Day 204: Jimminy Christmas we need the Holy Spirit!

We need the Holy Spirit...Because He LEADS us into all Truth.
The Word IS Truth, but we need a Guide.
To say or not depend fully on the Guide is pride and arrogance.

Psalm 10:4
In his pride the wicked does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God.

Proverbs 16:18
Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.

I believe in the authority of the living Word of God, revealing the character and nature of God. Make no mistake in what I am saying.
However, we cannot JUST depend on the inherency of the scripture.

We need the Holy Spirit to be able to GUIDE US through the Word and to bring wisdom and revelation to that Truth so that it becomes APPLIED and not just LEARNED.

Why?

Because knowledge, in and of itself, gives glory to the one who learns it, not the God who created it.
Because knowledge, standing alone, will only frustrate and confuse people you try to share it with, no matter how hard you try.
Because knowledge, on it's own, puffs up. 1 Corinthians 8:1 "...Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up."

I am honestly a little tired of having to defend the Holy Spirit's presence in my life and make some "intellectual argument" for the need/existence of the Holy Spirit as compared to the importance of scripture. I have tried exhaustively, but here's the fact: the Spirit doesn't need a defender any more than a lion needs a defender [thank you, Amy Campbell for making a reference to this at one time that I never forgot.]. The Spirit and Bible go hand-in-hand. End of story...or rather the beginning of the story. ;) The Bible is the "SWORD of the SPIRIT" here, folks.

I NEED the Holy Spirit. Not occasionally, not once in while, not in small doses, not just when I can't figure something out, not just when I'm in pain... I need the Spirit all the time, everywhere, in my waking and in my sleeping and in NO small doses. I mean, cheese and rice, people, I'm honestly kind of an idiot when it comes to the things of God, even after years of studying theology and writing some pretty good papers/speeches on the subject. But I'm not going to pretend for one second that I have all of the answers or that I can figure things out simply using my mind.

That's important.....USE THE MIND GOD GAVE YOU.... Read, study, talk to others, know your stuff! I am a big fan of knowing what you believe and why you believe it. But it's not knowledge that changes hearts. Knowledge might get the attention of the heart, but it's the Spirit that changes. It's the love of God that radically alters lives.

1 Corinthians 8:1 "...Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up."

Wanna see the people around you changed by God? Wanna see your own heart transformed? Ask the Holy Spirit to "Bring It!" Then prepare in great expectation to get whacked by God and see the people around you dramatically changed.

OR you can keep throwing that theology book at 'em and see how well that one works out. Let me know how it goes.