...However, since reality is too complex to explain in pragmatic terms, authors are sometimes forced to turn to other means of explanation. The House of the Spirits, by Isabel Allende, incorporates magical elements into a familiar atmosphere in order to explain one’s relationship with the world. Overall, through Clara’s magical abilities which show her inexorable love for her family, Allende demonstrates how a woman’s relationship with her loved ones changes the course of their lives. For example, Clara’s spiritual abilities allow her loved ones to preserve their dignity, particularly as death takes the best of them. While Clara and Ferula search for Nivea’s decapitated head, “guided by her instincts for seeing what [is] invisible,” Clara says to the driver, “’Go straight, I’ll tell you the route” (Allende 122). Through the author’s use of a paradox, as Clara is able to see what is invisible to others, the reader comprehends that finding Nivea’s head, which once sheltered her mind and thoughts, is significant to Clara particularly. Despite the rescuers’ search, Clara shows a firm mother-daughter relationship as she is able to use her dream and instincts to find Nivea’s head, and ensure that Nivea is able to genuinely rest in peace. Also, after Alba loses the courage to continue living in prison, she invokes her grandmother’s spirit a number of times to help her die. However, Clara “[appears] with the novel idea that the point was not to die, since death came anyway, but to survive...
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...I always try to leave people better than I find them. It sounds simple, but I truly value working hard, serving others and building friendships. These values come from my Catholic faith and family tradition. In this essay I will help you see who I am in light of these values, without creating a false impression of myself. In order to give you the clearest picture, I will describe my personal growth over the past year through three different facets of my life: Mind, Body, and Spirit. Mind: I have always had a creative mind and the ability to see the world differently. This helps me to make people laugh, build friendships, as well as solve problems in school. For example, during a recent Physics project, I was able to build the tallest tower in class using only an 8 ½” x 11” piece of paper and a 6” piece of masking tape. I may not be the smartest kid in the class, but sometimes I can see solutions to problems that others cannot. However, my creativity and free-thinking have not always been assets. From the time I was very young, focus has been a problem for me. Whenever I take a test I often find myself looking around the classroom at my peers rather than focusing on the test in front of me. I have quietly struggled with this my entire life. Last spring, I mentioned this to my parents and they took me to a specialist. In May, I was diagnosed with mild ADD for which I am now being treated and have already seen results. For example, the first time I took the...
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...“Person” of the Holy Spirit Of the three “persons” to the concept of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit is often shrouded in more mystery than the other two. While the person of God the “Father” as the creator and sustainer of creation is well established in the scripture and the history of Judaism and Christianity, and while the person of Jesus the “Son” as an actual person in the course of human history is well documented in history and scripture, the person of the Holy Spirit is a person whose characteristics are not well defined. While the responsibilities of the Holy Spirit are often documented throughout scripture, the question of how to address the Holy Spirit is sometimes vague. While there is plenty of scriptural attestation to the Holy Spirit, and while Jesus does use personal pronouns to describe the Holy Spirit, the modern depictions of the Spirit are often amorphous, lacking definition, and sometimes even pictures that do not infer personhood as much as substance, such as depictions of the Holy Spirit as a, “tounge of fire.” Some theologians have pointed to the scripture to attest to the personhood of the Holy Spirit in the same way as Jesus and the Father (with some scripture point to personal pronouns such as “he”) while others are more concerned with the function of the Holy Spirit rather than the form. This begs the question as to whether or not it truly matters what the Holy Spirit is rather than who the Holy Spirit is. The Holy Spirit is first mentioned in...
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...The Holy Spirit “…Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit.” Ephesians 1:13 (see also 4:30; 2 Cor 1:22) When Jesus went back to His father, He did not abandon us as spiritual orphans in the world. He sent us his Holy Spirit into our lives. The Holy Spirit is the personal presence of God. “…I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever—the Spirit of truth.. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.. I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you…” John 14:16-18;16:5-7 (read Acts 2:1-4). The Holy Spirit is one of the three Persons of the Godhead (Matthew 28:19). That means that although the Holy Spirit is distinct from the Father and the Son, He is indeed God (note Peter’s words in Acts 5:3-4 and John’s description of Jesus in John 1:1-2). All three Persons are actively involved in the process of salvation, as shown in the scripture: “For through [Jesus] we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.” Ephesians 2:18 THE GIFT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT “We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.” 1 John 4:13 The Holy Spirit is God’s gift to every believer. When a person personally receives Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, the Holy Spirit comes to live on the inside, imparting spiritual life. “Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized...
