Finishing strong

“I have set the Lord always before me; Because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved.” Psalm 16:8

All glory to God for the journey of another year. God bless you dads & mums for all you do to nurture the children in your care physically and spiritually.

As we round off the year 2023, please set aside some quality time to review your goals for the year as individuals and family. Do not camp around little success, instead give God thanks and move on to greater heights.

Areas of focus for review:

Spiritual life: personal quiet time, journaling, development of talents Ps 63:1, Matt 25:14-30

Academics: consistent home learning, time management Pr 22:29

Health: healthy diet, exercise 1 Cor 6:19-20

Finance: tithing, offering, wise spending Mal 3:10, Matt 6:19-21

Relationships: family, friends Pr 17:17, Pr 17:22

Please support your children (as appropriate for their age) to go through the areas listed above, taking note of what they did well and what they need to improve on in the coming year.

RGC has offered support through one on one chat, helping children to set spiritual goals and review them during follow-up chats.

If you haven’t done such goal setting/appraisal in previous years and you would like to be supported by the RGC team to do so this year, please reply to this message.

Action points:

-Count your blessings. Make a gratitude list with your children and give God thanks intentionally from your heart.

-Do a honest appraisal of your goals for 2023

-Plan for a more glorious 2024

Goal setting sample

Spiritual	Academic	Finance	Health	Emotional/Relationships
-Read my bible and devotional daily -Write in my journal daily -Meditate on a verse every night and do what the word says -Practice the keyboard 10 mins daily	-Have a regular time for home learning -Read a book every week/learn new vocabularies	-Tithing -Offering -Share toys -Give to the needy e.g clothes	-Eat vegetables, fruits -Drink enough water -Exercise daily	-Show love to my parents-obey them -Show love to my siblings-be kind -Be kind to friends -Be joyful always

Appraisal sample

Spiritual goal
What did I do well?	I wrote in my bible journal using drawings and poems sometimes
Why did I do well?	I like drawing and writing poems
What is the next step?	Share the content of your journal with your family. Discuss what you learn from the bible.
What didn’t I do so well?	I read my bible occasionally and memorized a few verses
Why did I not do so well?	I didn’t have a fixed time for reading my bible
How can I improve?	Schedule a time of the day for reading/meditating on the word of God If you like songs, then try memorizing verses using songs. Do a review after one month to review progress

Repeat the above process for each goal you set previously.

For toddlers, it could be as simple as this;

Goal-say thank you Jesus when I wake-up daily

Nest step: what are you thanking God for e.g thank you Jesus for my food, for my daddy and mummy’s work etc.

Prayer circle: It may seems like a lot to do, but remember that the Holy spirit is our helper. You are not going through the journey on your own Jn 14:16. Pray asking for the help of the Holy Spirit to grow in your relationship with God

RGC team are available to support you with daily prayers, christian books, one to one chat/follow-up, useful tips/resources to help achieve your set goals. Contact us here.

Rocky foundation

Rocky foundation Matt7: 24-27

“Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: 25and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.

26“But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: 27and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”

You are welcome to another family bible time, we are considering a very popular parable of Jesus Christ, and I urge us all to not assume we know this parable but to prayerfully take a close look at it again as a family.

Activity 1: Can each member of the family thoughtfully ask themselves these two questions:

How much of God’s word do I know?
How much of God’s word that I know do I really do?

We cannot overemphasize the importance of the Word of God in the life of a believer.

Activity 2: Can each member of the family take turns and talk about what the word of God means to them?

(Scripture guide for the leader- Matt4:4, Psalm119:105, Psalm119:97-98)

Our Text today describes two men (women, boys, girls, families), both of them built their houses but on different foundations

Activity 3: Ask a child in the family what a foundation is in a building (principles, platforms, anchor, support, rules)

Take note that both houses experienced the same unpleasant situations: rain, floods and winds, these are things that can happen to an individual or even a family to check how strong the individual or the family is, and to see how you will respond as an individual or as a family. They can be in form of challenges, temptations, unpleasant situations, delayed expectations, etc

Activity 4: An adult in the family can explain these (rain, flood, wind) in age appropriate way to the children so they can relate.

The outcome of these two houses are obvious from our text, and the reason for the difference is the foundation. In vs24 of our text, Jesus Christ likened a man who hears and does His sayings (words)to the wise man.

