Such a good read. Some passages I’ve read so far. Trying to learn:
“There is a huge difference between believing what God has promised and praying for things you’d like to be true. I encourage you to pray confidently for what God has promised. Don’t put your hope in what others promise or what you’ve been told you’ll “get” if you’re a good Christian…..Do you trust God that when he says no or “not in that way” to you, you still believe He is good and doing what is best?”
“The holy spirit will mold you into the person you were made to be. This often incredibly painful process strips you of selfishness, pride, and fear. For a powerful example of this, read in CS Lewis’ “The Voyage of the Dawn Trader” about the boy, Eustace, who becomes a dragon. In order to become a little boy again, he must undergo a tremendous amount of pain as the dragon skin is peeled away and torn from him. Only after he endures this painful process is he truly transformed from a dragon back into a boy. Sometimes the sin we take on becomes such a part of us that it requires this same kind of ripping and tearing to free us. The Holy Spirit does not seek to hurt us, but He does seek to make us Christlike, this can be painful. So, if you say you want the Holy Spirit, you must first honestly ask yourself if you want to do his will. Because if you do not genuinely want to know and do His will, why should you ask for his presence at all? But if you decide you do want to know His will, there will be moments when you have to let go of the fear of what that might mean–when you have to release your grip of control on your life and decide to be led, COME WHAT MAY.”
“God created feelings. Sure, like anything else, they can be misused and abused. But the intent and purpose of feelings came from God. Since he created emotions, why is it difficult to believe that he himself has emotions? The spirit is grieved when there is a breach in relationship, whether it be relationship with God or relationship with other people. When we are disunified, unloving, hateful, jealous, gossipy etc. that is when we grieve the spirit of God. And since he is the creator of emotions, I believe that the spirit grieves more deeply than we can even understand. I believe that if we truly cared about the holy spirits grief there would be less fights, divorces and splits in the church. I pray for the day when believers care more about the spirits grief than their own. Romans 12:18 ‘If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all’.”
