The Holy Spirit

Happy Spring everyone!

…at least it feels like Spring today…or maybe I’m just ready for it to be! Yes, we’ve had a pretty mild winter so I can’t really complain. However, these rays of sunshine that have been peeking out the past couple of days have been getting me so excited! There’s just something about a new Spring: a newness of life that brings promise, hope, and joy. As we’re entering into this Spring at the Institute, there is definitely a newness about it, but it’s also a little sad. As a community, we’re starting to feel that the end of our time together is coming to an end. Next week, we are off on Spring Break, and then before you know it, it will be time for graduation! I really want to make the most of the rest of my time here. I want to soak up what we are learning in class, savor the great relationships that I’ve made here, and put what I am learning into practice as I begin to walk into the next stage of my life.

            This week, we are wrapping up a study on the Holy Spirit. Pete Deison from Park Cities Presbyterian Church in Dallas came to share with us his wisdom on the subject. Early in the week, he took the time to present some different traits of the Holy Spirit in a very simple way. He simply researched places in the Scripture where the Holy Spirit is mentioned and organized the information that he learned from the text. It was amazing to me how many times the Holy Spirit is mentioned in the Bible, yet how little I knew of it growing up in the church!

            The Holy Spirit has a personality. This is proven by his characteristics, such as intelligence (1 Corinthians 2:10-11), feelings (Ephesians 4:30), and will (1 Corinthians 12:11). Throughout the Scripture, we see many actions of the Holy Spirit as well. John 14:26 states, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you”. In this passage, we see that the Holy Spirit teaches. The Holy Spirit also leads and guides. This can be seen in Romans 8:14: “For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God.” He also commissions (Acts 13:14), commands (Acts 8:25), restrains (Genesis 6:3), intercedes (Romans 8:26), and speaks (John 15:26, 2 Peter 1:21).

            Although about 80% of what we know about the Holy Spirit is found in the New Testament, there is evidence of the Him in the Old Testament as well. In Psalm 104:30 and Job 33:4, we see that the Holy Spirit brings forth life. In Isaiah 40:12-14, we see that He brings order to the world. He is also the One who empowered God’s servants to do His works. This can be seen in Numbers 11:25, Judges 3:10, and 1 Samuel 10:6. In the New Testament, we can see the interactions of the Holy Spirit and Jesus Christ. For example, in Luke 1:25, we see that the Spirit brings about the conception of Jesus. He also baptizes Christ in Luke 4:18 and launched the public ministry of Jesus in Luke 4:1-11.

            The Holy Spirit plays a huge role in the life of a believer. According to Acts 2:38, we receive the Holy Spirit at the point of our salvation. He abides with us forever! He fills us, reveals things to us, directs our paths, speaks through us, and bears forth fruit in our lives. As believers, we have the whole of the fruit of the Spirit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. We have all of these things all of these things, all of the time. Jesus called us to bear fruit as believers and to use what we have been blessed with to bless others.  The Spirit also gives us spiritual gifts. Unlike the fruit of the Spirit, we are not given all of the gifts as believers. There are many gifts described in Scripture, such as evangelism, prophecy, teaching, exhortation, administration, showing mercy, and the sign gifts (tongues, miracles, healings).

            Over this year, I have realized how crucial and important the Holy Spirit is. He is a part of Trinity, equal with the Father and the Son. It is just as important to study Him and His role in this great Story as it is to study other things. I’m excited to learn more and grow in my understanding of Him!

Spreading the Gospel!

Hello friends!

It seems like it’s been a long time since I have written to tell you about all the crazy and wonderful things that are going on at the Institute right now. We have spent a big chunk of our time working on our personal belief statements. So far, we have written and discussed our rough drafts on God the Father, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and the Trinity. This Sunday evening, the draft of our belief of “Man, Sin, and Salvation” is due. These are mind-blowing things to tackle by themselves, but, on top of all of that, we have our regular topics that we discuss each week in class. We spent on time on the Trinity, Parables, and, most recently, the Book of Acts with Mitch Maher. This was a week that I was really excited about because Acts is a book that I had not spent much time in before. Unfortunately, I was sick for the majority of the week, so I wasn’t physically able to glean from it as much as I wanted to, but I did take some valuable things away from this week.

I love Mitch’s teaching style because he breaks down the points that he wants to make in a very logical and concise way. I especially liked the way that he divided the Book of Acts. Before presenting the divisions of the book that he preferred, Mitch also showed us some other accepted ways to divide the book. The first way to look at Acts is divide the book biographically, first looking at the ministry of Peter in chapters 1-12 and then looking at the ministry of Paul in chapters 13-28. The second is to look at it geographically. This idea is based off of Acts 1:8, which states, “…and you shall be my witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” The setting of the Book of Acts begins in Jerusalem (chapters 1-7), then moves to Judea and Samaria (chapters 8-12), then to the “remotest parts” with the missionary journeys of Paul (chapters 13-28). 