I am sure that from activity 1 most of us will answer that they know the word of God to a significant degree, this is good , well done, keep it up. However knowing the word alone does not guarantee a solid foundation. If you look at the first word of our text, it says “therefore”, whenever you see therefore as the beginning of a verse, please read the previous verses for better understanding.

In Matt7:21 Jesus mentioned that it is only those who does (not just know) the will of God that will enter the Kingdom of heaven, not even those who just preach, prophesied, cast out devils or even do miracles and don’t practice the word. Jesus referred to them as “you who practice lawlessness” Matt7:22-23. Lawlessness simply mean living without the law or disregarding the law. Law in this place refers to the word or the will of God.

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves James1:22

So going back to our text, building on a strong foundation that can withstand the rain and flood and wind simply means knowing the word of God and practicing the word of God that you know.

The house of the other man that built on a weak foundation could not stand the rain, flood and wind, Matt7:27 described the fall as a “great fall” because people had known him as someone who reads and knows the word and expected some stability in his life/home/family because they assumed he was practicing the word as well, but he wasn’t.

Reflection:

The devil is not afraid of head knowledge of the word of God/bible stories. It is having a relationship with God, knowing who you are in Christ and DOING the WORD that the devil fears.
Make up your mind today to apply the same effort you put in knowing the word to practicing it-obedience, giving, forgiveness, Godly relationships, submission, humility etc

Prayer circle:

Make a list of the things in the word of God that the children are struggling to do and prayerfully agree on plans to help them overcome these challenges
Adults should prayerfully work out a plan to start doing the things in the word that they have not been doing before.

Prayer: May the Holy Spirit (the helper) help us all to be doers of the word of God all the time in Jesus name. Amen.

The vision

Sharing the vision Hab 2:1-2

The vision of the raising Godly Children (RGC) platform is to support children to build a relationship with God till we see Christ in glory.I Jn 2:3-6.

RGC goals: know the Lord, Love the Lord, Read (Live) the word, Serve the Lord, Pass it on.

We are counting on parents to support their children to establish and maintain a personal ‘Jesus & me’ time as discussed during one to one chats. Pls send me a message to book a one to one chat if you belong to one of the following categories:

You have never attended a one to one chat
You would like a review of the goals set in the last one to one session
Your child is ready to move to the next step in his/her walk with God.

We trust God that our children will grow in their personal relationship with God and this will manifest as Godly character and excellence in all areas of their lives.

Action points:

Within the next two weeks, pls be encouraged to do the following:

Parents:

Ensure each child has a personal time with God and all the necessary resources are provided i.e age appropriate bible, daily devotional, journal, Christian books, progress chart (You can request a christian book and/or sample progress chart here)
Plan to attend each child’s personal time occasionally to see how they are getting on
Do a daily/weekly assessment, asking questions and answering their questions

Children:

Ensure you have a scheduled ‘Jesus and me’ time that is agreed with your parents to avoid distractions
Take all that you need to your space-bible, journal, writing ,materials, progress chart
Fill your progress chart e.g I have prayed, read my bible etc

RGC: We will continue to lift you up in our prayers daily, offer one to one chat as needed, family breakfast meeting (free breakfast included), share resources such as books, family bible time guide, daily devotional, links to useful online bible-based activities, book review etc.

Family discussion

Ask each member of the family to suggest one thing they would like to include in your family devotion or their personal devotion.

Ask each member to share what challenges they may be experiencing e.g dozing off when reading the bible, lack of understanding of scriptures, not remembering lessons learnt from the bible, unable to talk about Jesus to friends etc

Try to address the issues raised using scriptural and personal examples to encourage one another e.g Philip and the eunuch Acts 8. Refer to previous notes on meditation ‘what is in your mouth‘ and sharing the word ‘what are you passing on.’

You can also reschedule personal devotion to a period when your child is alert, use age appropriate resources to help your child understand the bible, review previous bible lessons over and over again until your child becomes a doer of the word and not just a hearer.

Family circle

Take turns to pray for each family member mentioning the challenges they shared in prayers.

Reflection

Take some time to think about your child’s relationship with God, where they started from, where they are now and the next steps. Give thanks to God for the journey so far and for grace to continue tirelessly.

Prayer: May God grant us wisdom to train our children and provide the physical, spiritual and emotional support they need as they grow older in Jesus name. James 1:5

Inner beauty

Inner beauty Ps 51:10-17

Our heavenly father, the creator of heaven and earth is undoubtedly beautiful beyond description. We can see the wonderful works of His hands even though we do not see Him. As His children created in His image we are meant to be beautiful as well.

