Daily Read - WHO IS THE HOLY SPIRIT?

Series: How Can I BE Filled With The Holy Spirit?
Author: Martin R. De Haan II



Before we can discuss being filled with the Holy Spirit, we need to know who the Holy Spirit is. Some people insist that the Holy Spirit is an influence - a power or source of God-given spiritual energy. Others see Him as a ghostlike force, entering or leaving us as a kind of cosmic magician, elusive and vague, who drops mysteriously into our lives to make religious things happen and then leaves just as quickly as He came.

The Bible makes it clear, however, that the Holy Spirit is a person who lives within every Christian. It also teaches that He is God, the Third Person of the Trinity.

HE IS A PERSON
The Scripture give us five clear evidences that the Holy Spirit is a person, not strange power.

1. The Holy Spirit is spoken of as 'He'. Jesus referred to the Holy Spirit as 'He'. He promised His disciples: "I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that HE [the Holy Spirit] may abide with you forever" (Jn.14:16).

2. The Holy Spirit has intelligence. He knows the "deep things of God" and reveals them to us
(1 Cor. 2:10:11). Only a person has this kind of intelligence.

3. The Holy Spirit makes decisions. He gives gifts to the Lord's people, "distributing to each on individually as He will" (1 Cor.12:11). Only a personal being can make decisions.

4. Holy Spirit has emotions. He feels love (Rom. 15:30) and grief (Eph. 4:30). An influence cannot feel emotions like these.

5. The Holy Spirit is active. He does things only a person can do:

• speaks (Rev. 2:7)
• intercedes (Rom. 8:26)
• teaches (Jn. 14:26)
• leads (Rom. 8:14)
• appoints (Acts 20:28)
• empowers (Acts 1:8)

HE IS GOD
The Holy Spirit is also referred to in the Bible as God. He is the Third Person of the eternal Trinity, one with the Father and with the Son. The following factors show His deity:

1. Spirit's name appears as equal with the Father and the Son in the formula for baptism and in some of the New Testament prayers (Mt. 28:19 ; 2 Cor. 13:14).

2. The apostle Peter said that the Holy Spirit was God. When Ananias' sin was exposed, Pere told him that he had lied to the Holy Spirit. He went on to say that this lie had not been "to men but to God" (Acts 5:3-4).

3. The Holy Spirit is called "Lord" (2 Cor. 3:17-18).

4. The Holy Spirit possesses qualities that belong only to God: eternality (Heb. 9:14), the ability to be everywhere at the same time (Ps. 139:7-10), sovereign power (Lk. 1:35, 37), and the knowledge of "the things of God" (1 Cor. 2:10-12).

The Bible teaches that the Holy Spirit, who lives within every Christian, is a person and the He is God. Admittedly we can't grasp the great mystery of how the Holy spirit can live within us. But we don't have to understand it. We just have to trust that what the Bible says is true.

Daily Read - NEED WORDS - "When You Don't Know What To Say - SAY JESUS!"

Series: Our Daily Bread
Author: Anne Cetas

Read : Job 6: 1-14
Roy Clark and his father sat in the family car in the funeral home parking lot for several minutes. As a teenager, he wasn't sure how to respond when his dad put his head in his hands and moaned, "I don't know what to say!"

A friend from their church had been in a car accident. She had survived, but her three daughters had all died when a truck hit their vehicle. What could they say to their friend as a time like this?

In the Bible we are told that during Job's time of grieving, his three friends came to mourn with him and to comfort him. For the first 7 days they sat and wept with him because he was in deep sorrow (Job 2:11-13). "No one spoke to him, for they saw his grief was very great" (Job 2:13). Their presence alone was a comfort to him.

But then the began to lecture. They told Job he must have sinned and that God was punishing him. (Job 4:7-9).

When Job was finally able to respond, he told his friends what he needed from them. He asked for reasons to continue hoping (Job 6:11), for kindness (Job 6:14), and for words that did not presume guilt (Job 6: 29-30).

Remembering the story of Job and his friends may help us when we don't know what to say.

Lord, give me sensitivity
To people in their grief and pain,
To weep with them and show Your love
In ways mere word cannot attain.
-Sper

When someone's grieving - listen, don't lecture.

Daily Read - LIVING EVERY DAY

Series : Our Daily Bread
Author: David McCasland

READ: Proverbs 15:13-33

When Tamer Lee Owens celebrated her 104th birthday, she credited "laughter, the Lord, and the little things" for keeping her going. She still finds enjoyment each day in talking with people, taking a walk, and reading the Bible as she has done since childhood. "I don't know how long He'll let me stay here," she said. "I just thank the Lord for what He's given me already."

