Thank you, Holy Spirit

There is a person who was the power in creation. Part of the God head, the executor of all of God's will and purposes, God - the Holy Spirit. This day of Pentecost, we remember the day when God poured out His Spirit upon the waiting throng in the upper room on the 50th day after Jesus' Resurrection. It was on that day the Church as we know it was birthed heralding God's action in the world initiated in His power through a group of people who are his Children and members of His body on earth.

How is all this made possible? Jesus was once asked in the light of the righteous requirements of salvation, "Who then can be saved?" And Jesus answered, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." (Mathew 19:26)

Can we be saved from our sins? Can we become all that God intended us to be? Can we live a life of forgiveness> Can we have the joy and peace of God within us? How can we know God personally and have his love in us? All this is impossible with humans but with God it is possible - through the power of His Spirit within us.

One aspect of the heart of God that I have experienced through the Holy Spirit that I will forever be grateful for is the friendship of God. What an impossible position right? It can seem too casual even. And I don't mean that we should be casual with God. He is worthy of our worship and reverence at all times. But there are different aspects of his character. And one aspect that is His Friendship is communicated through the Holy Spirit. To be called a friend of God. But here we are. Not because of anything we have done. Jesus calls us his friends to whom he reveals his will. And he does this through the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. There is a posture of our heart that we take in this friendship that God offers - one that we must never over look - and that is of being willing and ready to do His will. We see this posture in the people that God has called his friends - Abraham, Noah, Moses, David - Always ready to move in the direction of his revealed purposes - not about being perfect, but a heart posture that says, "Lord, I want to move with you, I want to know you and be moved by what moves you."

Jeremiah put it like this

Thus says the LORD: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, 24 but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.” Jeremiah 9:23-24

And later Paul says this

But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”— 10 these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. 11 For who knows a person's thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12 1 Corinthians 2:9-12

These verses describe a desire that God has for a person to come in to a relationship with him where there is closeness, there is disclosure and a growing understanding of who He is. It is through the Holy Spirit that God extends his arm of friendship to us as mortals. Through Him he teaches us (confides in us) the secrets of His Kingdom, his heart, his agenda, his love and purposes. It is through the Spirit of God that we can know who God is. We can experience the presence of God, his closeness in our lives. With all the darkness and negativity that surrounds us and the hopelessness and pain that often can loom over us, the Holy Spirit brings in the light of God in our lives.

I remember often in my moments of discouragement, when I've felt alone, broken, when I've failed for the nth time, it was His presence that lifted me, showed me that I have a Father who never gives up on me and through Him I have a friend who loves at all times.

It is through the power of the Holy Spirit that we are made new in our inner being. (2 Corinthians 5:17) The presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives is the seal of God over lives proclaiming that we belong to God. (Ephesians 1:13) The Holy Spirit is there with us in our pain, mourning with us over the injustices and loss we face in life (Romans 8:24-26). It is through the Holy Spirit that God trains and coaches us to become more like Him. (Romans 8:29) It is through His Spirit that we will one day be raised with new bodies to be able to live with God for eternity. (1 Corinthians 15:55-58)

It is through His Spirit that God's desire to walk with human beings is fulfilled. We don't have to go to certain holy places with Godmen any more to meet with God, but he is with us now through His Spirit.

Is His presence today a passive presence in your life or an active reality in your life? What aspect of the presence of God are your grateful for today? Comment below. Have a great Pentecost Sunday and may you be filled with His power today so that you can live as a testament of who he is, enjoying every part of your relationship with him. and living full of hope as you work every day in partnership with God through His Spirit.