Category: Holy Spirit

A New Perspective

Me:
Good morning Holy Spirit!

Holy Spirit:

Good morning Jon!

Me:

I heard a teaching this week about getting our statements on the right side of our “buts”. The man reflected that our tendency is to talk about a promise or statement of truth in the scripture and then say “but my experience has been …” and then recount whatever we think is not living up to the promise. For example, one might say, “The scripture says ‘I Am the God who heals you’, but I feel awful.” He (rightly) pointed out that in that grammatical structure, that the thing that comes after the “but” negates the part that came before and that it is better to put the scriptural promise after the negating conjunction.

This morning in my reading, I came to Psalm 13, which seems a good example:

How long, O Lord? Will You forget me forever?
How long will You hide Your face from me?
2 How long shall I take counsel in my soul,
Having sorrow in my heart all the day?
How long will my enemy be exalted over me?

3 Consider and answer me, O Lord my God;
Enlighten my eyes, or I will sleep the sleep of death,
4 And my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,”
And my adversaries will rejoice when I am shaken.

5 But I have trusted in Your lovingkindness;
My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation.
6 I will sing to the Lord,
Because He has dealt bountifully with me.

Though the Psalmist starts out speaking with the voice of despair, at least in the end he voices the optimism of Truth.

Holy Spirit:
How much better to both start and end with the promise before one decides to spend two-thirds of one’s breath on the depressing things he doesn’t want; in fact, on the depression itself? When David was focused on the negative, he came to the belief that God had forgotten him. Is that the truth? Later, he came to know the truth:

Many, O Lord my God, are the wonders which You have done, And Your thoughts toward us; There is none to compare with You. If I would declare and speak of them, They would be too numerous to count. Psalm 40:5

 

There was good reason that We included in the scripture statements like Matthew 18:18

Truly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.

and Matthew 21:21

And Jesus answered and said to them, “Truly I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ it will happen.

Many things can have you bound.  Even your attitude can bind you. Are you likely to get something done if you believe that you can’t? There are no hand-holds in the pit of depression by which to lift yourself up even to peer over the rim. You have to look for My Hand extended to you to lift you out. Here is a truth about that:

And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him. Hebrews 11:6

There is nothing more binding than believing lies about Me. That is why the serpent started with that tactic in the garden, calling into question the veracity of My Word.  Also, do not miss the import of the contrast of the temporal nature of “on earth” and “in heaven” as given in Matthew 18:18. The attitudes you espouse and the words with which you express them may be active and observable “on earth” –which is passing away – but be not deceived, the freedom or bondage you are choosing here and now has spiritual consequences which are not passing away and are affecting you and all of existence in ways that are spiritual and are unseen and is not constrained by time as the physical universe is.

Me:
Thank You Holy Spirit! I love You! Please help me ingrain Your Truth into my life and improve my attitude and the things I reinforce with what I say!

Holy Spirit:
You’re welcome! I love you! I Am helping you.

Not Roughshod

Now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of those without strength and not just please ourselves. Each of us is to please his neighbor for his good, to his edification. Romans 15:1-2

Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13

Me:
Good morning Holy Spirit!

Holy Spirit:
Good morning Jon!

Me:
I need Your hope, Holy Spirit! In dealing with my brother, I am prone to expect only more of the same. More of the same that led to his state of homelessness, though we were paying his rent and utilities. I don’t know what Paul was talking about here. What did he mean to “bear the weaknesses of those without strength”? I plainly see my brothers physical impairments. How would one bear those weaknesses of his? Does paying his rent because he in not equipped to work qualify? That did not keep him from getting tossed out last June because of his actions and refusal to cooperate with his landlord about her demand that he stop running a cockroach breeding operation in her apartment; or his insistence in accommodating feral cats in a doors-always-open fashion. Once he was evicted, we didn’t even know where he was for more than six months. Six months including the punishing heat of summer and freezing cold of winter. When he called week before last because his car quit, he said he had been staying in an “unheated barn” and that he had to get out of there. After a couple of other calls, it came out that he was really staying in town in the metal building of an auto repair business. And, he said he had seen us “sneaking around” when we drove a thousand miles one way last June to try to help him. Now he says “he is dieing here” and doesn’t know what to do. I don’t doubt that is close to true. Yet he vehemently refuses to call his doctor, though that amazing man has continued to treat him in spite of enduring many curses to his face. He also rejects the many that are ministering to the homeless in various ways.

