Study Desk

Don't push me away or take your Holy Spirit from me.

God is high and lifted up. He lives forever. His name is holy. He says, "I live in a high and holy place, but I also live with people who are humble and sorry for their sins. I will give new life to those who are humble in spirit. I will give new life to those who are sorry for their sins.

But they turned against him and made his Holy Spirit very sad. So the Lord became their enemy and fought against them.

Then they remembered what happened long ago. They remembered Moses and those with him. So where is the one who brought them through the sea along with the shepherds who led his flock? Where is the one who sent his Holy Spirit to live among them?

Finally, Daniel came to me. (I gave Daniel the name Belteshazzar to honor my god. The spirit of the holy gods is in him.) I told him about my dream.

I said, "Belteshazzar, you are the most important of all the men of magic. I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in you. I know there is no secret that is too hard for you to understand. This was what I dreamed. Tell me what it means.

"That is what I, King Nebuchadnezzar, dreamed. Now, Belteshazzar, tell me what it means. None of the wise men in my kingdom can tell me what that dream means. But Belteshazzar, you can interpret the dream because the spirit of the holy gods is in you."

There is a man in your kingdom who has the spirit of the holy gods in him. In the days of your father, this man showed that he could understand secrets. He showed that he was very smart and very wise. He showed that he was like the gods in these things. Your grandfather, King Nebuchadnezzar, put this man in charge of all the wise men. He ruled over all the men of magic and the Chaldeans.

God wants husbands and wives to become one body and one spirit. Why? So that they would have holy children and protect that spiritual unity. Don't cheat on your wife. She has been your wife from the time you were young.

This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah happened. His mother Mary was engaged to marry Joseph. But before they married, he learned that she was expecting a baby. (She was pregnant by the power of the Holy Spirit.)

But after Joseph thought about this, an angel from the Lord came to him in a dream. The angel said, "Joseph, son of David, don't be afraid to accept Mary to be your wife. The baby inside her is from the Holy Spirit.

"I baptize you with water to show that you have changed your hearts and lives. But there is someone coming later who is able to do more than I can. I am not good enough to be the slave who takes off his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.

"So I tell you, people can be forgiven for every sinful thing they do and for every bad thing they say against God. But anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.

You can even speak against the Son of Man and be forgiven. But anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven—not now or in the future.

So go and make followers of all people in the world. Baptize them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

I baptize you with water, but the one who is coming will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."

But anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven. They will always be guilty of that sin."

With the help of the Holy Spirit, David himself says, ‘The Lord God said to my Lord: Sit by me at my right side, and I will put your enemies under your control.'

Even when you are arrested and put on trial, don't worry about what you will say. Say whatever God tells you at the time. It will not really be you speaking. It will be the Holy Spirit.

He will be a great man for the Lord. He will never drink wine or beer. Even before he is born, he will be filled with the Holy Spirit.