The Holy Spirit - The "Spiritual" side of Christianity

This has been burning in my craw lately so I figured I better speek out on it. It strikes me that a great many Christians neglect the third face/side/person (whatever you want to call it) in the Holy Trinity - the Holy Spirit. Our salvation does not end when we receive Jesus and turn our lives over to Him. Our salvation only begins at this point. When we recieve Jesus, we also recieve the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is a real undeniable force that lives within us believers. It leads us into ALL trueth. The Holy Spirit is the tangeable aspect of God that changes our very nature and turns us into true children of God. It will convict you of your sin, change your heart and mind and empower you. Are you changing for the better? Are you being convicted of your sin? Are you being "called out" by God on a regular basis? Do you feel the Holy Spirit within you? Daily?? If you are questioning whether or not the Holy Spirit has taken up residence in you, you may want to rethink where you are going on your Christian walk. If you don't feel His presence you may want to check into why it is absent. I don't mean to confuse those of you who truely feel the presence of God on a regular basis, since he does indeed withdraw from us on occassion. But as the Bible says, we are to be filled daily with the Holy Spirit.

Why do I raise this issue, you ask? I fear that many of us Christians are not embracing the spiritual aspect of being a Christian. I'm just not going to dance around this issue: embracing the Holy Spirit is essential in your maturity! Get baptised in the Holy Spirit! It is a real experience - I'M NOT KIDDING!! Get this into your mind: Jesus WILL "baptis" you in the Holy Spirit if you ask for it and seek it out. It may not be the same way I was baptised, everyone I've heard from seems to have a slightly different story about how they were baptised. Some kinds of churches practice it also. But believe me, when it happens you'll know it! And things will be different from there on out. Don't get caught up in the semantics! Seek out a believer you personally trust to lay hands on you, or seek out a church you feel comfortable in that offers the service. Someone will probably have to put their hands on you so don't get freaked out. But I've also heard of people getting baptised in the shower too. God does what He wants to .. go figure.

If you are questioning whether or not the Holy Spirit is in you, its probably not *working* within you - then you have some seeking to do.

Yes, the spiritual aspect of *fellowship* with God can be a little scary/intimidating/daunting/freaky (take your pick) at times, but I ask you how else are you going to change your ways? How are you going to change your destructive behavior patterns? How many times have you tried to change some aspect of your behavior only to drop right back into that same old pattern? Tried counseling? Tried self help (books, tapes, God knows what)? I'll bet some of you out there reading this feel helpless to defeat your demons. Guess what??! Yep, you have a 24 hour Counselor available (and He doesn't charge and arm and a leg - just your soul). The Holy Spirit will show you were your sin is, why you keep sining, tell you its bad to sin, and show you how to stop. And even better, He'll begin working on your heart and mind to change you from the *inside* out. I can tell you personally its amazing to see.

What can you expect from the Holy Spirit you ask?
Expect Him to expose your sin. This is kind of like you consience going into over drive.
Expect a nearly constant account for your thinking.
Expect personalized instruction from Jesus
Expect an increase in your faith
Expect to be held accountable
Expect to learn more about the God who loves you - dearly.
Expect to feel His joy, excitement, enthusiasm, optimism - all about little old you!
Expect to laugh with Him and cry with Him
Expect your prayers to become more focused, pointed and effective
Expect to have your heart broken at times
Expect to see God's 100% faithfulness working in your life
Expect a life experience that very closely matches the life of Jesus
Expect the unexpected!

I could go on and on, but hopefully by now you get my point. When the Holy Spirit is *living* in you, are are *living* with the *living* God - sharing in his joy, pain, sorrow, love, etc. And experiencing what He is experiencing.

Seek out the Holy Spirit, and welcome Him when He knocks. Invite Him in to stay!