Advocate anybody?

John 15:26

"But I will send you the Advocate-the Spirit of Truth. He will come to you from the Father and will testify all about me."

Advocate is defined as one that will speak, plead, argue in favor of…Who doesn't need this? Anybody?

I remember as a little girl being afraid when preachers or church folks would talk about the Holy Spirit or the "Holy Ghost" and the terrible explanation that was often given about the Holy Spirit. Even today, people are a little afraid of this conversation. You feel it in classes, in the church pews when Holy Spirit is mentioned aloud…

Let's look at this and study what exactly we are talking about – let's break down the barriers to a beautiful gift that we don't always unwrap!

In the original words the word used was "paraklhtov" – a comforter, helper, another who pleads your cause. Well, I like that how about you?

Spirit – "pneuma" – the 3^rd triune God – vital principal, rational spirit that allows humans to feel, think, decide – our soul…I like this too!

The original words go on to tell us that the Spirit allows us to know the true notions of God. Wow..this is really cool. We get to feel the real feelings of God through the Spirit, we get to be comforted by the Spirit, we get to be helped by the Spirit and the Spirit pleads our case…pretty cool stuff!

I read a beautiful explanation about the Holy Spirit by James Packer that I am going to share with you …

When floodlighting is well done, the floodlights are placed so that you do not see them; in fact, you are not supposed to see where the light is coming from; what you are meant to see is just the building on which the floodlights are trained. The intended effect is to make it visible when otherwise it would not be seen for the darkness, and to maximize its dignity by throwing all its details into relief so that you can see it properly. This perfectly illustrated the Spirit's new covenant role. He is, so to speak, the hidden floodlight shining on the Savior.

Or think of it this way. It is as if the Spirit stands behind us, throwing light over our shoulder on to Jesus who stands facing us. The Spirit's message to us is never, "Look at me; listen to me; come to me; get to know me", but always, "Look at him, and see his glory; listen to him and hear his word; go to him and have life; get to know him and taste his gift of joy and peace." The Spirit, we might say, is the matchmaker, the celestial marriage broker, whose role it is to bring us and Christ together and ensure that we stay together.

All I am able to say is WOW!

Debbie