Beauty is a combination of qualities in a person/thing that gives pleasure to the sense or the mind.

Are you beautiful inside and outside?

Within the next two weeks, we will focus more on the inward beauty.

(Outer beauty in terms of physical appearance, hygiene, dressing etc is also very important. Please discuss this with your children especially those approaching puberty)

The psalmist prayed for a new heart and a right spirit Ps 51:10, this is inner beauty. A clean heart and a right spirit brings together a combination of qualities that make our lives pleasing unto the Lord such as: Love, goodness, clear conscience, purity, words of wisdom, diligence, graceful attitude/behaviour.

2. Why do we need a clean heart?

*Heart here is not referring to the physical cardiovascular organ. It refers to our inner being.

The actions we perform and the expression of our feelings all originate from the state of our heart. For instance, the choice of words we use , the clothes we choose to wear, the places we visit are all processed first of all in our heart.

Family discussion: Make a list of qualities of inner beauty that seem to be lacking or need improvement in your family without picking on anyone. Discuss each one and pray that the Holy spirit will help to make that quality find expression in your lives e.g attitude/behaviour.

Do you have children whose attitude (the way they feel) when corrected is not appropriate and their actions (behaviour) is unacceptable sometimes?

Refer to the previous notes on ‘attitude‘. Explain with examples (without naming anyone) how to take correction and make improvement.

Activity 1: Ask the children to mention some behaviours that are acceptable or unacceptable to God. See from the bible the consequences of such good or bad behaviour e.g Esther’s obedience to the eunuch, Ruth’s loyalty to her mother-in-law, King David’s lustful behaviour.

Activity 2: Encourage everyone to make Ps 51:10 a daily prayer asking God to not only forgive us, but give us a new heart which is pure, that is, all previous sins and errors have been wiped out and we can start another day with a right spirit and live to please God. This prayer gives room for daily repentance before the Lord and regular re-examination of our way of life to ensure that it is pleasing unto our maker.

Reflection: Take a few minutes to think about all that has been discussed. Ask each family member to write out action points and support one another to achieve your set goals.

Memory verse: Gal 5:19-21

Prayer: Thank you Lord for your word. Holy Spirit help us to see those aspects of our life that we may think ‘it doesn’t matter’, yet they compromise our inner beauty, and help us to work on improving those areas 1Pet 1:16.

My bible and I

My bible and I Josh 1:8, Ps 119:105

The bible is God’s way of communicating to His children the knowledge of him, His ways, His promises and what he wants us to do.

This post aims to reinforce the action points highlighted in the previous post: ‘new beginning-back to school spiritual preparation’

1) Have you supported your child to schedule a feasible time for ‘Jesus & me time’?

-Do an assessment daily and at the end of each week, listen to your child’s questions/challenges and agree on a few realistic goals towards growing their relationship with God.

-Does your child need to go to bed early to allow early morning ‘Jesus &me’ time? Make necessary adjustment to accommodate this. e,g serve dinner on time, schedule devices to go off at a certain time, fix a regular time for bed time prayers so they don’t have to stay up late waiting for prayers etc

-Assign one of the children to remind everyone when it is time for prayer (your children may welcome the idea of making a rota for this as some children love to be given ‘leadership’ roles).

2) What is your child doing during his/her ‘Jesus &me’ time?

Provide guidelines on what can be done during this time and provide age appropriate resources. Please click here to leave a message if you need help with this including free Christian books.

Some helpful tips:

-You can create a chart where your will child colour/tick what they have done for each day. You can add a photo of your child reading his/her bible to the chart and do a coloured printing.

The columns on the chart includes: Pray, read my bible, write in my journal, meditate on a verse, memorise a verse, practise what I learnt.

*see sample below.

-Give incentives, probably monthly, to encourage your child.

3) Dad& mum,

-Assess your personal walk with God regular and lead by example

-Bring to God in prayers whatever challenges your child mentions during daily/weekly review of their ‘Jesus & me time’

-Schedule quality time to fellowship as a family (this includes prayer and fasting, bible study, question & answer, sharing testimonies and experiences (past/current) to edify one another.

Family circle: Take turns to pray for each family member, ask them for what they would like you to pray about.

I pray that God will help us seek after Him whole heartedly that we may find Him in Jesus name. Jer 29:13, Ps 42:1

# Consistency is key

Date	Pray	Read bible	journal	meditate	memorise	Word practice
21/09/2023	√	√	√
22/09/20232	√	√	√		√
23/09/2023	√	√	√	√	√	√

We are not orphans

I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Jn 14:18

Jesus promised to send us the Holy Spirit to abide with us forever Jn 14:16.