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...Holy Spirit is the third person of the God Head. The Holy Spirit is also, the way men receive power and help which bring us into fellowship with God”. John 15:26, tells us that when the comforter comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which comes from the Father, he shall testify of me. Jesus implies, that he has many things to tell them but they cannot bear them until the comforter (Helper)... Comes which will guide you into all truth, he will speak and show you things. The comforter will glorify Jesus and the Father. Jesus was letting the disciples know that the Holy Spirit has his personal characteristics’, which are a mind, a will and emotions. John. 16:12-16. Acts 1:2-9. The disciples saw Jesus for 40 days after the resurrection…. Jesus ate with the disciples : According to Longnecker, This was known as the Breading of Bread which is the passion of Christ. Acts 2:42-47. Acts 1:14, 24 6:1-10 10:4-9. Referring to, Christ as the Church, while giving them special instruction to wait in Jerusalem until they receive promised from the Father. . The Holy Spirit was imparted into the believers before Jesus ascended. Acts. 1:4-5. The Promise: was fulfilled on the day of Pentecost. Matt.10:20. Bruce, explains ,“The Holy Spirit , promised by the risen Savior, comes to the disciples on the day of Pentecost.. Seven weeks after The Easter Festival.” Acts 2:1-5: the First Fruit Festival (Wheat Harvest). Exdo. 23:16-34,22. The Spirit enabled...
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...spiritual experience they call the baptism in the Holy Spirit. At the present time, hundreds of millions of believers identify themselves with the movement that teaches and encourages the reception of that experience. The global expansion of that movement demonstrates the words of Jesus Christ to His disciples that when the promised Holy Spirit came upon them, they would receive power to be His witnesses to all the world (Acts 1:5,8). The New Testament emphasizes the centrality of the Holy Spirit's role in the ministry of Jesus and the continuation of that role in the Early Church. Jesus’ public ministry was launched by the Holy Spirit coming upon Him (Matthew 3:16; Mark 1:10; Luke 3:22; John 1:32). The Book of Acts presents an extension of that ministry through the disciples by means of the empowering Holy Spirit. The most distinguishing features of the baptism in the Holy Spirit are that: (1) it is theologically and experientially distinguishable from and subsequent to the new birth, (2) it is accompanied by speaking in tongues, and (3) it is distinct in purpose from the Spirit’s work of regenerating the heart and life of a repentant sinner. Baptism in the Holy Spirit The term “baptism in the Holy Spirit” does not occur in Scripture. It is a convenient designation for the experience predicted by John the Baptist that Jesus would “baptize in [Greek en] the Holy Spirit”1 (Matthew 3:11; Mark 1:8; Luke 3:16; John 1:33) and...
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...about the Holy Spirit Talking with kids about the Holy Spirit can be challenging, so many church leaders avoid it as much as they can. At CentriKid Camps in 2013, we focused on the truths that God is with us from creation, He is with us in the person of Jesus Christ, and He is with us through the Holy Spirit, and our response is that we follow Him. We felt it was important to give kids age-appropriate lessons with some tangible object lessons so they could grow in their understanding of the Holy Spirit. Here are some passages and illustrations from CentriKid to help you teach kids about the Holy Spirit: 1. Revelation 21:3 - “God’s dwelling is with humanity, and He will live with them.” 2. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 – Your body is a sanctuary of the Holy Spirit. Define sanctuary, and help kids know that when we give God control of our lives, He makes our body a holy or sacred place. 3. Acts 2:1-3 – Appearance as flaming tongues of fire. Illustration: Empty gas can (since most folks at your facility might be upset if you started a fire in the children’s department). 4. John 3:8 – The wind that blows where it pleases. Illustration: Box fan. Cut it on, have a child with long hair stand in front of it and you’ll be able to quickly illustrate seeing the effects of the wind, but not seeing the wind itself. 5. 1 Kings 19:11-12 – Soft whisper. Illustration: Piece of rope that gently tugs at your heart As you teach kids about the Holy Spirit, move them to...
