The Holy Spirit
Matthew 3:11
John Baptizes with Water, Jesus Baptizes with the Holy Spirit
11 "I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.
Mark 1:18
John Baptizes with Water, Jesus Baptizes with the Holy Spirit
8 I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.
Luke 3:16
John Baptizes with Water, Jesus Baptizes with the Holy Spirit
16 John answered them all, "I baptize you with water. But one more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.
John 1:32-33
John Baptizes with Water, Jesus Baptizes with the Holy Spirit
32 Then John gave this testimony: "I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. 33I would not have known him, except that the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, 'The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.'
Acts 5:29-32
God gives the Holy Spirit to those who obey Him
29 Peter and the other apostles replied: "We must obey God rather than men! 30The God of our fathers raised Jesus from the dead—whom you had killed by hanging him on a tree. 31God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. 32We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him."
1 Corinthians 2:12-14
The Holy Spirit from the LORD
12 We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. 13 This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. 14 The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.
The Holy Spirit is our connection to God and Jesus...The Holy Spirit is part of our spirit that joins us to the Two...All four gospels and the Acts speak of the Holy Spirit...The Holy Spirit is the presence of God in today's world...The four gospels teach us that John the Baptist baptized with water...Jesus baptizes with the Holy Spirit...Jesus flows through the Holy Spirit in today's world...
John the Baptist wanted us to repent, his baptism was a baptism of repentance...John came to prepare the way for Jesus, the Messiah...Jesus would baptize His followers with the Holy Spirit...And years before Jesus came to earth, Job even yearned for a Vindicator, a Redeemer...Job knew his Redeemer lived and one day would walk the earth...Was this Redeemer Jesus or the Holy Spirit?...
Job, who many say is about a book of patience...I never seen Job as a patient man, as I read the Scripture on him...Job had heard about and maybe even read about God, but now it was different, his life became very difficult...Job was persistent, very persistent and was seeking the presence of God, the Holy Spirit...And Job endured...Job realized after he talks with God that His understanding is far beyond his...Meeting God would make Job a more trusting servant and person...Job repented and sat in the dust and ashes, now not as one feeling sorrow for what he had lost and his health, but one who knows the true power of God and is mourning about his sins...
Our Messiah, Jesus baptizes with the Holy Spirit...After Jesus was resurrected He spends forty days with His disciples...He tells His disciples that they will be baptized with the Holy Spirit...They are not given this baptism immediately...On the day of Pentecost (after Jesus ascended), the Holy Spirit comes to the disciples...St. Peter in Acts chapter five tells the Sanhedrin that God gives the Holy Spirit to those who obey Him...To obey God, you must have faith in Him...
The Trinity is the belief of God as three aspects, God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit...The Holy Spirit is the Presence of God, in our lives, (as well as, God in the lives of others)...This Presence of God takes faith in Him...The Spirit of God was written about before man, when It (the Spirit of God) was hovering above the waters in Genesis 1:2...The Spirit of God was with the three patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob...Isaiah writes about the Spirit of the LORD will rest on one of the descendants of Jesse...This descendant would be the Messiah, our LORD Jesus...Jesus would bring to fruition the three aspects of God...The three aspects of our Creator are 1) God, our Father, 2) Jesus, His Son, and 3) the Holy Spirit, who was with Jesus throughout His time on earth...
When St. John writes about Jesus as the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God...He was with God in the beginning, we see Jesus was originally with God...The Word means purpose and reason was with God from the start...Jesus has always been with (and in the presence of) God...
St. John also tells us in chapter 4:24 (Jesus says) God is Spirit, and His worshipers must worship in Spirit and Truth...God is not like us, in the flesh...But is a Living Thriving Spirit...And Jesus tells us in Mark 12:27...He says that our God is not the God of the dead, but of the living...
To worship Him, we must worship this truth about the spirit (of God)...We must have a faith in Him...And the Holy Spirit will guide us to the Truth and reveal to us the Truth...The Holy Spirit will reveal Jesus to us and glorify Him...
St. Luke, in one of the most exciting descriptions and stories of the Holy Spirit, writes about the Holy Spirit in Acts chapter two...The Holy Spirit comes at the Pentecost and the Disciples of Jesus are filled with the Holy Spirit...This was fifty days after Jesus' death...Jesus had told them the Holy Spirit would come in Acts 1:8...The Presence of God is now strongly among His followers, the Twelve are speaking in different languages, so all can understand...Three thousand new followers are brought into the fellowship that day and our early Christianity roots are started...The Holy Spirit wants us to share the gospel with others...