This post is to remind us Christians that we are not orphans in this world. We have the Holy Spirit whose ministry is to help us live a life that is pleasing and acceptable to God in this ungodly world Rom 12:1.

We need the help of the Holy Spirit to keep us holy and blameless till Jesus returns
Eph 4:30, 1Thess 5:23.

As discussed in one of the previous posts, prayer and word are essential nutrients for spiritual growth. It is by the help of the Holy Spirit that we can pray effectively Rom 8:26, James 5:16. Also, it is the Holy Spirit that helps us to understand the Word and do what it says.

A Spirit filled Christian is constantly aware of God’s presence and is able to live in this world without compromise. Praying in the language of the Spirit strengthens our inner man Eph 3:16. Click here to read about how speaking in tongues helps us in our day to day activities.

Family discussion:

Have you received the baptism of the Holy Spirit evidenced by speaking in tongues? Has your child received the baptism of the Holy Spirit too? Acts 10:44-48.

You can study the Acts of apostles to learn more about the Holy Spirit. As you do so, express your hunger and desire for the baptism of the Holy Spirit in prayers. You can also read books that can help you understand the ministry of the Holy Spirit more (The Holy Spirit my senior partner by David Yonggi Cho, The Holy Spirit and His gifts by Kenneth E Hagin)

“God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” Jn 4:24
Worship is not only in songs, all that we do in our day to day life must be done as an act of worship to glorify God. This implies that our Spirit must be in an ‘activated’ mode always, to connect with the Father and this can only be possible if we have been baptized in the Holy Spirit. Acts 19:3-7.

Reflection: If you have been struggling with your prayer life/bible study or struggling to desist from some bad characters (alcoholism, gossiping, immorality, lying, unforgiveness, bitterness, laziness), ask the Holy Spirit to help you.

Meditation: Encourage all your family members to read/memorize this scripture:
Ps 50:10-12. Spend some time meditating on it and cleanse your heart daily.

Remember, we are not orphans.

Prayer: Thank you Lord for your Word reminding us of the promise of the Holy Spirit and His assignment on earth. I pray that henceforth, I will take full advantage of the benefits of the Holy Spirit, helping me to live in the world without compromising in any little way in Jesus name. Amen

Tilling the ground Part 2

Tilling the ground Gen 2:5^b

We have established that preparing your spiritual ground is an on-going process and your offspring will grow spiritually as they observe you and learn from your consistent teachings.
Please answer the following questions and decide your next steps based on your answers:
For children < 6years
1) Does your child have a personal space and time to talk to God?
1a)Is this done consistently at least a.m and p.m ? Josh 1:8
2) Does your child have a personal, age appropriate bible? Click here (read the word ⁰⁰¹) to see a sample
3) Have you taught your child how to pray? Click here (prayer, part 2) to read more
4) Do you buy age appropriate Christian books to help your children understand the bible more? Click here to request a free book
5) Does your child have an attractive journal that inspires creative writing. It could also be a plain note book, but help them to make writing interesting. Based on their bible study, they can draw, write a poem, make a word cloud from a bible story, make a gratitude list etc

For children > 6 years
In addition to the above,
1) Does your child know the difference between reading and meditating? Click here (what is in your mouth) to see practical example of meditation.
2) Does your child have a structure for studying the bible? It is good to pick random verses sometimes. However, as they grow older and need to feed more on the word, a few random scriptures won’t suffice for their spiritual growth. 1Pet 2:2
3) Have you taught your older children how to pray using scriptures they have been reading and meditating? Job 22:28
( you can request e copy of scripture cards to help them memorize scriptures and then use them in prayers)

4) Do you have a daily devotional for your children. You can request here

*some children may already have the burning passion for a deeper relationship with the Holy Spirit. Encourage them to study Acts of the Apostles to know more about the Holy Spirit and how to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

Family discussion: a) Teach your children what to do in their personal space with God. Let them know the importance of interacting with the Hoy Spirit. He is the teacher, helper, counsellor b) Set a regular time for family bible discussion.

