My parents were swept up in the charismatic renewal movement of the seventies. Catholics gone Pentecostal. It was a passionate romance followed by a quick engagement. An unexpected marriage experienced by many as both exhilarating and intense. As a kid, I remember bits and pieces. Church in ordinary homes. Laying on of hands. Prayers for healing. Stadiums filled with 3,000 people singing in tongues. This was my introduction to the Holy Spirit. I didn’t understand it, but I liked living next door to the mystery. I felt close to the power of God. In many ways, it made God more real for me.
What's the Holy Spirit.
Five years ago I had to write a creed as a requirement of becoming a member of Genesis. It had three components: belief in God, belief in Jesus, belief in the Holy Spirit. Following is what I wrote about the Holy Spirit:
I believe in the Holy Spirit
who heals, comforts, grants peace and fills my heart
who is my conscience
who inspires me to celebrate and share my faith
to answer God's calling to live intentionally according to His plan
and make a difference in the lives of others
The above still holds true, and more. The Holy Spirit becomes most prevalent for me when acting on feelings deep within the heart. I find myself moved and inspired in surprisingly profound ways. Of late, writing and praying seem to be the most common instances where the Holy Spirit is evoked. It's taken some time, but I'm now able to more consciously recognize and connect with those experiences. Many, many prayers of gratitude . . .
What's the Holy Spirit?
i spent some time in the 80's attending a pentecostal church. heard the tongues, saw the healings, saw the knockout punch of the Holy Ghost, saw raising of hands and dancing in the aisles and felt the emotions. i also liked living in that mystery. to witness people overcome with the engagement of God.
i have also sat at genesis watching folks being in a similar place - engulfed in the spirit, the presence.
i have a difficult time separating God into three entities. big fan of the entire package; the physical wonder of creation, the gut-wrenching, life-changing resurrection of the soul, and the heart-warming power of being hugged by God and watching God hug you.
Charlie Snedeker
What's the Holy Spirit?
Hmm. A tough one this week.
Concept of Holy Spirit was introduced to me during my early sunday school classes while growing up. For most of my early life it was just a word with little meaning. My first remembrance of the Holy Spirit beyond this was during a "Revival" at church. There was a palpable sense of God/Spirit moving through the church during an altar call. No way to describe it other than I knew what it was without being told.
Since then, I've found it hard to allow myself to be open and vulnerable to the Spirit. When I allow myself to be open, I think of the Spirit as my conscience. I know it is not the same thing, but the Spirit works through me in similar ways. Nudging me to do the right things at the right time. When I am not open, well let's just say, I have a tendency to go off on tangents for years at a time.
I think why it is so hard to figure out what I believe/understand is because I have worked so long to see the trinity as different faces of God, but not something separate. Thus for me, experiencing the Spirit is only a different way of experiencing God.
What's the Holy Spirit?
The concept of the Holy Spirit has always been foggy for me. :-) I began to get a better understanding after being apart of a bible study on Pricilla Shirier's Discerning the Voice of God.The way she explained it is that when you become a Christian, the Holy Spirit indwells your human spirit and is your constant companion revealing God to you personally. She uses the anology of the Holy Spririt being God's control tower. He sees the end from the beginning and guides us through life.
I did not understand the difference from our conscience. But now I get that our conscience is formed based on our personal environment. It's shaped by the experiences, truths, and lies that we are exposed.
Lori Pierre