Most of us wont live 104 years, but we can learn from Tamer Lee how to enjoy each day that we are given.

Laughter - "A mercy heart makes a cheerful countenance, but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken" (Proverbs 15:13). True happiness begins deep inside and emerges on our faces.

The Lord - "The fear of the LORD is the instruction of wisdom, and before honor is humility" (Proverbs 15: 33). When God is central in our hearts. He can teach us His way through every experience of life.

The Little Things - "better is a dinner of herbs where love is, than a fatted calf with hatred" (Proverbs 15:17). Maintaining loving relationships and enjoying the basic things of life are more important than wealth and success.

Not all of us will live a long time, but we can all live well each day - with laughter, the Lord, and the little things in life.

The world if filled with so much good -
Little things that bring us pleasure -
But Christ can fill our lives with joy
Beyond all earthly treasure.  - Sper

Happiness is not a destination but a day-by-day journey.

Daily Read - GOD CARES - In Praise of Sovereignty

Series : Our Daily Word
Author: Dennis Fisher

READ: Psalm 103: 15-22
In James Fenimore Cooper's book The Last of the Mohicans, we become acquainted with a character names David Gamut. He is a devout Christian who delights in setting the Psalms to music and setting the Psalms t music and singing them no matter what the circumstances life brings his way. Gamut believes that God can be trusted in crisis as well as in good times. He lives a life in praise of God's sovereignty - His supreme power, authority, and control over the world.

The Bible tells us about another David, a flesh-and-blood person who was no stranger to unpredictable life circumstances and who loved to respond to God in praise: King David of Israel. He saw the giant Goliath fall by his sling, he was chased by the murderous King Saul, and he watched the nation of Israel rally under his own leadership. Yet in all these situations, David took time to write and sing psalms to praise to his sovereign God. For example, he wrote. "The Lord has established His throne in heaven, and His kingdom rules over all" (Psalms 103:9) . David understood that in all circumstances we can worship and thank God for His care and control.

What are you experiencing today? A time of blessing or testing? In any event, remember David's example and sing praises to God for His rule in our lives.

Lord, Shape my life as only You can,
Guiding each day by Your loving plan;
Take what you need and give what You will;
My life is Yours to use and to fill.
- Branon

PRAISE the LORD! PRAISE HIM according to HIS excellent GREATNESS! (Psalms 150:1-2)

Daily Read - THE WAITING

Series : Our Daily Bread
Author : Marvin Williams

READ : Genesis 15:1-6
Any mother can tell you that waiting to give birth is an experience that builds patience. But pity the poor mother elephant. It takes about 22 months for an unborn elephant to mature to birth!

The shark known as the spiny fish dogfish has a pregnancy duration of 22-24 months. And at elevation above 4,600 feet, the Alphine endures a gestational period of up to 38 months.

Abraham could have identified with these examples from nature. in his old age, the Lord made a promise to him: "I will make you a great nation" (Gen. 12:2). But as the years passed, Abraham questioned how the fulfillment of the promise was possible without even the basic building block of a son (Gen.15:2). But as the years passed, Abraham questioned how the fulfillment of the promise was possible without even the basic building block of a son (Gen 15:2). So God assured him, "One who will come from your own body shall be your heir" (Gen 15: 4) .

Despite his advanced age, Abraham believed God  and was called righteous (Gen 15: 6). Yet he waited 25 years from the time of the initial promise of Isaac to be born (Gen. 17:1,17).

Waiting for  God's promises to be fulfilled is part of trusting Him. No mater how long the delay, we must wait for  Him.

As the writer of Hebrews reminds us, we must wait for Him. As the writer of Hebrews reminds us, "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful"
(Heb. 10:23)

Not so in haste, my heart!
Have faith in God, and wait;
Although He seems to linger long,
He never comes too late.
- Torrey

GOD always performs what He promises.

What Some People Are Saying

Discovery Series: How Can I Be FILLED with the Holy Spirit
Author : Martin R. De Haan II



Every follower of Jesus Christ should want to obey the biblical command to be filled with the Holy Spirit. But what does that involve? Some see it as an experience that is recognized by:

• speaking in "tongues"
• feelings of wild ecstasy
• feeling the spirit take them over
• being overcome with great joy
• being "slain" in the Spirit
• having the ability to prophesy
• being able to interpret "tongues"

But other Christians say they have never had any of these experiences. They claim that a person does not have to have any of these things happen to him to show that he is filled with the Holy Spirit as he lives his day-to-day life.

To them, Richard Wurmbrand, who still carries from beatings he received in a communist prison camp, exemplifies the power of a Spirit-filled life. He tells of singing for joy in a cell where he was cold, sick, and hungry. To many, he is a good example of someone who is Spirit-filled.

