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Power for the Journey

Trying to live out this new journey by our strength will only lead to disappointment. But there is good news! God is giving you the Holy Spirit to be your source of strength and power to walk this journey. A journey to becoming more like Jesus. Instead of taking on life alone, let the Holy Spirit be your partner in navigating the trials of life. When you do, your life will never be the same. With the Holy Spirit, we receive a constant counselor, adviser, comforter, and guide. We receive the ability to minister to others just as Jesus did while on earth. The Holy Spirit is a gift to us from God.

In John 14, Jesus told His disciples, "I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth...you know Him because he lives with you now and later will be in you. No, I will not abandon you as orphans - I will come to you." Jesus was not only speaking to one of His disciples' fears but also to one of everyone's greatest fears - being alone! 

Jesus was saying, "Hey guys, the time is coming when I will be going home to my Father. Don't worry; I'm going to come back again! But until that time, I'm sending you Another. He is the Holy Spirit! He is just like Me. You won't be an orphan; you will have God the Spirit! He won't just be with you - He'll be in you! You'll never be alone!"

When Jesus was here in the flesh, He was 100% man AND 100% God, yet he couldn't be everywhere at once to help everyone. But His Spirit can! The Holy Spirit is not some impersonal force like what the Jedi knights use in Star Wars. He is the third Person of the Trinity.

Just as we have to accept the gift of salvation from Jesus, we must accept the gift of the Holy Spirit into our lives to experience the power that He intended for us to walk in as Christians. The Holy Spirit immediately takes up residence in our lives when we surrender to Christ. But we are invited to yield to Him and to ask God more and more, not just to have a measure of Him, but to be filled with the Holy Spirit and His Presence and power!

God wants us to count on Him and to anticipate His work in our lives. When He shows up, it transforms us beyond our imagination. The Holy Spirit is given to live inside those who believe in Jesus to produce God's character in our lives. In a way that we cannot do on our own, the Holy Spirit will build into our lives love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Rather than trying to rely on our will power to accomplish these things, God wants us to depend on Him to produce these qualities in our lives.

The Holy Spirit also performs a function for non-Christians, as well. The Holy Spirit tugs on hearts and minds, compelling us to repent and turn to God for forgiveness and a new life. Do you remember that moment in your life before you gave your life to Christ? That urge to surrender your life to Jesus was His Spirit calling you into a new life with Him.

Prayer:

"God, thank you so much for the Presence and Person of your Holy Spirit. I ask as I spend time with you and go about my day that I would be sensitive to your Spirit, His voice, and His desires. I pray His fruit and qualities would grow more and more in my life every day! 

Holy Spirit, I want to know you and have a deep friendship with you. I don't want to grieve or quench you in my life - I want you to have free reign! Jesus said to ask the Father for more and more of the Holy Spirit, and so I ask! Fill me with your Presence, God. Holy Spirit, reveal Jesus more and more to me and through me, I pray. In Jesus' name, Amen."