The third way to look at the Book of Acts, and the perspective that Mitch prefers is to break it down in a series of progress reports. There are similar phrases all throughout Acts that refer to growth, strengthening, and spread of the believers and the Christ-following community. For example, in Acts 16:5, it says “…the churches were being strengthened in the faith and were increasing in number daily.” If you’re looking at it this way, Acts can be divided into seven “progress reports” at the end of each section. The first progress report in Acts 2:47 concludes the section on “The Birth of Church in Jerusalem” (1:1-2:47). The second is “The Expansion of the Church in Jerusalem” (3:1-6:7).  Next is “The Extension of the Church to Judea and Samaria” (6:8-9:31), then “The Extension of the Church to Antioch” (9:32-12:24) , “The Extension of the Church to Asia Minor” (12:25-16:5), and “The Extension of the Church to the Aegean Area” (16:6-19:20). Finally, we see the culmination in the book in “The Extension of the Church to Rome” (19:20-28:31).

It was very helpful to have Mitch go through the missionary journeys of Paul and spell how out how he traveled, where he went, and the books that he wrote around that time. For those of you who know me, you know that I LOVE geography, so it’s always fun to see how the Church first began in Jerusalem and then spread from there to the rest of Judea, Samaria, Antioch, Asia Minor and beyond!

Paul’s first missionary journey was to Antioch of Syria around 40-49 AD. After this journey, he wrote the Book of Galatians. His second missionary journey was to Corinth in approximately 50-59 AD. During this journey, he wrote 1 and 2 Thessalonians. The third was to Ephesus, Macedonia, and Corinth from 56-57 AD, during which he wrote 1 and 2 Corinthians and Romans, and the fourth was to Rome from 60-62 where he ended up in prison. While he was awaiting trial in prison, he wrote Ephesians, Colossians, Philemon, and Philippians.  After his release, he wrote 1 Timothy and Titus and possibly traveled to Macedonia. Finally, he returned to Rome for his final imprisonment in 67 AD and wrote the book of 2 Timothy.

What an incredible week of study despite being under the weather. So excited for what next week holds!

I believe in God, the Father almighty...

                What a first week back to the Institute! It’s been great being back, although it was a little strange at first. It was refreshing to spend a couple of week out in the “real world” with my family. The break reminded me of the environment that we are going to be headed back into come April. For the past several months, the seventy of us have been striving to live in Biblical community. We begin our days in communal worship and prayer. We bear each other’s burdens, know each other’s sufferings, celebrate in each other’s joys, and learn and grow together in our pursuit for Christ every day. I have friends here who are holding me accountable in ways that I have never had before. I have friends and leaders who challenge me like crazy. I know that I’m being prepared for a lifetime of ministry beyond these walls in whatever context life takes me. 

                We began our second semester digging into the Trinity. What a topic to start with! Geez, let’s just say that it was a whirlwind of a week. Our professor for the week was Dr. Glenn Kreider from Dallas Theological Seminary. He is a very intelligent and knowledgeable man who isn’t afraid to challenge your beliefs and stretch your thinking. This week, I felt like I was in seminary. There were things that Dr. Kreider taught that I found fascinating, some things that were challenging, and even some things that I didn’t agree with. 

                Our main purpose for this week was to learn about the Trinity. This semester, our big project (like the Bible Overview for last semester) is developing our belief statements about different aspects of our faith. For example, this past week, we had our rough draft of our belief on God the Father due. We’ll continue on with Jesus this week, then the Holy Spirit, Trinity, etc. With that being said, it was helpful to learn about the Trinity as we are thinking about writing that belief statement in a few weeks. 

I would love to share with y’all some fun things that I learned about the Trinity this week. First of all, I learned that Christianity is the only religion that affirms the Trinity. Judaism, for example, although it acknowledges God the Father and the Holy Spirit, does now acknowledge Jesus Christ as Messiah and, therefore, the Son of God. Islam acknowledges “Allah”, who they see as the God of Abraham, but they do not acknowledge the Holy Spirit or Jesus as God. Christianity is the only faith that believes in this crazy idea known as the Trinity, in which God is persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. These persons are distinctly different, yet one in the same. They are uniquely independent, yet independent on one another. They exist as one, yet also as three. What a crazy concept! Personally, belief in the Trinity has always been one of those things that I try to understand to the best of my ability, and then the rest just has to be faith. I like that balance, though. Sometimes, things just make more sense if they’re taken on faith.