Well, You see what I mean. I need Your hope. And wisdom. The help given to him before only led to reinforcement of the hate toward me that our mother fed in him for her own inscrutable reasons. I can see the resentment because he can’t do for himself, though he is wired to be fiercely independent. I get that. I also know You wired me to be responsible. Please help me do that with the right attitude: in joy and not in guilt.

Holy Spirit:
I Am well aware of these things. You should not lose sight of the fact that he has survived six months with no contact from you whatsoever. It is Me that you need to be believing in, if you want all joy and peace. I have not given you an end-all answer for how to proceed because if I did, you would feel driven to embark on it in your own power. That is not a harsh criticism. I know the way you are formed in your inmost parts. I Am at work in this situation and you will be involved with Me one step at a time. As for your brother, strong motivation is necessary in order to get change in a stubborn heart. You would rescue immediately, if it were possible. Trust me when I tell you that would be counter-productive. Even the salvation that Jesus purchased for you, in His own blood, does not automatically cover you. You must recognize your need and repent of your wrongdoing and surrender your pride and consent by asking Him to bring you in. Though this is your greatest need, We do not run roughshod over your will.

Me:
Thank You Holy Spirit! I love you! I submit myself to Your plan, though I have not seen it yet. I will follow the steps that You reveal.

Holy Spirit:
You are welcome! I love you!

Courage Within from Above

And when they had prayed, the place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness. Acts 4:31

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9

Me:

Good morning Holy Spirit!

Holy Spirit:

Good morning Jon!

Me:

Thank you for the reassurances that Your work involves giving courage to do that which You call me to do, even when the truth is unpopular and the enemy appears to make inroads of corruption into every life. We hear so many lies that we become accustomed to them. What a contrast to You unfaltering truth and to Your reliability!

Holy Spirit:

Consider this psalm: Then my enemies will turn back in the day when I call; This I know, that God is for me. Psalm 56:9 I Am listening for the cry of your heart. My help does not require you to foresee the plan or the method. If you seek Me for what I Am doing, and you run to wherever I show you that My banner is raised, there you will see the mighty hand of Jehovah Nissi, God your Banner. The battle is fierce and the enemy is ruthless and he misleads many after him, but My victory is assured and all who can find courage in Me will see triumph and will play a part even in snatching the perishing from the flames.

Me:

Oh, let me keep my eyes on the Lord and walk in confidence in You! Often the enemy reminds me how I fall short. Thank You that the strength required is Yours and not mine! In You I trust! Only you can get through to us when we are blinded by our willfulness. Only Your voice can penetrate our ears deafened by falsehood. I cannot count the times that You have spoken gently to me when I deserved only condemnation; when You have shown light into dark dungeons of fear in which I was bound. I treasure the freedom that is granted in Jesus! Thank You, Holy Spirit, for enabling a new life of liberty!

I love You!

Holy Spirit:

You are welcome! I love You!

The Stars by Name

But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ); when that One comes, He will declare all things to us.” Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am He.” John 4:23-26
Me:
Good morning Holy Spirit!
Holy Spirit:
Good morning Jon!
Me:
These words from Jesus concerning the argument between Jews and Samaritans on the proper place for worship speak to the difficulty we have touching anything spiritual with the “rational” mind.  I can read this, and even give accent to its truth.  But with my mind, I cannot truly “get it”.  I cannot “get” how to worship in spirit though I am able to do it daily.
Holy Spirit:
The mind can give the heart a supply of things to contemplate.  But love, awe, worship, thankfulness, and joy; these are of the heart. Analysis of facts without involvement of the heart is dispassionate. Cold. Inaccurate. Dead.
Me:
I recognize sitting here that in Your power in the beginning at the Word of the Father – and Your movement with His Word, who is Jesus – the stars sprang into being.  I can know the estimates of how many we can see with the naked eye, or look up the parsecs their light would have traveled from the current arrangement. It is, however, with my heart that I feel awe at Your majesty at the glory of Your work when I look up into the clarity of a pristine Winter sky and see Your mighty handiwork.  It is then that I know that I cannot attain to true knowledge, for You are God and I am only a child. It is then that my spirit is overwhelmed with the magnitude of Isaiah’s observation:
Lift up your eyes on high And see who has created these stars, The One who leads forth their host by number, He calls them all by name; Because of the greatness of His might and the strength of His power, Not one of them is missing.
Holy Spirit:
As I called forth this host, if you desire it, so I Am able to enable you to worship in spirit and truth as Jesus said.
Me:
I do desire it, Holy Spirit!  Let me see with the eyes of my heart the glory of Your presence and revel in it!
Holy Spirit:
Have I not been giving you this gift without you explicitly asking?  For I see your desire when it comes before Me and it pleases Me to do for you that in which you delight.
Me:
I love You Holy Spirit!  I love You!  And thank You!
Holy Spirit:
You are welcome!  I love You!  You know that. In your spirit, today, you know.

