So I decided to start reading. I been wanting to expand my relationship with God, and I decided that I needed some guidance. So lately I have been reading Francis Chan's Forgotten God book. To be honest, if you get the chance to read Francis Chan anything... DO IT! He is an amazing author with great insight that could help you fully understand anything better. But enough promoting the book, time to talk about what I'm reading. The book talks about the Holy Spirit being the forgotten God that people really don't think about anymore, and it made me question what do I know about the Holy Spirit? After thinking about that for awhile, I came to the conclusion that I really don't know much at all about the Holy Spirit. I knew that he was of equal value as Jesus and God and deserved worship because in church we sang a song that talked about the God head three in one... Father, SPIRIT, Son. So I guess that was a start. In the book, Chan pointed out that the Holy Spirit is our God on Earth. Jesus came to be on Earth, but he was crucified for us, which means he is no longer with us on Earth. So God and Jesus are in the heavenly Realm drinking milk and honey and we are down here with no God. Until God sent the Holy Spirit to dwell in us on Earth. So if I knew that the Holy Spirit is part of the Trinity, why do I ignore it? Why do so many people ignore it? Its something I don't understand yet, and I'm hoping as I read more into the book I will understand it more. One thing I do understand is the Holy Spirit is not something we turn on and off. We can't just turn him on when were in church, or in a difficult time then off every other time. The spirit should radiate in our bodies always. People should look at me and know that I am different because I have the Holy Spirit in me. But that's the kicker... We don't always radiate. Actually we hardly flicker, we are too busy trying to fit in or conform to the everyday norms that we sometimes don't even look like Christians. This made me think of an octopus. Its called a mimic octopus, and if you have ever seen it this thing is probably the most fascinating sea creature you have ever seen. What this octopus is a master of doing is it can morph its body into different shapes to make it appear to be a different species then it really is. That way predators don't attack it because they think it is something else. I think that this is how a lot of our relationships with God are. When we see persecutors coming, we dispel who we really are and our beliefs, so that they leave us alone and we can go back to our small flicker of a life. In James 3:11, he says "Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water." We must always radiate with the Holy Spirit. Not just sometimes. This is my prayer, "Lord, please make the scripture be living and active to and through me. Let the words penetrate all my wrong doings and expel any ill-conceived notions I have collected along the way. Let me radiate always for you Lord. Amen"