A Friend That Sticks Closer Than A Brother

Acts 11:16 AMPC‬

"Then I recalled the declaration of the Lord, how He said, John indeed baptised with water, but you shall be baptised with (be placed in, introduced into) the Holy Spirit."

Baptised with water means that we are submerged into and are completely taken over by water. Baptised with the Holy Spirit means that we are submerged into and are completely taken over by the Holy Spirit. There is no part of our existence that is outside of the Spirit of God. Scripture states that the Lord will never leave you nor forsake you. meaning that everything happens with Him and through Him. Therefore, we have to realise and accept in our minds just as we did in our spirits, that the Holy Spirit is part of who we are. There is no compromising that. Everything we do, feel, experience and say also affects Him.

When compromise and negotiate God's will for the sake of being accepted by others or for whatever other reason we may give ourselves, we grieve the One closest to us. The One that, through the gift of the grace of Jesus and the love of the Father, chooses not be removed neither does he move away from us under any circumstances, no matter what. Therefore, we need to repent and going forward, do our best to remember that the Holy Spirit is One that is closer than a brother. 

2 Corinthians 13:14 (AMPC)

The grace (favor and spiritual blessing) of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the presence and fellowship (the communion and sharing together, and participation) in the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen (so be it).

Once we personalise our relationship with Him, we learn that He is just as much a part of our being as we are. We see through the life of Christ on earth that the Holy Spirit also has emotions that we need to be sensitive to, and we ought to love Him and seek Him always. Therefore, seek a relationship with the Holy Spirit by loving Him, spending time with Him and truly getting to know Him. Not because of what He can do for you, but because He loves and cares for you.

When you seek the Holy Spirit, you start by learning who He is, how He operates and what makes Him happy, as well as, what grieves Him. The only way to know this is by reading God's word. You will begin to see traces of Him alongside Jesus and God, the Father, in everything. You will begin to receive revelations of how intricately He has been woven in all things and all events throughout time, even in your own life. You will start realising that when you thought you were alone in any given moment, you actually were not. Even before you knew Him, even before you accepted Him, even before you were saved, He was still with you. Waiting for you to be with Him. 

Take this opportunity to drink from the well of the living waters that never runs dry. Even in times of drought, He makes a way out of no way. He cannot be separated from God because He is God. The Holy Spirit is God showing Himself in a different form. Therefore, He should be treated as such. He is Almighty, Unlimited, Sovereign. Never lose sight of that. 

Because we have reduced the Holy Spirit to ideas of what we have witnessed, a feeling for example, we limit our relationship with Him and we limit our witness of His works. Greater is He that is within me than He that is within the world (1 John 4:4). Not only is the Holy Spirit within me through the grace of salvation and the finished work of the cross, but He is greater than any earthly being or experience. The Holy Spirit is more than we could ask, think or imagine. Therefore, rather than placing Him in a limiting light, let us seek Him, speak with Him and have a genuine relationship with Him, so that we may truly get to know Him and all these other things will be added. The power, the healing, the miracles, the provision. Whatever it is that you need, will be added. Because you  know who the Source of all things truly is.

I hope that you will take on this invitation and start the journey of building a meaningful relationship with God, the Holy Spirit.

Cheers.