void, Breath, Life!

The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving (hovering) over the surface of the waters. Genesis 1:2
————————————————————–
­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­Strong’s: 7363 [e] | mə·ra·ḥe·p̄eṯ | מְרַחֶ֖פֶת | moved | Verb

Genesis 1:2 hovering over face of waters, or perhaps brooding (and fertilizing).

Me:
Good evening Holy Spirit!

Holy Spirit:
Good evening Jon!

Me:
I had not really considered your part in generating life where none existed before.

Holy Spirit:
I always carry out the Word of the Father.  The nearest human way of looking at how integrated we are – how We are One – is to consider how your breath moves out of you, through your larynx, and words are formed according to your will.  That is why I am often referred to as the Breath of God.  When the Father said “let there be”, I was going forth as His Breath to do His will.  Where no life was, life became.

Me:
You have done the same in me!

Holy Spirit:
Yes.  You were dead in your trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1).  And He came and preached peace to you who were far away, and peace to those who were near;  for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father (Paul, speaking of Christ – Ephesians 2:17-18) .

Me:
I am very grateful for Your work!

Holy Spirit:
As you can see, all the work of God is inseparable, indivisible; Father, Son, Spirit, One.

Me:
I love you, Holy Spirit!

Holy Spirit:
I love you, Jon!

The Spirit of Christmas Past

20 “The Redeemer will come to Zion,to those in Jacob who repent of their sins,”
declares the Lord.

21 “As for me, this is my covenant with them,” says the Lord. “My Spirit, who is on you, will not depart from you, and my words that I have put in your mouth will always be on your lips, on the lips of your children and on the lips of their descendants—from this time on and forever,” says the Lord. (Isaiah 59)

Me:
Good morning Holy Spirit!

Holy Spirit:
Good morning Jon!

Me:
It never ceases to amaze me, Holy Spirit, the sight that You gave to the prophet Isaiah, concerning the coming of Jesus. Last night, we read dozens of passages in Isaiah for our traditional lesson and carol service. Some are almost like they were written at the same time as the Gospel of Luke, though I know they preceded the virgin birth by probably 700 years.

Holy Spirit:
What is seven hundred years to Me? I Am One who is eternal, without beginning and without end.

Me:
You are always amazing in all Your works! I think the thing that is hard to grasp is Isaiah’s willingness and ability to listen to You and to hear so faultlessly.

Holy Spirit:
That is the primary qualification of a prophet.

Me:
Still, I have the scriptures to test what I hear from You and all the New Testament and the benefit of the salvation wrought by Jesus on our behalf. Whereas, Isaiah was only looking forward to the incarnation.

Holy Spirit:
I Am not constrained by time. We have talked about how Jesus’ sacrifice is not constrained by time either. It is the fact that the words of the law and the prophets, which became the scriptures, point to the cross and the desire of God to save that enabled all who would seek and listen to prepare their hearts to receive. The apparent constraint of their lives being in time before the incarnation of the Christ is no hindrance. The true difficulty is lack of faith and an unwilling heart clinging to its sin.

Me:
Oh, Holy Spirit, there is so much that has been beyond me. Trying to grapple with the concept of time and Your freedom from it boggles my mind.