One of my favorite things that Dr. Kreider did this week was that he spelled out the basic truths of the Trinity. I loved that it is an easy and simple (as simple as it can be) way to just focus on what we believe as Christians about out God. The first is that there is only one God. Although God exists in three persons, that does not change the fact that there is only One. Christianity is not polytheistic; we believe that only One God exists. We believe that the Father is God eternally. We believe that Jesus is God eternally. We believe that the Holy Spirit is God eternally. They are all God, but they are not all each other. The Father is not the Son or the Spirit, the Son is not the Father or the Spirit, and the Spirit is not the Father or the Son. As he was talking about this, it reminded me of an illustration that my friend Marquette Bugg showed me in college. Although I think it was Marquette; maybe it was Meredith Summers. But, regardless, props to both of them. They are both so incredible and I’m so thankful for their presence in my life. Anyway, I wish I could put this illustration in here. Maybe some day.

                My favorite thing that I realized this week was how the Apostle’s Creed fit with the study of the Trinity. I had never realized it before. The Creed means even more to me now that we are going through our belief statements. It’s empowering for me to see that I agree with the same thing that millions of believers have for centuries. We are not alone in this pursuit of Christ.

The Apostle’s Creed:

I believe in God,

the Father almighty,

Creator of heaven and earth,

and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,

who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,

born of the Virgin Mary,

suffered under Pontius Pilate,

was crucified, died and was buried;

he descended into hell;

on the third day he rose again from the dead;

he ascended into heaven,

and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty;

from there he will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,

the holy catholic Church,

the communion of saints,

the forgiveness of sins,

the resurrection of the body,

and life everlasting. Amen.

Prophets...who knew they still had something good to say?

Wow, I can’t believe it’s already Christmas break! It’s crazy to see that a semester has already flown by and I’m halfway done with the Institute. Looking back over the past semester, I can’t even begin to describe how much I’ve learned. Compared to what I’ve learned so far, I feel like I knew NOTHING about the Bible before, even growing up in church. I guess what I mean by that is, yes, I knew the stories, the facts, and the head knowledge, but never before have I understood it like THIS. I feel like I have a better “big picture” understanding and belief in the Bible and, as a result, increased faith and excitement about who God is.

For the past two weeks, we studied the Old Testaments prophets. We spent one week focusing on Daniel and the next week looking at an overview of all of the prophetical books of the Old Testament and the Messianic prophesies found in them. Blew my mind! Never before had I learned about any of those things in that way, to the point where I could see the purpose behind the prophets. All of them point to Christ and all of them have a meaning that is applicable even today!

If I had to pick one thing that I took away from the past two weeks, it would have to be the overview of the prophets as a whole. Like I said, I had never before looked at it in that way, where the information was so concise and straightforward. As I was in class that week, I made a chart of the different points that our teacher was making about each of the prophets, including the audience, date, purpose, key image, and a practical application for our world today. I was so surprised at how applicable each book actually is! They apply to real issues in a real world that, even though it has changed a lot over the last 2000 some-odd years, is essentially still the same. We deal with the same sin and life issues that the people of the Bible did, just in a different way. How cool would it be to be able to study how God responded to each of those issues through the prophets and what came as a result of it!

For example, living in America, especially in the churches, many people are living in complacency in their faith. That’s the state of America right now. To me, it seems like there are three distinctions among the “Christian population” in out nation: either you really don’t believe in God even though you say you do, you claim to be a Christian but don’t really walk it out, or you are a believer who is seeking the Lord and living it out on a daily basis. Unfortunately, many of us in America (especially in the Bible belt where I have lived the majority of my life) fall into the second category. We are familiar with the ideas of Christianity and many of us have been to church at least a few times and may have even “accepted Christ into our hearts” at one point. Somewhere along the way, though, we lost it. We became apathetic in our faith and turned to gluttony, idolatry, materialism, and isolation as our new “gods”. This is exactly what the book of Amos is addressing!  It was written to the kingdom of Israel before they were conquered by the Assyrians. The Lord was working through Amos to wake Israel out of her complacency and to warn her of her coming judgment. In essence, you can take the message from Amos and use it to see God’s truth for this issue today.

                The book of Haggai is also very applicable today. Haggai was addressed to Judah after they returned from the exile in Babylon, to encourage those who returned to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. It called for the people to check their priorities and make WOSHIP their priority over everything else. Before they could rebuild the walls, their homes, or anything else, the Lord wanted them to rebuild the Temple. He wanted Him and His worship to be the central part of their lives, the source of their strength and livelihood, before homes and protection. He wanted the people to realize that HE was to be their source of strength and safety above anything else. This message from Haggai is applicable to us as well! How many times do we look to other things to satisfy us and fulfill our needs when, in reality, Christ is the only one who can?  I know that this is a challenge for me as well; both of these things are. I am guilty of being complacent in my faith and putting other things before Christ. Who knew that you could find such truth and conviction in the prophets today? My view of the prophetical books has definitely changed and I’m excited to see how the Lord continues to open my eyes to His truth in them. 

Why would we not share?

