And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being changed into his likeness from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit (II Corinthians 3:18).
Spiritual formation is a fashionable topic these days. It would be a mistake to think that Spiritual formation is not occuring if the church is not specifically programming for it. I have been involved in Christian ministry for nearly fifty years. One of the things I know about living the Christian life and the life of the church is that is cannot be done by our own "steam." If Holy Spirit is not in us, molding, shaping, empowering and leading us, all of our programming is simply perpetuating a social club or a service organization.
Certainly, Holy Spirit will not be present where disrespect, gossip, fighting, selfishness and immorality are present, but I do understand that we can assume Holy Spirit's active presence when a place is made for Him. Having said that, I'm going to share ten verbs from the New Testament that describe Holy Spirit' work in our lives and in the church.*
1. Holy Spirit fills us (Ephesians 5:18). 2. Holy Spirit teaches us (John 14:26).
3. Holy Spirit reminds (John 14:26). 4. Holy Spirit guides us (John 16:13).
5. Holy Spirit searches (I Corinthians 2:10-11). 6. Holy Spirit testifies to us (Romans 8:16).
7. Holy Spirit helps (Romans 8:26). 8. Holy Spirit intercedes for us (Ro. 8:26-27).
9. Holy Spirit convicts (John 16:8). 10. Holy Spirit enlightens (1 Corinthians 2:14).
Our Father's Love,
Tom
*These verbs were taken from an article in the Christian Standard (Feb. 2013) by J.K. Jones
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