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...Before the invasion of the demon beasts, spirits were once living peacefully with the humanity. They teach magic to the human, they created living forest everywhere they go, they created armors and weapons that could be called treasures, they could purify the most toxic water to a fountain of clarity, they were most revered existence by the spirit beasts and elves living in the forest. Those spirits were loved by the nature and spirit beasts. Human that had the change to be loved by the spirits could form contract with them, becoming a spirit user and receiving a huge amount of spiritual power. There are all kind of spirits in the world ranked by grade but most of them were listening and obeying to only one of them. The king of spirits The...
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...When I think of “American Spirit”, so many images come to my mind: everyone coming together on Memorial Day to honor those we have lost, raising the flag at Iwo Jima, and strangers helping strangers after the bombing at the Boston Marathon. American spirit has an effect on how Americans live today. It has only done our country good and brings people, friends and families together. When I looked up the definition, it surprised me how the word’s definitions fit how I think of the American Spirit. The first definition that I came across out of many was, “the vital principle or animating force within living beings”, this could not be any more true to me. Some people think of American spirit differently, so there is always going to be contrasting definitions....
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...BiBLiOTHECA SACRA 157 (January-March 2000) 68-87 THE FILLING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT Eldon Woodcock O N SEVERAL OCCASIONS the New Testament refers to people being filled with the Holy Spirit. What does this involve? What did people do when they were filled with the Holy Spirit? How did t h a t filling come about? How can Christians today experience the filling of the Holy Spirit? W H A T I T M E A N S TO B E " F I L L E D " In New Testament Greek two words with their cognates meaning "to fill, to fulfill, to complete" are used in association with the Holy Spirit. They are πληρόω and πίμπλημι} Both words are flexible enough to designate several kinds of filling. These words are strikingly similar in their meanings. One area of shared meaning is "to finish, complete, fulfill." Both πληρόω and πίμπλημι are used to indicate a time at which something was to begin and the comple tion of a period of time at which something was to end. 2 The verb πληρόω is used of Jesus' finishing a presentation of His message (Luke 7:1) and of the apostles as having completed a Eldon Woodcock is Professor of Bible, Nyack College, Nyack, New York 1 R Schippers, "Fullness πληρόω'' in New International Dictionary of New Tes tament Theology, ed Colin Brown (Grand Rapids Zondervan, 1975), 1 733-41, Ger hard Delling, "πίμπλημι, έμπίμπλημι," in Theological Dictionary of the New Testa ment, ed Gerhard Kittel, t r a n s Geoffrey W Bromiley (Grand Rapids Eerdmans, 1968), 6 128-31...
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...The Gifts of the Holy Spirit. * Introduction: I am primarily going to refer to the gifts of the Spirit as spoken in 1 Corinthians 12-14. Would be cool to work through these three chapters verse for verse, but time will not allow this. Before I am even going to touch on the gifts of the Spirit, I do think its important that we look at the context of the book. Why did Paul find it necessary to discuss these gifts with this specific church. So important context pointers (which we read about in Acts and 1 and 2 Corinthians): * It was rebuild by Julius Caesar in 44 BC, after being a waste for about 100 years. * It had a lot of economic advantages, because of where the city was build. (BETWEEN TWO TRADING ROOTS; one land route and one sea route; NOT NECESSARY RICH GROUND; also had unlimited supply of water). Strategic place for a city – the wealth attracted people from all over. * Also known as a place where free slaves came to live, after they received their freedom, and many of them worked their way up into society. Roman soldiers also settled their – less Gentiles, Jews also immigrated to that place. * Temple of Aphrodite (goddess of love) was a famous temple in the city – had over 1000 cult temple prostitutes. * Greeks had a famous proverb in that time, namely, “to act like a corinthian” – referred to the moral decay in the city. * The situation in Corinth have been viewed as a hopeless situation – you do not want to go there as a minister of the...
