Day 5: The Trinity - The Holy Spirit

John 14:15-17 Jesus Prophecies about the Holy Spirit (TPT)
15 “Loving me empowers you to obey my commands. 16–17 And I will ask the Father and he will give you another Savior, the Holy Spirit of Truth, who will be to you a friend just like me—and he will never leave you. The world won’t receive him because they can’t see him or know him. But you will know him intimately, because he will make his home in you and will live inside you.

For three years my husband and I had a housemate named Emmanuel (we’ll call him E) when we first bought our home. Our housemate was just a friend prior to living with us. We ran in similar circles and always enjoyed each other but the level or depth of our friendship was limited.
When we first asked Emmanuel to be our housemate, we did so because we knew he needed the housing and we also needed the financial help. However, throughout the time he lived with us this initial housing arrangement became so much more. In those 3 years we grew to know each other's likes and dislikes, our differences and our similarities. We disagreed and challenged each other to be better people. We cooked and cleaned together. We shared so much in the joys and hardships of everyday life.
By the end of our three years together, our relationship had changed. In our time together we went from being friends to family, and our lives have never been the same since.

In this passage, Jesus talks to His disciples right before His timely and excruciating death on the cross. He tells them that His time on earth is coming to an end BUT they will receive someone else, the Holy Spirit, who will come to them instead. If you fast forward past the cross and Jesus’ resurrection and ascension to Acts 2, you’ll see the promised Holy Spirit descend and fill these disciples. These followers of Christ then fulfill the work of ministry and their assignments on this earth with passion, revelation, power, and endurance for an incredible journey in Christ BECAUSE of the Holy Spirit dwelling within them.

When we give our lives to Jesus we are given the Holy Spirit, who is part of the Triune God and is the same Spirit that filled the disciples on that day of Pentecost in Acts 2. He comes with power, revelation, healing, counsel, truth, peace, and comfort. And because He now takes residence in our lives, He is like a housemate that will never go away. He has come to transform our lives from the inside out so that we too can do the things that Jesus did on this side of Heaven!

When I look back again on our time with our housemate Emmanuel (which means, “God with us!”) I am so incredibly grateful we made room for him in our family because our arrangement became so much more than a business interaction or another way to pay our mortgage.
Like my housemate, who played a huge part of our lives, we have a choice to allow the Presence of God to influence and be so much more than a business agreement, a result of convenience, or someone we limit to just a Sunday church service experience or even to the 21 Days of Prayer. We can share a deep intimacy and bond with God by allowing the Spirit to speak into our lives, direct our steps, express His personality, understand His likes and dislikes, and more. BUT we need to give Him room and our obedience to do so. The choice is ours.

Prayer Prompts:

1. After reading this devotional, what place of influence does the Holy Spirit have in your life? Is He a friend who you connect with daily or just a result of His promise to reside in you? If you have a hard time answering these questions, ask the Lord to show you. He knows you better than you know yourself! Ask Him to bring to your mind the awareness you need to answer this question. 
2. Whatever answer you’ve written down, are you pleased or disappointed with what you’ve identified? Do you want to make the room in your life for more of Him? 
3. Take this time now to respond. If you’ve limited the Lord in your life and you want that to change, simply repent for the ways you’ve limited Him. And be specific about it- don’t beat around the bush. When done, ask for His forgiveness and ask Him to clean you from this sin. 
4. If you want more of the Holy Spirit to influence your life and to speak, take time in prayer to ask Him to do that. Perhaps write down 3 ways you want the Holy Spirit to move in your life. Beloved, He wants to give you more of Himself-- so let Him today!