Holy Spirit:
That is why your salvation, and in fact, all your relationship with Us is based on faith and not on understanding. A child can love his mother before he is capable of understanding all that he will eventually come to know about her. Your relationship with Me is like that, and will remain so on this side of the grave. In the end, the limitations imposed on you by the ravages of sin will be swept away and you will know Me face to face.

Me:
I look forward to that, Holy Spirit. Yet, at the same time, I cannot shake the apprehension that accompanies contemplation of the end of my days. Is that a lack of faith?

Holy Spirit:
Do not worry about that. You only feel the sense of self-preservation that I built into all. It is primarily there to counter the evil whispers of the deceiver that either recklessness or suicide are answers to anything. As a woman is prepared for birth during the months of pregnancy, so those who are Mine are prepared for the end of their days, when it is time.

Me:
Then I thank You for being spared the struggles of some in that regard, and I ask You to shine Your light on them and fill them with the knowledge of Your majesty and their hearts with Your Joy! I love You! Thank You for speaking with Me! What a treasure this time is! What a great gift to know You and to be known by You!

Holy Spirit:
You are certainly welcome! This relationship with you is My desire and I place more value on it than you can know. I love you!

Through all the Wisdom and Understanding

… We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of His will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, Colossians 1:9b

Me:
Good morning Holy Spirit!

Holy Spirit:
Good morning Jon!

Me:
There is a magnificent wealth of things in this verse to thank You for and to ask You more about!  Thank You for the example of being able to ask on behalf of others for filling with the knowledge of the will of God.  Thank You for the revelation that You bestow “all the wisdom and understanding” and that they are a gift.

Holy Spirit:
You’re welcome! The gift is of the will of God.  That is to say, The Father has decreed it, the Son has enabled you to receive it, and I Am delivering it. 

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.  James 1:17

Me:
Is the failure to pray like this at the bottom of the apparent lack of unity – among even those who consider themselves believers – concerning what God is directing?

Holy Spirit:
It is one minor reason.  Do not worry about unity.  What those who bring that up usually mean is, “Why won’t you come over here and help me with my program?”  Unity in the way you mean it would be automatic if all were communing with Me and listening with unfettered hearts and doing what they hear with unbridled enthusiasm.  That is the only “unity” that matters.  The creation is intricately designed and all the parts have their own unique character and diverse purpose, yet they comprise the perfectly conceived and orchestrated whole.  I Am doing many things in all places in the administration of the will of God.

Me:
Is there a requirement for asking this filling?

Holy Spirit:
Two.

Me:
Two?

Holy Spirit:
A vital relationship with God.

Me:
And the other?

Holy Spirit:
A relationship with the person you are asking Me to fill with the knowledge and understanding of the will of God.

Me:
What kind of relationship?

Holy Spirit:
Enough to see the difference when I answer.  Enough to be overjoyed in it.  In short, those you love.

Me:
Thank You Holy Spirit!  I love You!

Holy Spirit:

You’re welcome!  I love you!

Authority – Some Rightful, Some Usurped

 

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.  Galatians 5:22-23

Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves.  Romans 13:1-2

Me:
Good morning Holy Spirit!

Holy Spirit:
Good morning Jon!

Me:
For years, I have struggled with the 13th chapter of Romans.

Holy Spirit:
I know.

Me:
I see Your way, clearly laid out in Galatians 5 – self-control as the produce of a life infused by Your power and subject to Your desire.

Holy Spirit:
What about those who have no intention of being subject to My desire?  A purpose of appointed authorities is to restrain those who serve the destroyer from wronging others.

Me:
I’m perfectly OK with that.  It is when the authorities themselves appear to be serving the enemy that I am troubled by Romans 13; giving hearty approval to abortion, for instance, and vilifying those who would oppose that abomination.

Holy Spirit:
You are asking how that type of authority could possibly be established by Me?

Me:
Yes.

Do I prevent you from sinning, or do I permit you to choose?

Holy Spirit:
You, appear to give me free will to obey or to not obey.

Me:
If you do not obey, on whose authority are you acting?

That is a hard question.  I see that You permit the choice, but cannot imagine You being in favor of a bad choice.