Jesus is God's Son that came to flesh, who would have no sin...Just as we are Sons of God who come to flesh, but with sin...Jesus saves us as we believe in Him and can take away our sins, through God's plan and His wonderful grace...
John tells us in chapter seven that the Holy Spirit had not yet been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified...The disciples would later receive the Holy Spirit only after He was resurrected...
John 7:37-39
37 On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." 39 By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.
Jesus in John fourteen promises the Holy Spirit...
John 14:15-31
Jesus Promises the Holy Spirit
15 "If you love me, you will obey what I command. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 21 Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him."
22 Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, "But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?"
23 Jesus replied, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. 24 He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.
25 "All this I have spoken while still with you. 26 But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
28 "You heard me say, 'I am going away and I am coming back to you.' If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. 29 I have told you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe. 30 I will not speak with you much longer, for the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold on me, 31 but the world must learn that I love the Father and that I do exactly what my Father has commanded me.
"Come now; let us leave.
John adds that the Counselor or Holy Spirit will be sent by Him from the Father...
John 15:26-27
26 "When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me. 27 And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.
John also talks about the Holy Spirit further in John 16:5-16...
John 16:5-16
The Work of the Holy Spirit
5 "Now I am going to him who sent me, yet none of you asks me, 'Where are you going?' 6 Because I have said these things, you are filled with grief. 7 But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. 8 When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me; 10 in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; 11 and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.
12 "I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. 13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14 He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. 15 All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you.
16 "In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me."
Chapters eleven through the end of The Gospel According to John is written about the final days of Jesus' life on earth...Here, Jesus teaches us about the Holy Spirit...In these passages, we get information on the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit...Jesus had promised sending His disciples the Holy Spirit earlier in John 14:15-31...Jesus tells His disciples that He is going away and going back to God...His disciples know that, He has explained, it is time for Him to leave (I do not think the disciples are sure where He is going, yet)...Knowing this, the disciples are filled with grief (Judas left the rest of the disciples as explained in chapter 13, verse 30)...
Jesus tells them it is for their good that He must go away...The Holy Spirit would not come unless He goes away...Death comes to those on earth...Jesus will overcome death, with His resurrection...Unless He goes away, the Holy Spirit cannot come...But when Jesus leaves and ascends, the disciples will receive the Holy Spirit...The Holy Spirit coming is not an automatic, Jesus must leave, before His disciples will receive it (the Holy Spirit)...St. Luke also writes about the Holy Spirit in similar passages..Jesus tells the disciples that they will be clothed with the Holy Spirit after He has died in Luke 24:49...In the Acts 1:5-8, St. Luke tells us after Jesus has resurrected, that He will baptize the disciples with the Holy Spirit...The disciples will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on them...When they receive the Holy Spirit (from Him), then they will be His witnesses to the ends of the earth...What we don't know if the Holy Spirit has been around since the beginning of time, like Jesus has...When Jesus came to earth, did the Holy Spirit leave everyone, and return, when He ascended to heaven?...Or did Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob have the Holy Spirit, Jesus teaches us about?...
After the Holy Spirit comes to the disciples, it will show the disciples what the world is really like...They will understand that the Holy Spirit will show them, how guilty this world is, when they are filled with the Holy Spirit...As one gets closer to God, and feels the presence of God, sin becomes clearer and we realize how much we sin...We feel how great and true God really is and we are so little in nature, when we feel His presence...
The Holy Spirit will guide them when He leaves...The Holy Spirit will not speak about Himself, but will be relaying the teachings, commandments, and message from Jesus...The Holy Spirit will guide them to all truth...The Holy Spirit will show how wrong the world really is...It will reveal how they are truly supposed to do God's will...The Holy Spirit will bring glory to Him, just by taking what is His and making it known to the disciples...Everything that belongs to God, belongs to Jesus...This is why He tells His disciples that the Holy Spirit will take what is mine and make it known to you...That will give Jesus glory...Jesus through the Holy Spirit will inspire them...
When Jesus is gone (and this is very important), the Holy Spirit will take over for Him...When the Holy Spirit comes He will not bring any new commandments...The Holy Spirit is an extension from Jesus...When the disciples receive the Holy Spirit, it will prove that He is our Messiah...
