Church family,
As we approach Thanksgiving, the question always asked is “What are you thankful for?”. Perhaps there are a multitude of things you are thankful for. Even though life has its share of disappointments and ‘ups and downs’ we have much to be thankful for.
Personally, I am thankful for the Holy Spirit. Recently, I have been reading and studying a lot on the person of the Holy Spirit. I am specifically thankful that God has provided the Holy Spirit for us as His children.
John 14:16, 17 (NLT) – And 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. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him,
because he lives with you now and later will be in you.
The disciples must have thought “How could this ‘advocate’ be better than having Jesus with us?” Well, the Holy Spirit would be with each of His children and then Jesus said “he… will be in you.” The Spirit of God inside us? It is that Spirit who guides us in truth and empowers us to live our lives in Christ! If we try and do that on our own, we will fail miserably. But if we invite His Spirit in and walk in the Spirit, we can have victory over the flesh!
I am thankful God didn’t just send His Son to die and pay for our sin. I am thankful He also sent the Spirit to enable us to live the life God calls us to!
Walking with you,
Pastor Brian