Holy Spirit:
Bad choices grieve Me (Ephesians 4:30).

Your freedom to choose is embedded in the fact that you are created in the image of God.  I Am free to choose.  I choose always according to My nature.  That is why the scripture tells you that I Am light and that in Me there is no darkness at all (1 John 1:5).  I desire you to choose according to My nature in you.  Since I Am in you, the only way for you to do otherwise is to quench the fire of My truth that is resonating in your heart and charge ahead in spite of what I Am telling you.  You know how that feels, just as you know how it feels to obey and grow and love and rejoice.

Me:
And the government or other authorities are groups of people with the same choice: whose authority will they exercise?

Holy Spirit:
There is only One Authority.  But it is possible to choose to act outside of My authority or the authority that I delegate.  Those who act wrongfully are usurpers.

Me:
I know Jesus told Pilate that he would have no power over Him except it had been given from above.  I know how dependent I am on Jesus’ sacrifice in submitting to the crucifixion carried out at Pilate’s order and the insistence of the Jewish leaders.

Holy Spirit:
I make all things work together for good for those who love me, for those who are called according to My purpose (Romans 8).  All things include the actions of usurpers.

Me:
Thank You that you are above all earthly powers and that my life is wholly in your hand.  You are only good and merciful continually!  I love You!

Holy Spirit:

You are welcome! I love you!

 

 

Ungrasping

Me:
Good morning Holy Spirit!

Holy Spirit:
Good morning Jon!

Me:
The scripture tells me that You will bring things to remembrance that Jesus has told me and that You will reveal all things to me (I think He meant all things He wanted to say to me).

Holy Spirit:
I AM One with the ministry of revealing the hidden.

Me:
It seems funny to me to think of You as One who ministers mysteries.

Holy Spirit:
The Shepherd takes care of the sheep. I AM One who helps you with great and mighty things that you know not. Jesus told you that it was through Me that He got reacquainted with His relationship with the Father after leaving that intimate knowing behind to arrive in a manger.

Me:
He also told me to meditate upon His humility and that though He was, in fact, God become man; He did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped (Philippians 2:5-7) while he was on the earth. He also said that humility was key to having Him bear the load when we “take His yoke” upon us. That verse said learn of Me, too. Would You help me with that?

Holy Spirit:
I would love to! First off, what is the definition of humility? The so-called simple modern definition is “not considering yourself as better than others”. This definition shows how shallow the typical understanding has become when it comes to humility. Look at Websters “full definition”.

Me:

OK.  I looked it up.

1: not proud or haughty : not arrogant or assertive
2: reflecting, expressing, or offered in a spirit of deference or submission
3: ranking low in a hierarchy or scale : insignificant, unpretentious : not costly or luxurious

Wow! Usually, only one part of a definition applies. Jesus really encompassed humility in ways I had never dreamed of considering. (And You! You give good insights!)

Holy Spirit:
Aw. Ain’t nothin’ special.

Me:
You are demonstrating how unlike God “false” humility is, aren’t You?

Holy Spirit:
It doesn’t become Me?

Me:
Ha! You know!

Holy Spirit:
Was Jesus assertive? Yes, as to the Truth. For the Truth is the Way. Shading the truth might look like a “kinder, gentler, way” on the surface. But in the long run, such lies are neither kind nor gentle. The human industry of “little white lies” is not of God. You know who the father of lies is, don’t you?

Me:
Yes, of course. The Devil.

Holy Spirit:
Telling the Truth in a way that does not offend is often hard work, for the one who is off the mark has their own deceptions in play. The enemy asserts that the lie is simply more expedient. For that matter, giving in to any sin is portrayed by him as the easier path. Know that the payday at the end of that path yields a bitter wage.

Sometimes telling the truth offends no matter what, and that is as it should be, too. Think of Jesus calling the religious leaders “whitewashed tombs”. Calling their behavior out for what it is proves there was true love behind the warning, precisely pointing out they were putting a “respectable” veneer over that which leads to death.

Yet, as regards people’s free will, Jesus deferred to the Father’s intention that everyone’s decisions are their own, even though He was on a mission to convince the blind of the Light.  We have talked before about the fact that true love is not possible under any other system. Persuasion, loving persuasion – yes, with all diligence. Control over others, that is the way of the narcissist and the aim of Satan; that is not the way of the humble.