We know that St. John writes about the Holy Spirit coming after He goes away, is confirmed by another saint, St. Luke in the Acts...St. Luke writes in Acts chapter two, that the Holy Spirit comes at the first Pentecost after His resurrection...The Holy Spirit fills all the disciples that day and they begin to speak in tongues as the Spirit enabled them...
Jesus makes it clear when He talks about sin, righteousness, and judgment that everyone can receive the Holy Spirit...When we feel the Holy Spirit it will expose sin...Sin springs from unbelief...We need faith, to get better, and to have belief to receive the Holy Spirit...When we receive the Holy Spirit the prince of this world, the evil one, stands condemned...Jesus takes evil and satan, very seriously...So should we...Jesus is our hope and help against the evil one...God's righteousness is meant for all the people on earth...
1 Corinthians 2:6-16
Wisdom From the Spirit
6 We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. 7 No, we speak of God's secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. 8 None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9 However, as it is written:
"No eye has seen,
no ear has heard,
no mind has conceived
what God has prepared for those who love him"]— 10 but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit.
The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. 11 For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man's spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12 We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. 13 This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. 14 The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. 15 The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man's judgment:
16 "For who has known the mind of the Lord
that he may instruct him?"] But we have the mind of Christ.
Jesus is the reason and basis for the gospel...If He has an indwelt Holy Spirit, He has a perfect Holy Spirit -and One that is always strongly flowing...He lives in harmony...We learn from the wisdom He has put in us...When He left the disciples, He sent them the Holy Spirit...Others throughout the Acts of the Apostles receive the Holy Spirit...St. Paul writes about the Holy Spirit, and the wisdom it brings...
Many of us try to be rational and reason things out...Many people try to have faith...Seldom do faith and reason meet and are equal, in our lives...In Jesus, faith and reason did meet was in sync...Jesus was a perfect rational man (if it is fair to call Him a Man), while on earth...Jesus also had more faith than any man, that has ever walked the earth...His faith was the foundation for His reason...He was the perfect and ultimate contrarian...One of the reasons for this, is He comes from above...He teaches us that we are from below; I AM from above...You are of this world; I AM not of this world (John 8:21)...His Spirit is the ultimate, when we compare it to our Spirit...His world, the above world is based as much on faith as it is on reason...He finds as much Truth in faith as He finds (truth) in reason...Jesus' perfect faith, matched His perfect reason...His reason and faith are One...He is the Truth, the Way, and the Life...
Because Jesus is from above His faith and reason were in perfect harmony...His mind, body, and spirit, lived and functioned in harmony...In man, our mind, body, and spirit do function...However, our mind, body, and spirit do not live in the harmony as His did...He was a man in perfect harmony with nature, man, and the earth...We, as man, as we sin, function more as two or three men, and wonder why we cannot be better...In Romans chapter seven, St. Paul tells us (about this and) that he tries to do good, but I hate what I do...I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, my sinful nature...For I have the desire to do what is good, but I just cannot carry it out...As he struggles daily with sin, He does not know who or why, or even what he is...Sin and the struggles with sin does this to us...The Holy Spirit searches the deep things of God...The Holy Spirit wants us to search for Him...The Holy Spirit is there to help us with this daily struggle, and tries to bring the divided man, and our divided mind back to harmony...
We do not always feel the Holy Spirit...We do not always feel God, though He is always near (Acts 17:26)...We do not always feel His Presence, when we pray...And even though we do not feel Him, He is in our souls...He is in our Spirit...He is our truth, our Spirit of Truth...
St. Paul wants us to listen to his message about Jesus, who came and was crucified for us...He was born Immanuel, which means God with us (Matthew 1:23)...St. Paul teaches us the the Spirit has power...Jesus, a man, did struggle with temptation and sin, just as we do...But He was from the Father and did not sin...His resisting sin and temptation was a result of His strong, complete faith in the Father...We learn from Him that the more faith we have in the Father, the more harmony and peace, we will have in this life and the next...Then the stronger our Spirit grows..This strengthening (of our faith) is not based on our wisdom or reason, but on our faith and the power of God...For it is by grace you have been saved, through (your) faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God (Ephesians 2:8)...
Jesus is the way and the truth, and the life (John 14:6)...Jesus told Pilate right before His death, that the reason He came into this world was to testify to the truth...And everyone on the side of truth listens to Him (John 18:37)... The Holy Spirit is also called the Spirit of truth (John 16:13)...Jesus is our Ultimate Truth...The Ultimate Truth reaches us through the Holy Spirit ...