Activity: Allow some variety in the mode of teaching you deploy. Use bible games, bible based videos, break the code, fill in the gap, colouring bible verses/bible characters etc (note: these resources are never to replace the bible itself)

Reflection/prayer: Highlight one or two goals as next steps for each child. Work on achieving these goals. You can take baby steps, but consistency is KEY.
Father, thank you for blessing us with these children. Help us to work on our set goals and keep growing spiritually in Jesus name. Amen

#Never too early to start

#Never too late to start

Tilling the ground

The earth will not yield its increase if there is no man to till the ground and no rain Gen 2:5^b

What is tilling? it is a process of getting the soil ready for planting. It involves mixing organic matter into the soil and breaking up crusted soil.

To get the best out of the soil of our lives and that of our children, someone has to labour to prepare the soil, then God sends the rain, then we reap the harvest.

Tilling in a spiritual context means preparing our hearts to receive the rain of the Spirit.

How do we till our spiritual ground?

The most essential element is salvation which reconciles us with the father and provides the opportunity to develop a relationship with Him (Jn 3:16) by the help of the Holy Spirit (Jn 14:16)

1)Prepare the ground with required spiritual nutrients

a) Word: The word of God is food for our Spirit 1Pet 2:2. Take advantage of the numerous resources available online and offline to help us feed on the word e.g sermons, books.

Note: Nothing can replace personal study and meditation on the word alongside interaction with the Holy Spirit. You must schedule time for this day and night Josh 1:8

(the hyperlinks make reference to previous notes-‘what is in your mouth’ and ‘Holy Sprit and you Part 2’)

b)Prayer: Whenever you study the word, you will definitely know what to pray. Pray based on your understanding of the word to establish promises/ prophecies and receive grace to imbibe the principles you have learnt.

Prayer will also loosen the soil of your heart, shape your character, purge (cleanse) you and make you ready to receive the rain of God’s presence.

Remember the devil is looking for who to devour and sows tares when men sleep (1Pet 5:8; Matt 13:25). Prayer and the word will make your spiritual ground unsuitable for any seeds of the devil (such as bad character, infirmities, divorce, violence, alcoholism, indecent dressing) to germinate. This will only happen if you do what the word says by the help of the Holy Spirit.

Preparing your spiritual ground is an on-going process, but it is important that you have gotten this right before your children start arriving. If you haven’t or you are still inconsistent, now is the time to start working on the ground of your heart and do so consistently.

As you receive the rain of the Spirit and you are well nourished, you will not struggle to nurture the seeds (your offspring). If you are firmly rooted in the soil that has been well prepared (and is still being nourished continuously and consistently), your fruits will definitely be well nourished and grow as they should.

Next time, we will talk about how to help the fruits retain the nourishment. They must also learn by observation and be taught actively to till their own ground as they grow.

Reflection: Pls examine your spiritual soil. Is it lacking nutrients? Examine your children’s spiritual soil, is it well nourished?

Prayer: Father, we thank you for this word. We pray that you help us identify any spiritual nutrient that we are missing and help us to invest time into feeding on your word.

Holy Spirit and you Part 3

Previously we talked about the ministry of the Holy Spirit as a strengthener and helper Jn 14:16 (Amplified version).

The power that a believer receives when they are baptized by the Holy Spirit is primarily for witnessing- “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:8.

Why do we need power?

Do not think that it is only those who preach to a large audience that need power. As a parent, you are required to train your children in the way of the Lord, you are therefore a soul winner in that regard. You are to ensure that your children are established in God’s kingdom-this task requires the power of the Holy Spirit because you are up against the battle for young people’s life and destiny.

Sharing the gospel is to be accompanied by signs and wonders, so as we preach the word, the power of the Holy Spirit backs up our evangelism and demonstrates God’s supernatural abilities. For instance, when you share a scripture with someone who is anxious and confused, by the power of the Holy Spirit accompanying the word you speak, the person will experience joy and peace. This makes it easier for the person to believe what you are saying about Jesus and then become saved.

Furthermore, when we talk about wonders it is not only drastic healings like the lame walking or the blind seeing. It may be emotional healing which is also very crucial in this present days.

Family discussion:

Thank God for your family and that you know God, but the word must spread to other families too. Share the gospel at the school, in the community park etc.

“And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. ¹⁶.He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.”

The children have been taught previously how to do this. Please refer to previous notes here- ‘what are you passing on’.

Encourage one another within your family to tell someone about Jesus just the same way you discuss the new recipe you found or the website to visit for great discount or your favourite TV show/ movie/you tube channel. For instance, when asked at work or school about how you spent your weekend, always remember to mention all the lovely things you did at church-may be re-enactment of bible stories, drawing/colouring or planting seeds, singing/dancing etc.