A Christian named  John who died in a  Grand Rapids nursing home a few years ago, was considered a Spirit-filled  man by those who took care of him. During the last 2 years of his life, as cancer ravaged his body, his joy was irrepressible. He told everybody he met about Jesus Christ.

During is first year, John asked the aids to wheel him into rooms where people were discouraged and depressed. His testimony was used to lead many of his fellow residents to the Lord. After he could no longer be placed in a wheelchair, he talked to people who came into his room.

He radiated such joy that they couldn't help but feel they were in the presence of a Spirit-filled man.

According to the Bible, the privilege for every believer to be filled  with the Holy Spirit began at Pentecost (Acts 2:1-13)

The disciples were praying together when they suddenly heard the sound of rushing wind, saw tongelike flames, and spoke in languages they had never learned. As a result, 3,000 people in Jerusalem trusted Christ that very day. The apostles were filled with courage and power, witnessing boldly and performing miracles. As time went on, and despite persecution, these Spirit-filled Christians presented such a powerful testimony that even their enemies spoke of them as men who had "turned the world upside down" (Acts 17:6).

We would all like to be filled with the Holy Spirit. But most of is don't experience the same victory, the same joy, or the same power as these early apostles. So, this leads us to ask, "How can I be filled with the Holy Spirit?"

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The Bible And Its Author

Discovery Series: How Can I Know God Through His Book

Author : Martin R. De Haan II

The Bible, the book of books, was written so that we could know the Author behind the authors. Sometimes He is revealed directly in the statements that tell us exactly what He is like. The simple sentence 'God is love" (1 John 4:16) is an example . So is the statement "Be holy, for I am holy"
(1 Peter 1:16)

In most cases, however, we must look into and beyond the stories and statements and people of the bible to see the character of its Author. The story of David and Goliath (1 Sam. 17), for instance, tells us a great deal about God. True, the story is primarily the historical account of a valiant Jewish youth in his conquest of a bigger, stronger, more experienced foe. But is was God's cause that David was defending . It was God's power and control that directed the stone from David's sling and brought the blasphemous giant crashing to the ground. And it was God who was glorifies when the pagan Philistines were put to flight by the armies of Israel.

What  God says reflects who He is.

That God is our God! The details and scenery have changed, but the character of David's God has not. Nor have His principles. He is still with us, and He can be found by those who seek Him. He is involved with all that happens. And He has a plan, a cause, and a purpose for each on of us.

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The Author and His Book

Discovery Series: How Can I Know God Through His Book

Author : Martin R. De Haan II



An author often reveals himself in what he writes. He will sometimes put himself into his characters, talk through their speeches, and pour his feelings into their emotions. Ideas and issues that are important to him will find their way into the pages of his books. Ideas and issues that are important to him will find their way into the pages of his books.

One of the intriguing aspects  of the study of literature, therefore, learning about an author through his writings. For example, we can learn much about the blind poet Milton through his sonnets and through Paradise Lost. And the study of the dark and twisted stories of Edgar Allan Poe take us deeply into his twisted mind and tormented heart.

Sometimes the writer will come right out and tell the reader what he is like and what he believes. The few people who took seriously Adolf Hilter's Mein Kampf for example, recognized his ego, his love of power, and the intensity of his hatred for the Jews.

What an author says reflects who that author is.

Usually, however, an author does not reveal his thinking  and his character directly. His works must be read carefully and analyzed before the reader can begin to understand him. We must study his characters, scrutinize his places and incidents, and review his themes before we can know makes him tick.

Think a moment about James Fenimore Cooper,  the early American writer who wrote such thrilling stories as The Deerslayer, The Pilot, and The Last Of The Mohicans. Reading these stories would give you a sense of Cooper's admiration for the pioneering spirit of the early settlers and his respect for the shrewdness and skill of the American Indian. You should also begin to feel his love for the spirit and adventure and his conviction that faith is virtually important if one is to overcome the fears and uncertainties of life.

"But," you ask, "how is all of this going to help me? What does it have to do with God and the study of the Bible?" Simply this: While one of the interests of literature is to get  to know an author through what he has written, it should be the main interest of all Bible study. The Bible is God's book. Although it was written by men like Moses and Luke and Paul, it is the self-revelation of God. He is the Author behind the authors. And what He says reflects who He is.

While one of the values of literature is to help you get to know the author through what he has written, it should be the main purpose of all Bible Study.

 To know God, therefore, we have to read His book. We have to learn to see Him on every page, above every event, in every place and circumstance, and overseeing the choice if every person who makes his way into the sacred pages of biblical history.

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