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...Touching Spirit Bear Final Project As little as you might know, Cole Matthews, I am the Spirit Bear. I was watching you, just like I watched every other troubled teenager spend time on my island. But you see, you’re different from any other human that has been here. Let me induce you on the story of Cole and I’s experience. Several weeks before you arrived on the island, Edwin and Garvey had set up a perfect place for you to stay, a comfy little cabin! It was built good and stable. The first day you had shown on the island, you had not only lit the cabin on fire but all your supplies of food as well. I will never understand what went through your mind to make such a decision. The next day I had seen you staring into the bay, for several minutes, as it was pouring rain out. As I was studying you, you started to strip down and slowly sink into the water. I was confused, but I continued to watch. You started swimming very hard, if the tide...
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...Baptism and the Holy Spirit in the Book of Acts Water Baptism vs Baptized with the Spirit and Power The book of Acts begins with Jesus' parting words to His apostles before His ascension to the right hand of God the Father. In His opening statement Jesus promises the Holy Spirit, and He does this by distinguishing the coming of the Spirit from the baptism of John. “For John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” (Acts 1:5) John had testified the same of his baptism, “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” (Matthew 3:11, also in all the other Gospels: Mark 1:8; Luke 3:16; John 1:33) So there are two types of baptisms in the book of Acts, what the old theologians called baptismus flaminis (the outpouring of special gifts of the Holy Spirit) and baptismis fluminis (the Baptism of water which is a Sacrament of the remission of sins). (See Francis Pieper, Christian Dogmatics, II.289, note 53) Water Baptism: John's, Jesus' and the Church's Baptism (baptismis fluminis) Of these two types of baptism, the first is the baptism of John, and then commanded (and expanded) by Jesus (Matthew 28:18-20) and given to all the converts on Pentecost, etc. (This is the normal baptism that continues today. We see many of these in Acts, including Acts 2:41; 8:12-16, 36-38; 9:18; 10:47; 16:15...
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...Responding to the Spirit John 16: 13-16 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 He will tell you things to come. 14 He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. 15 All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you. 16 “A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me, because I go to the Father.” Someone has defined the word sanctification as a process whereby the Spirit of God, takes the word of God, and makes us like the son of God a midst all the circumstances we face as creatures hear on this earth. Jesus says in the gospel “the spirit of truth will guide you into all truth” and whatever the spirit hears Jesus Christ is relaying the message to his children. We are to be people of the word, we are to read the word, meditate upon it, memorize it, love it, and most of all apply it. There is no growth in Christ likeness without personal attention to the word of God in our lives. Ephesians 1 15-18 15 Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, 16 do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him...
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...OF THE HOLY SPIRIT: THE BAPTISM OF THE HOLY SPIRIT: OUR FRIEND, COMFORTER, TEACHER, AND PART OF THE TRINITY A RESEARCH PAPER SUBMITTED TO PROF. JOHN CARTWRIGHT IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR BIBLE 364 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY ONLINE TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 3 SIGNS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT ON THE DAY OF PENTECOST-------------------------------- 4 THE INDWELLING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT---------------------------------------------------------- 5 THE HOLY SPIRIT WILL CONVICT US------------------------------------------------------------- 5 RECEIVING THE BAPTISM OF THE HOLY SPIRIT---------------------------------------------- 6 CONCLUSION---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7 INTRODUCTION The Holy Spirit or as some refer to it as the “Holy Ghost”, is real and a very vital part of the Trinity (Father, Son, Holy Spirit). “From the Trinity we learn that the Creator is not static or standoffish but a loving relationality and sheer liveliness. It informs us that creation is grounded in God’s love and that grace underlies the gift of life itself.” There is scripture that shows the three as one, as we look Matthew 28:19 states “therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” There have...
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