why? Let me tell you why, because they have met weird people who do weird things.  There has been too much contributed to the weird being the Holy Spirit.  Just because insecure people do some weird things to draw attention to themselves, is not an indictment against the Holy Spirit.

My friend the Holy Spirit is full of everything I need to help me!  He is not on a mission to make me do weird things.  We need to befriend the Holy Spirit because; He is kind, compassionate, gentle, sensitive & wonderful.  Satan wants to make Him out as weird and something to be afraid of.  The Holy Spirit is the only one who can help us change the world around us.  Satan knows this so he tries to make people afraid.  A lot of people do weird things and then blame it on the Holy Spirit.  I want you to know the truth, the Holy Spirit is not rude, inconsiderate or harsh.  He is my friend & I know Him and he wants you to know Him too.  I’m tired of people giving Him a bad rap! The Holy Spirit will not make you Look Weird, Act, Dress, or even Talk weird. The truth is satan wants to make you scared of Him so you will never befriend Him!

Next time I will talk about the “Person” the Holy Spirit.