St. John writes in his opening gospel the Word has been with God from the beginning...The Word is God...Jesus was and has been with God from the very beginning...The Holy Spirit works through the Word, which is Jesus and also works through God our Father...The Holy Spirit is our third part of the Trinity...The Trinity is God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit which is with us...
The Holy Spirit helped write the Bible...The Holy Spirit inspired the writers...The Holy Spirit was with the authors of the Bible when they wrote each of the separate books of the Bible...St. Peter tells us that we must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation...For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:20-21)...St. Paul tells us that all Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17)...St. Peter and St. Paul should know this...St. Peter is a main character in the four gospels and the Acts and wrote two epistles...St. Paul wrote thirteen epistles and books of the New Testament...St. Peter in his second epistle tells us to keep in mind that our Lord's patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him...He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction (2 Peter 3:15-16)...St. Peter was calling St. Paul's letters Scripture even before the church had canonized his words...But St. Peter knew that St. Paul was carried along by the Holy Spirit...God's word is the Bible and the Holy Spirit in these authors inspired and helped these authors write His word...
God sent His Son, who would be called Immanuel, which means God with us (Matthew 1:23)...Since Jesus is Immanuel, He is "the God with us."...He is very much related to the Holy Spirit in each of us...We know Jesus is divine, He has been with the Father from the beginning...His Divinity is how the Holy Spirit is with us...Jesus is the Word of God...He is alive...He resurrected, so He is still alive and working in us...We sometimes forget this about Him being alive...His death happened so long ago, we are busy with family, we are busy with our jobs and our daily routines, we are busy with life...Jesus is the Living Word of God... Sometimes He feels and seems out of touch, but He is near...John the Baptist says the Kingdom of God is near (Mark 1:15)...And St. Paul in his sermon on Mars Hill says God is not far from each of us (Acts 17:27)...God is near, because of the Holy Spirit in us...In a mysterious way, He is like the air...We know it is there, but we forget about it, and go on breathing it (the air)...In a mystic why He is like the earth, we walk on it, we don't think about it but it is there...God created us and is near us, but sometimes we don't think about it and we often do not notice Him (but He is here)...
But man is flawed...Sin is at work in us everyday...Man is wretched...St. Paul says what a wretched man, I am...If he (a Saint is wretched) is that way, what about me and what can I do?...But we can thank God that He sent Jesus Christ our LORD, to save us from our sinful nature...
Jesus tells us that if we love Him, He would send the Spirit of Truth to us...The world cannot accept the Spirit of Truth, because it neither sees Him, or knows Him..But believers will know Him, and He will be with us and in us (the Holy Spirit)...Our Great Teacher had to leave earth, but because He lived, we also can live...Whoever has Jesus' commands and obeys them, will be the ones who love Him... The believers who love Jesus will be loved His Father, and He too will love us, and show Himself to us through the Holy Spirit...Those who love Him, will obey His teachings and His Father will also love that believer...Those who do not believe in Him, will not obey His teachings...God will love those who follow Jesus and He will make His home in us by the Holy Spirit...Jesus is telling us always does the will of the Father...The words that Jesus spoke were and are of His Father... When Jesus left, He would send the Holy Spirit to us and to His disciples, and they would remember everything that He had said, so they could teach others about His commands, pass them on, and write about them...This is one of the reasons Jesus had to leave...I sometimes wish that Jesus was on earth with me...But if I really loved Him, I would want Him to be with His Father, because His Father is divine, and even greater than the Son...The Father is beautiful in everything...He is infinitely wise, alive, One who loves infinitely, and He is infinitely just...He is everything in beauty...Jesus would leave the earth physically, and return to His Father, and we should remember that He did everything that His Father had commanded Him to do (John 15:15-29)...
Man knows he should be good...Man knows he ought to be good...And man tries to be good, especially are great saints, such as St. Paul...And even though he tried very hard, he just did not quite make it...He knew we are flawed...He wrote about his struggles with sin (Romans 7:7-25)...St. Paul knows it takes us away from God...Sin moves us further from Him...We are more out of touch with Him, the more we sin...
