And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove…” Matthew 3:16a

 

“Suddenly there care from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues of fire appeared to them and rested on each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit…” Acts 2:2-4a

 

Is the Holy Spirit… a dove?  A fire?  A rushing wind?  The imagery varies but the principle remains… This Spirit is the divine.  Surprisingly enough you are filled with this very Spirit.  At creation you were given His breath… but now the Spirit of God, glory of the Lord, a dove, a fire, a rushing wind, fills you.

 

All of these sacred moments of the Bible and it connects you to God.  Just as God’s spirit touched the waters of the earth, the Holy Spirit is a contact point with the divine.  The presence of the Spirit is God reaching out to us and fills those who call on Jesus.

 

If you ask me, the presence of the Holy Spirit changes everything.  When God sends Him, our lives are completely changed.  Maybe that’s why Paul says that we are a new creation in 2 Corinthians 5:17.  The creation isn’t just put back together but it’s made fresh completely from scratch!  There is no comparison to the old shape it once was.  The material isn’t recycled but is new.

 

You carry God with you everywhere.  He is in you.  Filling you with the strength to make new choices. Helping you have new thoughts and leaving the old behind.  This gives me great hope for the future and what lies ahead and I hope knowing so does the same for you as well.  The image He takes now is Jesus in you.  Every day… a step closer to Jesus.  Be patient, be persistent and be filled with the Holy Spirit.

 

“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.  And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another.  For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” - 2 Corinthians 3:17-18

 

• Scott Carpenter