Holy Spirit- Helper

"But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you." - John 14:26 (NAS)

Here's something interesting. The verse above is from the New American Standard version; it translates the Greek word "paraclete" (which means the "Holy Spirit") as the Helper. Compare this with other translations:

• The King James Version translates Helper as Comforter.
• The New International Version translates Helper as Counselor.
• The New English Version translates Helper as Advocate.

All four translations give us a more complete picture of the Holy Spirit. He is Helper, Advocate, Counselor, and Comforter.

1. Helper = He empowers us with a “want to” to follow Christ in faith.
2. Advocate = He reminds us that God is for us and loves us.
3. Counselor = He is our teacher and guides us in how to understand and apply God's Word to our everyday life. He gives us wisdom.
4. Comforter = He is our greatest, most compassionate encourager in a time of need.

To know God - know Jesus in faith. To know Jesus is to receive a great gift - the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Still hungry?  Acts 2:33, John 16:13, 1 John 2:20, John 2:22

The Word Incarnate

Jesus the Word is the creator of everything; this is his world. This passage not only underscores Jesus’ full ownership of all creation as his rightful possession but also serves as a foundation of his love and providential care for all he has made. Jesus, the Creator of the world, was unwilling to leave his “very good” creation to the destructive powers of sin, but rather, he came to redeem his handiwork. The incarnation has profound implications for Christian stewardship.
In the wisdom of God, to redeem man from his sin required the Son to become a man himself … The Word himself had to become flesh. John’s Gospel begins with the astounding declaration of the act of God in becoming one of his own creation …

If stewardship, in its simplest implication, is about giving, then John 1:1 confronts the world with the most sublime gift ever given, the most astounding act of generosity that can be imagined. As a monument to the unsurpassed stewardship of the Son of God, the Incarnation rises high above the horizon of all other demonstrations of giving …

God presented his most valuable gift to man in the Eternal Word made flesh. Once in the world, Jesus the Incarnate Son then gave himself to the Father in complete submission and to the world as the Servant from God. In his earthly existence, Jesus was a steward charged with a divine mandate. Stewardship can be defined as “the obedient management of life and all its resources under the guidance of the Holy Spirit to the glory of God and the advancement of his kingdom.”

Jesus fulfilled his role of steward perfectly:

No matter how difficult the testing became, no matter how demanding the giving of self, no matter how costly in terms of friendship, following, or popularity, Jesus managed his life faithfully. When ultimately such perfect management meant giving up his life for the cause of the kingdom of God, Jesus was willing, and he did so. He made no exception to his total stewardship of life for anything, including his life itself …

Looking at a world filled with people facing the death sentence of sin, Jesus Christ laid aside the riches of heaven and came to be Savior. As he walked the earth, he continued to give his all, managing every opportunity, every gift, every resource, for the glory of God and the building of his kingdom. Even faced with death, he gave his last treasure, his own life, to save the lives of others. He went to the cross with no regret that if he had been a better steward, he might have done more. He had done everything God wanted of him, and he became the master steward, both Savior of humanity and example to those who would follow him.

Still Hungry? Revelation 19:13, John 17:5, 1 John 1:2

The Most Important Voice Of All

NOISE. It's everywhere!

Have you ever noticed how noise fills our lives? We wake to music or alarms. We get in the car and what's the first thing we do? We slip in a CD, plug in an iPod, or turn on the radio. When we walk into the house or even our offices, the first thing we do is turn on the TV. It seems that, with noise, we just don't feel so alone. Sometimes, we use the noise as a buffer to keep from thinking about our problems or doing things we know we should do.

In the midst of all of this noise, are you missing the most important voice of all?

God still speaks in a still, small voice. In the busyness and noisiness of our lives, it's easy to miss Him. The only way to hear Him is to make an intentional effort to quiet the noise of our lives and spend some time listening, through prayer and reading His Word. You will never get a more important phone call or crucial message.

Find some time each day to be alone and quiet, and listen to the most important voice of all. It will enrich your life tremendously.

Still Hungry?  Isaiah 32:9

To Get or to Give

During Jesus' ministry the crowds around Him were even greater than football fans around Peyton Manning...and that's a lot of people!

Jesus was coming to his town and there was a short man named Zaccheus who was determined to see Him; so he climbed a tree to get a better look. (Not every day does the richest and most despised man in town climb a tree to do anything, much less to see someone like Jesus!) Of course, Jesus saw him and knew he was searching - looking for meaning - something that money and power just can't bring. So, Jesus walked over to the tree, looked up and asked ole' Zach if He could come to his house for lunch. Can you imagine how surprised he was?

The crowds were appalled, because Zach was such a well-known and hated man. They considered him to be evil and rich from the money they worked hard to earn. Yet, Jesus had other plans and meeting Jesus changed Zach's life forever. He not only recognized that Jesus was the Lord of Lords and King of Kings, but he knew he needed to make restitution and paid back all those he had defrauded and even gave money to the poor. What a change! He went from a desire to get, to a desire to give.

Jesus told the crowd that He had come to seek and save those who were spiritually lost. Zaccheus was definitely spiritually lost. That's mighty good news for those of you who feel far from God, for whom money or power has left you feeling empty and alone. Jesus came for people like Zach. And He came for people like you and like me. Invite Him in and you, too, will discover the true meaning of life.

Still hungry?  Ezekiel 34:12, John 3:17

The Power of Forgivness

For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you." - Matthew 6:14

Have you ever noticed the presence of that little two-letter word in the Lord's prayer? It says "And forgive us of our sins as we forgive those who sin against us." Did you catch that? The word "as" implies that we cannot be forgiven until we offer that same forgiveness to others. In case we miss the "as," Jesus makes it very clear in the next verse: "But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins." (Matthew 6:15)

Forgiving someone who has treated you poorly, said evil things about you, even broken up your family, is a very difficult thing to do. It takes Godly intervention to truly offer forgiveness to people who have deeply wounded you. But God commands us to do so, and God would never command us to do anything that He wouldn't provide the ability to do.

Right now, pray for God to give you the strength to forgive those who have hurt you. Not only will God give you the power to do so, but He will also empower you supernaturally to love them, even though you hate what they did. Remember, bitterness is the poison we swallow, hoping the other person dies. Enjoy the release of this terrible burden by experiencing the cleansing power of forgiveness.

Still Hungry? Matthew 18:35, Mark 11:25, Ephesians 4:32