After taking a break over the holidays, "Mornings With Jesus" is back again! The promise in John 14:16 is one of my favorites! Read below to discover and learn more about the promise Jesus gives us regarding the Holy Spirit - it is a good one! Keep reading and you will find a recipe for mint hot chocolate. Make yourself a cup, curl up with a blanket and sip this tasty treat while digging into God's Word! The Promise: John 14:16 NIV "And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever -" But let's not stop there! Let's continue on to verse 17, "-the Spirit of truth. the world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you." *bolding is mine for emphasis. Ok, There is so much here I could unpack, but this is just a blog post, so I will try to keep it short and sweet. But I encourage you to dig deeper on your own and at the end of the post you will find a digging deeper section with references to do just that! Jesus promises us an advocate. A helper. The Greek word in the original text for advocate is parakletos. It means "one who is called beside." See the Spirit isn't just there when we need Him. He lives INSIDE us, beside us through it all. He indwells in us (1 Corinthians 3:16, 2 Timothy 1:14, Romans 8:11). The Spirit of truth. Notice how the in the bible, the word "Spirit" is capitalized? That's important to take note of. It's capitalized because the Spirit that Jesus promises us IS God. Is Jesus. Is part of the trinity. The Spirit isn't new here in the New Testament. The Spirit has been alive and active throughout the bible - new and old. In the old testament, the Spirit would dwell in people for a limited time to inspire them, to help them accomplish tasks by strengthening them or giving them gifts, or for prophseying. But the Spirit didn't dwell in these people forever. That is different than what Jesus promised here. And after pentecost, when the promise is fulfilled, the Spirit was staying. Jesus was leaving but He was not leaving the disciples-or us-alone! He promises that the Spirit will be with us forever. And in verse 17, He tells us that the Spirit will be IN us. What a beautiful gift! One who lives inside us, goes with us everywhere. This is comforting and such a blessing! But it also means He goes with us even into our sin. Ephesians 4:30 tells us not to grieve the Holy Spirit- which means to not cause Him pain by bringing Him into our sin. Stew on that for a moment. As a believer, when we put our faith in Jesus Christ and give him our hearts, and the Spirit dwells inside of us....when we sin, the Spirit is brought into that sin with us. The Spirit isn't just there when we need Him. He is always there. He dwells in us. So when we stumble into lies, into anger, into cheating, adultery, drunkenness, lust, ect, we are bringing the Spirit into it with us. And this causes Him pain. We will never be perfect, and I am certainly not, but understanding that in my sin, I bring the Spirit with me, has most definately shed a new light on my own sin. How about you? The good news is that while we may stumble at times and bring the Spirit with us in that stumble, the Holy Spirit does so much more for us! And one of those things is helping destroy the power of sin in our lives! Can I get an Amen?! But He does so much more than that! He guides, teaches, and comforts. He gives us an assurance of salvation, sanctifies us and makes us aware of that sin in our lives. He speaks truth to us, leads us, and gives us each gifts. And He empowers us. Wow. Now that's a promise. (Read below in digging deeper for the verses on the works of the Holy Spirit) To have the Spirit, is to have Jesus living inside you. It is to be empowered and to never walk alone. Ask the Spirit each day to rise up in you, embrace His leading and watch what He will do! Blessings, Elizabeth Keep reading for the hot chocolate recipe! Want to dig deeper? ~Read the entirety of John chapters 14,15,16, Luke 24, and Acts 2. ~Read the following verses on the work of the Holy Spirit: 1 John 2:27 Acts 8:29 2 Thessalonians 2:13 John 16:18 Acts 1:8, 4:31 Romans 8:2-6 Galatians 5: 16,25 1 Corinthians 12:4-11 The Recipe:
Mint Hot Chocolate 1 cup whole milk 1/2 cup chocolate chips 1/4 cup mint chocolate chips 1 tsp peppermint extract Heat the milk, add the last three ingredients, mix them all together, and enjoy! *I love to add a little whipped cream and some Hershey's syrup on top! Click the button below for "Mornings With Jesus" and enjoy a few more promises and recipes!
5 Comments
1/8/2018 04:27:51 pm
YAY! You are back ... and just in time for cold weather! Loved this. Thanks for the sweet reminder (and the sweet recipe).
Reply
1/8/2018 06:48:19 pm
I enjoy this blog post, and of course I need to try your receipt for the mint hot chocolate, and yes the Spirit is Alive
Reply
1/9/2018 01:41:41 am
This post really blessed me. I took screen munches of parts that i want to go over and of the digging deeper passages so I don't forget. Lately I have been sulking and confused over how the spirit works and confused about a few things but this post clarifies a few of my questions. When the angel appeared to Mary, he said Baby Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit and that struck me that didn't the Holy Spirit come after Jesus but now I have learnt that he has been in action since time immemorial and even from the times of the Old Testament.. I have subscribed and I would definitely be coming back here.... God bless you ....
Reply
1/10/2018 12:41:57 pm
So true! I think this is a promise that many believers forget... He is omnipresent, and walking with Him on a daily basis means that we don't leave Him at the table when our Bible Study is done--He goes before us and with us!
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
Meet ElizabethWife. Mother. Writer. Photographer. Child of God. Encouraging others in faith through a lens of grace and seeing beauty in the ashes. All images and content belong to me (Blue Jean Gypsy), unless otherwise noted. You may use an image ONLY if it is linked back to this blog! Thank you for your understanding and cooperation!
Click on the above links to follow on facebook, instagram, pinterest and twitter! Archives
April 2020
CategoriesThis website uses marketing and tracking technologies. Opting out of this will opt you out of all cookies, except for those needed to run the website. Note that some products may not work as well without tracking cookies. Opt Out of Cookies |