Man's thoughts of " I should be good", "I ought to be good", and "I try to be good" is from the Holy Spirit in us...That man knows he should be good, ought to be good, and tries to be good comes from Jesus and His sending the Holy Spirit...With sin in man, and the Holy Spirit in us, we are divided and struggle with this...Sin makes us worse, while the Holy Spirit, whom the Father sent in His Son's name, is trying to make us better...Jesus is with us, trying to make us better...
Jesus teaches us about the three aspects of God...Anyone, who has seen Him has seen the Father...Jesus and the Father are One...God sends us the Holy Spirit, in the name of the Son...The Father and Son are distinct...The Son came to bring glory to the Father (John 14:13)...He distinctly came from the Father into this world to bring glory to God, the Father...Then the Son had to return back to the Father, from which He came (John 14:28)...The Holy Spirit is sent by God in Jesus' name and will be in us (John 14:17)...The Father and Son will make Their home in us, if we love Jesus and obey His commands (John 14:23)...
Our sinful nature makes us feel distant from the Father and Son, even though the Holy Spirit is in us...Sin keeps up apart from God, but Jesus is our bridge to Him...The more He is a central part of our lives, the closer we are to the Father...John the Baptist tells us that the Kingdom of God is near (Mark 1:15)...St. Paul says God is not far from each one of us (Acts 17:28)...
Our Father sent His Son to us and for us sinners...Sinners are lost...But Jesus came to find and save those that are lost (Luke 19:10)...He finds us with the Holy Spirit...God sent the Holy Spirit, and God and Jesus are living in us (John 14:23)...When we sin, it is because we are man is flawed by sin, and yet the Son and the Father are living in us, with our Spirit...That makes us divided (we want to be good (the Holy Spirit Spirit in us), but can't be good (the sinful nature in us))...When we sin, since we have the Father and Son in us, we are sinning against Them...Man is wretched, because of this sin...Thanks be to the LORD that we have Jesus...Jesus says He did not come for the righteous, but for us sinners (Mark 2:17)...He is our hope...He is our Savior...He comes for us...
As I read the Bible and read about the apostles being filled with the Holy Spirit, and then the Holy Spirit seems to change somewhat, maybe drift somewhat from them...I think that is a problem with us and how we are limited and finite, yet do change...This is only my opinion, and an earthly comparison, that falls far short of God's love and grace, but it maybe an understandable earthly comparison...When a young married couple are truly in love, they have a beautiful duality...What could be better?...Their emotions and love for each other are powerful and their ties are strong...How could things in their lives get any better with this love?...When they have a child, I think things might be better...This birth of their child will never be forgotten...But as the child ages, things change...But the love for the child, does not change...The love they have for each other is now shared with a part of them (the child) and will never be forgotten...In some small way, I think this maybe like the relationship with our Father, His Son, and each one of us, and how the Holy Spirit may change...We are created by God, and a part of Him...The Holy Spirit is always in us...Jesus is called Immanuel, which means God with us...The Holy Spirit is a part of God's love for each one of us...God the Father, and Jesus the Son are a beautiful duality...How could this relationship get better?...Well, it maybe why God created or "just is" the Trinity...God, the Father and Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit is a part of each one of us...The love of or between God, Jesus, and us (as an individual) is the ultimate relationship...
The Holy Spirit seems to be subtly working in us...Almost as if, we do not realize that He is there...I think this is one of God's great attributes...God is able to do all things, miracles and our seeking Him, for instance, and we are unaware that He is in complete control through the subtle way He works...It is like saying we believe in free will, but I also believe in God's fate...How can we have both...He lets us choose our free will, but He is so Almighty that His fate is always involved in everyone's lives (after we have freely chosen to do what we do each day) -fate can still happen...And so it is with the Holy Spirit...It is there tugging at our heart...God can be there, in our spirit, and actually with us and we do not notice it...God works so very, very subtly in our lives that our thoughts and our connection to our Father, is this great divine subtlety...The Holy Spirit makes us want to seek Him, in our own way and time...This subtle feeling of the Holy Spirit is like you know and think that you should pray and be thinking of Him, but it is not one the strongest of your urges...But He is there, He is always near us...He is in our soul with the softest and most gentlest of touch...That subtle and feeling about God, and Him being near is there...Sometimes, seemingly hiding, but that small voice, that small urge is Him tugging at you wanting you to get closer to Him...This urge is out of love, His Love...He created you in His Image and loves you...You need this subtle urge, this love, His Love...You need to get closer to Him, to increase the urge, and increase this feeling of His LOVE...