The Fruit of the Spirit

 

Holy Spirit in the Old and New Testaments

The Holy Spirit is mentioned in both old and new testaments. It starts with

... and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters - Gen 1:2 (NIV)

He appeared in many other stories in the bible. Such as in David:

Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. - Psalm 51:11 (NIV)

Then, why did Jesus said:

But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate [Helper (NKJV), Comforter (KJV), Counselor (CSB)] will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you - John 16:7 (NIV)

I think this bible verse in John is strongly connected to the one in Joel 2:28-32 and Acts 2:17-21:

... I will pour out My Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on My servants, both men and women, I will pour out My Spirit in those days. ...

The main difference before and after Jesus' time might connect to the term 'pouring out the Spirit on all people'. This must be something special. Therefore, I would like to suggest to pray that The Spirit is poured out to us.

Spiritual Hunger & Believe

Behavior changes when someone is hungry and has the hope to obtain food somewhere. Often, the behavior is connected to the level of hunger and the level of hope. 

Hunger without any hope often leads to complaining, giving up, or even depression.

On the other hand, having no hunger will lead to a different type of behavior. Sometimes it leads to the act of judging the hunger people.

It is interesting that the bible verses connected to spiritual hunger and thirst come with the concept of believing and the act of coming to God.

Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to Me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in Me will never be thirsty. John 6:35

“Let anyone who is thirsty come to Me and drink. Whoever believes in Me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” John 7:37b-38

How much do we want Him along with putting our hope in Him? 

Freedom in the Spirit

Through several sources, last week the Bible verse in 2 Cor 3:17 got my attention.

"Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom."

I tried to meditate on how it can be possible. I imagined that it works like a chemical that unclogs a drain. In our heart, there might be things that block the work of God in our life, such as sin, hurt, bitterness, negative-emotion, disappointment, confusion, etc. Maybe it is even something that we are not aware of or not understand. With immersing our self in the Holy Spirit, it gives the freedom to the Holy Spirit to flow. Of course I am not sure if that is how it really works. However, try to immerse in Holy Spirit grows our trust and love in Him.