Dear COA family,

Who is the Holy Spirit to you? Or what do you think the Holy Spirit is like?

Many Christians think of the Holy Spirit as God’s guide for our lives. Whenever we need help or are in trouble, we can turn to the Holy Spirit for wisdom, counsel and guidance. He is always there for us to turn to.

This is not a wrong view. Jesus tells his disciples before his death: “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you” (John 14:16). The Holy Spirit helps us as Jesus would.

But that would be an incomplete view of the Spirit. This is because in other parts of the Scriptures, the Holy Spirit is revealed as the Lord of our lives. The Apostle Paul writes:
“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3:17-18).

In other words, we should not mistake the Holy Spirit for a crutch in our lives – to approach him only in times of trouble. Instead, we should seek actively to hear and obey his words to us at every moment, for he is Lord!

This is true in our church as well. Whenever we are faced with a decision to make, we ask for the Spirit’s leading. We dare not trust in our wisdom or experience apart from his approval. This was especially true when we sought the Lord’s leading for our Aljunied nursing home chaplaincy ministry.

Beloved, is the Holy Spirit the Lord of your life today? Submit to his leading and guidance, and you will find great blessing and fruitfulness in all you do.

God bless,
Revd Ian