Holy Spirit- Who He Is

Conversion, John chapter 16.

We cannot live the Christian life without Christ. Thankfully, it's the Holy Spirit who makes life with Christ ours for the taking. The Holy Spirit convicts us of our sin. So often when we think about the word "sin" we think of the ultimate sins, like murder and theft. Sin means much more than that. We sin in so many ways possible... even our stray thoughts sometimes can become sin. Thank the Lord that he sent someone to help us in the ever-present battle with sin. This is where the Holy Spirit is a star! It is through the spirit that we are able to identify foul behavior, and the Spirit that gives is the tools we need to beat sin out of our lives.

It is the Holy Spirit that gives us the conviction that Jesus is the only way to go. We may have heard the words from someone else, but it is the Spirit that wraps himself around our hearts and helps us to truly believe. The Holy Spirit uses other people sometimes to tell us the truth in many things. I have an example of this today. :-)

Andy and I have been struggling with a few things as of late, and one of the things that I've been wondering is if it isn't time for us to move on. Maybe it's time for us to move to a new town and start over with new friends and a new church- the logic being that we'd move closer to Andy's work. Every once in a while, that is a major thought in my mind. And while part of me knows the answer is not to run away from problems, part of me has also been thinking that maybe all this disagreement has been a nudge for us to get our butts moving. So last week, I totally gave this feeling to God. I said that if we are meant to move, to please give us some clear direction and help us find where he wants us to be. And I kid you not. On Sunday at church, a woman comes up to Andy, asks him how he's doing, and out of the blue, asks if we're thinking about moving closer to his work. And she comes right out and says how she truly hopes that we are not thinking of moving, because we do so much here... Almost verbatim what I asked God... and let me tell you, that was most definitely the Holy Spirit working through this woman. So while the feeling that something needs to change for us is still there, it is no longer a feeling that we should be moving elsewhere, and if that feeling were to creep back, I have ultimate assurance that the Holy Spirit will be there to shoo it away.

It is amazing. Simply amazing to watch the spirit at work. When Andy told me exactly what this woman was saying... my jaw literally dropped. You can't get much clearer than that. And sometimes, when we're not paying attention to the internal dialogue with the Spirit, he uses other people to get the message across. Today I thank God wholeheartedly that he brought this woman into our church and our lives. I am going to pray for her today, pray that she has a great week, and pray that I can find a way to thank her.