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 The Holy Spirit and the Believerby Donnie De Loney Acts 1:8-1:8 The Massachusetts Bar Association Lawyers Journal printed the following questions actually asked of witnesses during trials by lawyers: • The youngest son, the 20-year-old, how old is he? more… 
The Work of The Holy Spirit / Part 1by Mark Beaird John 16:7-11 Throughout the centuries there have been debates and misunderstandings concerning the person and work of the Holy Spirit. Some think of The Holy Spirit as an “it”, an impersonal being or a more…
How the Holy Spirit Brings Changeby Paul Fritz 2 Corinthians 3:18 Quote: Everything continues in a state of rest unless it is compelled to change by forces impressed upon it. Issac Newton, First Law of Motion. As human beings we normally do not like change, but it is more…
Who is the Holy Spirit and what does He do?by Patrick O' Loughlin 1 Corinthians 2:1-16 Let me begin by saying it is not easy being the Holy Spirit! It is not easy being the Holy Spirit since he has a history of being; 1. Resisted. “The man without the spirit does not accept the more...
 The Work of the Holy Spirit and Church Revitalizationby Ray Ellis Acts 2:42-2:47 The work of the Holy Spirit is vital to the revitalization of a local church. The entire process of revitalization is based on seeking spiritual health prayer and the energizing work of the Holy Spirit. Without the more...
Use the CompassJust before the outbreak of the First World War, a small ship named the Endurance set sail from Briton with a crew intent on being the first to cross the South Pole. The ship reached Antarctica, but became ice bound in the Weddle Sea. Soon they had to abandon their ship and the 28-man crew took to their lifeboats. They were trapped on the ice for over a year. A desperate decision was made to take four men in a 20-foot lifeboat across the roughest sea in the world to a whaling station on South Georgia Island some 800 miles away. At the helm was a man named Worsely. All he had to guide them that 800 miles to South Georgia Island was a map, a watch, a sexton, and a compass, but it was all he needed if he used them well. A mistake as minor as being off by only one degree would have proved disastrous. The four men in that boat endured seas that raged higher than a ten-story building. They were constantly cold and wet from the waves that constantly drenched the boat. They had only the most meager of rations. The journey did not take days, but two weeks. But Worsley, whose most sophisticated tool was a compass, managed to get that lifeboat the 800 miles to South Georgia Island and eventually the entire crew of the Endurance was saved. As a result, Worsley was a hero. The whaling captains who sailed those waters considered him one of the wisest navigators in the world. Worsley was brilliant, but all of his brilliance would have been worthless if he not used the compass. Worsley was wise because he used the compass to guide him. Being wise is a matter of using the compass you’ve been given to get where you need to go. Fools choose not to use the compass. Contributed by: Dr. Bruce Emmert
In Step With ChristIn both Galatians 2:20 and 6:14 the “Have been crucified” denotes a process that began in the past but continues into the present. Each day we need to surrender anew any sinful passions, desires, and tendencies the Holy Spirit may point out to us that are not in keeping with the character of Jesus. Verse 25 summons up the passage well: “If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit.” Literally the meaning here is, “If we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.” The picture here is of a military unit or a marching band, taking me back to my days as a “Marching Wildcat.” A band or military marching unit lines up side by side in horizontal rows or ranks. Your rank is to march in a straight line. In order to keep your rank straight, the person farthest on the right is your “right guide.” Everyone in each rank uses their right guide to keep the rank straight. Also in marching, you march by the cadence, “left, right, left, right, left” according to the beat of the percussion unit. Sometimes you get out of step, and have to get in step again. Sometimes you get “out of line” and have to realign yourself using your right guide as your reference point. The Holy Spirit is our percussion unit to keep us in step with Jesus. He is our right guide to keep us in line with Jesus. Indeed He is our reference point to mold us into the image of our Master, to make us like Jesus. Contributed by: R. David Reynolds Following the One LightBob Munford tells of a certain Italian harbor that can be reached only by sailing up a narrow channel between dangerous rocks and shoals. Over the years, many ships have wrecked, and navigation is hazardous. To guide the ships safely into port, three lights have been mounted in the harbor on three huge poles. When the three lights are perfectly lined up and seen as one, the ship can safely proceed up the narrow channel. If the pilot sees two or three lights, he knows he’s off course and in danger. Mumford goes on to say that God has also provided three beacons to guide us. The same rules of navigation apply – the three lights must be lined up before it is safe for us to proceed. The three harbor lights of guidance are 1. The Word of God (objective standard) 2. The Holy Spirit (subjective witness) 3. Circumstances (divine providence) Together, notes Mumford, they assure us that the directions we’ve received are from God and will lead us safely along His way. Contributed by: Jim Kane The Divine NavigatorA young pilot had just passed the point of no return when the weather changed for the worse. Visibility dropped to a matter of feet as fog descended to the earth. Putting total trust in the cockpit instruments was a new experience to him, for the ink was still wet on the certificate verifying that he was qualified for instrument flying. The landing worried him the most. His destination was a crowded metropolitan airport he wasn’t familiar with. In a few minutes he would be in radio contact with the tower. Until then, he was alone with his thoughts. His instructor had practically forced him to memorize the rulebook. He didn’t care for it at the time, but now he was thankful. Finally he heard the voice of the air traffic controller. “I’m going to put you on a holding pattern,” the controller radioed. Great! thought the pilot. However, he knew that his safe landing was in the hands of this person. He had to draw upon his previous instructions and training, and trust the voice of an air traffic controller he couldn’t see. Aware that this was no time for pride, he informed the controller, “This is not a seasoned pro up here. I would appreciate any help you could give me.” “You’ve got it!” he heard back. For the next 45 minutes, the controller gently guided the pilot through the blinding fog. As course and altitude corrections came periodically, the young pilot realized the controller was guiding him around obstacles and away from potential collisions. With the words of the rulebook firmly placed in his mind, and with the gentle voice of the controller, he landed safely at last. The Holy Spirit guides us through the maze of life much like that air traffic controller. The controller assumed that the young pilot understood the instructions of the flight manual. His guidance was based on that. Such is the case with the Holy Spirit: He can guide us if we have a knowledge of God’s Word and His will established in our minds. SOURCE: Dr. Anderson, Freedom in Christ and Harvest House Publishers Contributed by: Jason Duncan The Art of ListeningWriter Charles Swindoll once found himself with too many commitments in too few days. He got nervous and tense about it. "I was snapping at my wife and our children, choking down my food at mealtimes, and feeling irritated at those unexpected interruptions through the day," he recalled in his book Stress Fractures. "Before long, things around our home started reflecting the patter of my hurry-up style. It was become unbearable. "I distinctly remember after supper one evening, the words of our younger daughter, Colleen. She wanted to tell me something important that had happened to her at school that day. She began hurriedly, ’Daddy, I wanna tell you somethin’ and I’ll tell you really fast.’ "Suddenly realizing her frustration, I answered,’ Honey, you can tell me -- and you don’t have to tell me really fast. Say it slowly." "I’ll never forget her answer: ’Then listen slowly.’" SOURCE:Bits & Pieces, June 24, 1993, Page 13-14. Contributed by: Mark Hensley 
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