                Wow, friends and family, what an incredible week! Coming back from Thanksgiving break, it was such a strange feeling having been in such a bubble, then out in the real world, then back in the bubble. As for class, it was an unusual week in that almost half of our class was gone. They are the students who are enrolled in graduate classes at John Brown University. Every now and then, they have to actually go to the JBU campus and this was one of those weeks. At first, it was a little strange missing half of our friends, but it ended up being SUCH an amazing week. Since so many of us were gone, we did something a little different than normal class that week.  

                Our focus for the week was evangelism, so instead of sitting in class on Thursday, those of us who were left on campus were to use that time to go into the community and evangelize to those who we came in contact with. I knew this going into the week and, honestly, was really nervous about it. Let’s just say that when I take those little spiritual gifts tests, evangelism is NOT my strong suit. I’m more of a shepherder and encourager. I thrive on relationships. So, the idea of just walking up to a random person and beginning a conversation about the most deeply controversial subject was a little intimidating.

                As I was driving to work on Tuesday afternoon, I was expressing my concerns to God and asking Him to open my eyes to an opportunity to share my faith in a way that I felt comfortable and natural. Although I know that the Lord does not often let us operate in our comfort zones, He was so faithful to answer this prayer! During dinner at work that day, I sat down across the table from one of my co-workers. We struck up a conversation and somehow, the topic of church came up. And when I say somehow, I mean through the power of the Holy Spirit. We had a great conversation, but I kept thinking that what she was telling me seemed a little sketchy and I was interested to learn more about her faith and beliefs. As we got up, she said that we should get coffee sometime soon. Bingo! There it was! Needless to say, we ended up having coffee Thursday morning during the time of our scheduled “class evangelism”. What an incredible time! We talked for hours about church, faith, and life and it was so good. From the impression that I got that day, I think that she knows the Lord, but I am excited to continue this relationship with her and encourage her as she grows in her faith with the Lord.

                Leaving my coffee meeting, I was so pumped! The Lord had been so evident in the conversation and it was such an encouragement for me. The Lord showed me that evangelizing to those around me and sharing the most wonderful news that has ever come to the world was not only more natural than I thought it was, but so NECESSARY. How can I say that I love and care about people, but NOT tell them about Christ and His salvation that He has to offer all those who believe? 

                Not only did I have an incredible meeting with my co-worker, but the Lord continued to work throughout the day. Work that afternoon was incredible. I direct an afterschool program at one of the local middle schools and help out with the elementary program as well. Many of the students in our program come from broken homes or families who are struggling financially. There are three siblings in particular who I have really enjoyed getting to know and you can tell need a lot of love right now. It has been fun to interact with their mom as she comes to pick them up every day as well. Anyway, as I was leaving work that day, I noticed that this family was walking home from the school. Take note that it was already dark at this point and very cold. Boom! Another moment! What an incredible, divinely-appointed moment to minister to this family. This is a family that I know and felt completely comfortable offering them a ride home. Especially as a girl, offering a ride home to people is rarely a safe option. What a blessing this was! Getting to pack those kids into the back of my car, ask them about their day, and talk to the mom as we drove the few minutes to their house was one of my favorite experiences all week. The route that we took would have been really dangerous for those kids to walk on and it would have taken them at least thirty minutes at the pace that they would have had to take. Our conversation was great and, as I dropped them off, my heart just went out to them. That family has been on my mind ever since and I am praying for an opportunity for further encounters and opportunities to minister to them. So, if you want to join me in that prayer, than that would be much appreciated. 

                As if I didn’t have enough of an incredible day already, the Lord continued to blow me away! That night, as I was finding suggestions to add to my Christmas list online, I came across a question on a website where I needed to ask one of their “on-line” experts. So, I ended up chatting with one of their representatives about the product. As we were talking, a thought crossed my mind: “I wonder if this guy will cut me off if I bring up Jesus?” I was nervous at first but, then the Lord just spoke to my heart. Why would I not? Why would I miss this opportunity just out of fear of rejection? So, through a lovely segway of Christmas in the conversation, I brought up Jesus. We ended up talking for over an hour! It was awesome to be able to talk about Jesus in such a real way with someone I didn’t even know and then, at the end, be able to ask him how I could be praying for him. So cool! 

                When it was all said and done, my heart was on fire and so excited about what the Lord had done that day! I couldn’t sleep at first because my heart was so burdened for each of these people that I had encountered that day and their stories. I had so many prayers on my heart: for my co-worker and her faith, for this family and their situation, and my helpful online expert and his prayer request. What a wonderful day! The Lord is so faithful. He is so faithful to answer our prayers. When we are willing to listen and have our eyes open to what He is doing, we get to see some incredible things! That was the biggest lesson that I walked away from that day with: that when I am in prayer and expectantly waiting for a response, the Lord will work and show us what He has prepared for us to do.