The Power Connection

Acts 1:8
"But you shall receive POWER when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria,and to the end of the earth."

John 16:13
However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak and will tell you things to come.

The Holy Spirit....
Old timer's referred to Him as the Holy Ghost.
Samuel Bringle, a Salvation Army Evangelist, used to call the Holy Spirit "the Hound of Heaven".
The Spirit of God is symbolized throughout the Scriptures in various ways.

He is seen as a dove descending on Jesus as He comes up out of the water following His baptism.
He is defined as a "Mighty Rushing Wind" in Acts 2 on the day God loosed Him to fill every believer. 120 gathered in an Upper Room in Jerusalem experienced this "dove" coming as the "promise from the Father".

On the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit was also symbolized as "tongues" or small column's of fire that rested over each persons head that was present in that upper room. If you go back to the book of Exodus, you will find that God appeared to the Hebrews, who had come out of slavery in Egypt, as a huge column of fire. He usually rested over the Tabernacle and lit up the entire camp with the light of His glory. One Column for One people. But on the day of Pentecost, God sent the Holy Spirit to every one who believed in Christ. His presence was now manifested and sealed by the presence of His Holy Spirit in the life of the believer. I'm sure even today, if we could pull back the veil that separates the natural from the spiritual, we would see that fire resting on each believer.
So...the Holy Spirit is seen as a "column" of fire.

The Spirit of God is also symbolized by water. Many refer to the "rain" of the Spirit...the washing away of sin after conviction and confession. The sudden awareness of His presence during a meeting, or in the solitude of being alone with God. We come under the rain of the Spirit.

No matter how you want to define or symbolize the Spirit of God, know this. He comes with Power. The same Spirit that entered that tomb and touched Jesus' body to raise Him from the dead, is the same Spirit that lives within you if you are a believer in Christ.
If you aren't a believer or follower of Christ, know that the Holy Spirit is working around you and in you to bring you to the place where you do "see' the goodness and power you need to be about the art of really living. 
As a believer, you may be thinking to yourself, "Yeah, I know this, but I don't feel the power." Maybe such is because we afraid to allow Him complete control of our life. Maybe we are in love with the things of the world and only want God for when times get hard, so we keep Him (at least in our minds)..behind glass with a sign that says "Break glass in case of emergency".

Acts 2:40
And with many other words he (Peter) testified and exhorted them, saying, "Be saved from this perverse generation."

Acts 2:38
The Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."

The Spirit of God is the promise....
The connection between mortal human and immortal deity.
He is the Peace that is given when we surrender will and life over to the care of Jesus.
He is the Power that can do for us what we cannot do for ourselves.
But we have to surrender to this power.
I'm telling your right now, at 4:04 a.m. this morning, that if you are serious about moving on from your addiction.....all you have to do is give your will and life over to the care of Christ. Confess your sins.....Admit that you own them...it was your choice to live in such a manner. The receive God's forgiveness. In the turning over of your will and your life, verbally acknowledge Jesus as the one you are going to follow.That you are no longer going to follow your own selfish desires or wants. Just say..."Jesus, You are Lord." Ask Him to fill you with His Holy Spirit. Now there is Power. Now there is a new way to live and do business with the world. Now you are plugged into a divine outlet and the Power of God will flow to you, and will flow through you. 

Come and fill us up, Lord!
God on you...
mb