Let’s talk about this movement in the culture to think humility is not considering oneself as better than others. That definition is troubled by being couched from the negative. There is an (almost) infinite range of things, that a thing is not. Surely, if a person considers himself “better” than another, that is an affront to Our sovereign will in creating them. We value each one. We love each one. We desire to meet with each one. We desire to redeem each one. All are made in Our image, yet all are unique. Who is man to say one is better in Our sight than another?

Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand. (Romans 14:4)

And there arose also a dispute among them as to which one of them was regarded to be greatest. And He said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who have authority over them are called ‘Benefactors.’ But it is not this way with you, but the one who is the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like the servant. For who is greater, the one who reclines at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at the table? But I am among you as the one who serves. (Luke 22: 24-27)

Do you consider yourself a “benefactor”? Do you have the attitude that no one else can do the thing that needs doing and do it right? Do you think if you don’t do it, it won’t get done? Consider whether you are applying yourself diligently to the thing I Am calling you to do. Recognize that you have nothing to give except that which you have been given. Look to Jesus’ example. Follow Him. Remember the yoke; work alongside, don’t try to pull ahead. The one who pulls ahead shoulders the load. Neither lag behind. I Am helping you.

Me:
Thank You Holy Spirit! This has been a marvelous time we have had together! Thank You for teaching me!

Holy Spirit:
You’re welcome! I love you!

The Spirit-Mind Connection

The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect peace, Because he trusts in You. – Isaiah 26:3

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. – Romans 12:2

17 So this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, 18 being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; 19 and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness. 20 But you did not learn Christ in this way, 21 if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus, 22 that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit,and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth. – Ephesians 4

Me:
Good morning Holy Spirit!

Holy Spirit:
Good morning Jon!

Me:
I think you put it in my head to look at the connection between Your work in my life and my mind. I tried a Bible search on spirit and mind. Wow! I got a result of eleven verses, and that doesn’t count the more difficult search where the two words are separated by the artificial verse divisions.

Holy Spirit:
Does that seem surprising to you? Man was created in the first place to have a relationship with God. Remember when the boys first started to make acquaintances, how they maintained they had hundreds of “friends”? You were not intended to have that sort of relationship with Me. Our intention is more closely mirrored by the joyous intimacy that you experience with [your wife], and even that is far short of Our aim. Most attempt to maintain a relationship with Us that is more like the early self-aggrandizing example from the boys in public, instead of more like the deepening example of your marriage to [your wife]. That relationship, by the way, is energized as it is because the both of you are also tied in to Us in intimacy.

Anyway, in your physical existence, We ordained that the part of you that is commonly labeled the “mind” – and physically operating in the brain We designed – be apparently seamless from the spiritual part of your nature. Why? Because intimacy with Us requires it. What if the “spiritual nature” were separated from the “mental processes” like two friends with one in Denver and one in Boston, forcing them to communicate over a distance? Intimacy then takes much more of an effort.

Speaking of challenges, how about being dead for starters? Sin dealt a death-blow to the spiritual part of your nature. (Genesis 2:17, Ephesians 2:1) And speaking of that, what exactly is the spiritual part? I refer you to this insight I gave John: God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth. (John 4:24) The spiritual part of you is the part that is designed to connect to Us. Jesus sacrifice on your behalf made a way for your dead spiritual nature to be resurrected as He is. The “renewing of your mind” is first and foremost a journey from death to life. (John 10:10, Romans 6:4)

Me:
This is a fantastic gift, Holy Spirit! A treasure beyond any possible physical valuation! You must love us beyond all measure! The grace bestowed on me is so undeserved I am still unable to grasp the magnitude of it!

Holy Spirit:
That is the nature of a developing relationship. The ability to both comprehend (mind) and experience (in the spiritual sense) the depth of it comes with your growth. I AM Spirit and I AM without limits. Your spiritual limits decrease as your former state of death recedes in your rear view mirror, so to speak, as you draw nearer to Me.

Me:
Thank You for this time and these insights, Holy Spirit! I love You!

Holy Spirit:
You’re welcome! I love You!