Luke 16-17

I grew up in a church that put a very heavy emphasis on the Holy Spirit, so when I went away to college, my pendulum swung the other way and I began to emphasize the Bible, Jesus, and having a grounded theology.  I succeeded in all of this, but at the detriment of overlooking the Holy Spirit.  In fact, every time I was in a church service that seemed to place any emphasis on Him, I would feel my internal critical eyes roll and a wall would go up within me.

So, as Josh has been talking through the new series each Sunday on Forgotten God, I have realized that I have “forgotten” the Holy Spirit.  In reality, of course I have not forgotten the Holy Spirit, but I was just so inundated with it, that I became frustrated that nothing else was ever talked about.

The sermon series that Josh is now doing has been a great reminder of who the Holy Spirit is, and why I need to spend some time reevaluating my Pneumatology. 

In Luke 16, Jesus is telling the disciples that He is going away, but that the Holy Spirit will come.  Of course the disciples have no clue what this means.  They have never experienced the Holy Spirit nor have they ever heard of Him.  But, Jesus assures them that the Holy Spirit coming is a good thing. 

Of course, now we all know that it was a very good thing that Jesus went up to be with the Father, and that the Holy Spirit has come down to reside within us.  Let us continue to be reminded of how great a gift it was that Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to us and may we never forget Him.