Remember it is a major assignment of the Holy Spirit to help us preach the gospel Acts 1:8. Just be bold and be willing and look out for opportunities around you.

Activity: Get a small book for each member of the family (you can actually ask your children to make a book and design it as they like). Whenever you tell someone about Jesus, make note of it in your little book.

Hint: You can actually start by telling those of your household what you learnt from your bible or how you practiced something you learnt. Gradually, you will be able to share the word outside your home too.

Reflection/prayer: Take time to think about the great commission (Mark 16:15-16) and pray that God will help you to work on that assignment effectively by the help and power of the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit and You-Part 2

Engaging /interacting with the Holy Spirit John 3:8, Gen 28:16

Holy Spirit is a spiritual personality that you can interact with just like you do with physical friends.
For you to enjoy the friendship of the Holy Spirit, you have to deliberately interact with Him like you do with your friends.

Important things to note:

a) You must be aware of the presence of the Holy Spirit in order to engage Him. You need to spend quality time with the Holy Spirit.

b) You should expect Holy Spirit’s response to your interactions with Him

*His presence is always there, but you need to stir it up

How to engage/interact with the Holy Spirit

1) Engage/interact with God’s word: Read, and most importantly meditate on the word and do what it says.
a) The word is Spirit and life Jn 6:63
b) The word has the ability to interact with your spirit and reveal to you the things of God Heb 4:12, 1Cor 2:9-12
E.g: The Holy Spirit came upon Cornelius and his household while they listened to God’s word through Peter Acts 10:44-45

2) Pray abundantly (especially in the Spirit): Praying is not just to request from God, it is also for fellowshipping and interacting with the Holy Spirit.
Jude 1:20 It builds you up in the spirit and makes your spirit sensitive to receive from the Holy Spirit.

3) Eph 6:18: “……all prayer and supplication in the Spirit…i.e intentionally praying in order to, and until you are tuned to the Holy Spirit and attentive enough to hear him.
e.g Peter’s vision while praying on the roof Acts 10:9-13; apostles’ prayer for boldness after been threatened. Acts 4:18,31

4) Quality and continuous worship
Praying always draws us close to God, worship draws God close to us
Eph 5:18-20 Worship attracts the presence and manifestation of the Holy Spirit to a worshipper e.g Paul and Silas in prison Acts 16:24-26
Disciples in Antioch Acts 13:2

Remember to do the above with awareness of the presence of the Holy Spirit, spend more time with the word, in prayer and in worship and expect the Holy Spirit to respond as well.

Q&A

Prayer circle: Take turns to pray for each member of the family asking for the help of the Holy Spirit to develop any of the interactive channels discussed that they may be struggling with (may be inconsistency in studying/meditating on the word, inability to pray or worship effectively).

The Holy Spirit and You-Part 1

The Holy Spirit and You Jn 14:16

The Holy Spirit is the third person of the trinity. He was first mentioned before creation Gen1:2

Holy Spirit in the old testament:

The Holy Spirit was mentioned several times in the old testament.

Activity one: Can you try to list some instances where the Holy Spirit manifested in the lives of some people in the old testament? See some answers below:

The 70 elders Num 11:24-27
Gideon Judg 6:34
Samson Judg 13:25

Holy Spirit in the new testament:

In the new testament, Jesus promised that he will send to believers the Holy Spirit Jn 15:26. The Holy Spirit will be with us forever as opposed to the occasional experience some people had in the old testament Jn 14:16

The ministry of the Holy Spirit:

And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper (Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor—Counselor, Strengthener, Standby), to be with you forever. Jn 14: 16 (Amplified version).

Activity two: Can you share with one another instances where the Holy Spirit has been a Helper, Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor, Counselor, Strengthener or Standby to you and/or your family.

What do you need to do to develop intimacy with the Holy Spirit?

Know the Holy Spirit-You can learn about the Holy Spirit and his ministry by studying the Acts of the Apostles.
Be conscious of the person of the Holy Spirit and his ministry as discussed above.

For instance, acknowledge his role as your helper by asking the Holy Spirit to give you understanding of the word before you read your bible and bible resources like bible story books, Christian literature, bible app etc.

Ask the Holy Sprit to help you to pray for he knows the heart of the Father 1Cor 2:11

3. Invest more time interacting with the Holy Spirit whether in word, worship or prayer. You know he is present with you, but are you speaking to him and expecting response?

Prayer: Father, we pray for a deeper encounter with the Holy Spirit in Jesus name. Amen.