This is for all of you who have had those thoughts, or who may know someone who feels or has felt this way.... and it is also for those of you who have never considered suicide, but might one day out of the blue be thrust into such thoughts.
I'm not going to list the usual reasons NOT to do so, to take one's own life regardless of the reasons. I am, however, going to tell you one FACT that should deter you from doing so.
Regardless of how hopeless your situation may seem, when you meet God in judgment, you will see how you could have handled the situation with perfectly clear eyes through God himself. In other words, if while alive you felt desperate, like in a maze with no exit, God will show you exactly how the exit would have been shown to you out of your dilemma and despair.
I've blogged about this before, about how if only Judas Iscariot had held onto life for three more days, he would have seen the Resurrected Christ and have sought forgiveness.
When you are judged by God, whether you are taken to heaven or sent to hell, you realize not only that there was a way to cope with your situation, no matter how hopeless or painful and, further, that even if you felt the most worthless person who ever lived, how someone in the present or the future would have needed you very much. Each and every person can save their own physical life and thus, through God, be open to Him saving his or her eternal soul also.
DO NOT BAIL OUT. Trust God and genuinely open your heart to Him and Him alone.
I hope this helps.
Through His Holy Name.
Showing posts with label gift of Counsel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gift of Counsel. Show all posts
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Bible Reading: 1 Machabees 4:36-51
Just to give you some context, this is a historical book that centers around the history of the Jews while under the command of Judas Machabeus and his brethren. The Jews were persecuted and occupied by a number of invaders, and Rome was on the horizon, though they were not yet conquered by Rome. The scripture I am including here describes how the Jews recaptured a holy place and see the desecration that had taken place, and how they respond. These events are less than two hundred years before Jesus was born.
1 Machabees 4:36-51
Then Judas and his brethren said: Behold our enemies are discomfited. Let us go up now to cleanse the holy places and to repair them. And all the army assembled together, and they went up into mount Sion.
And they saw the sanctuary desolate, and the altar profaned, and the gates burnt, and shrubs growing up in the courts as in a forest or on the mountains, and the chambers joining to the temple thrown down.
And they rent their garments, and made great lamentation, and put ashes on their heads, and they fell down to the ground on their faces, and they sounded with the trumpets of alarms, and they cried towards heaven.
Then Judas appointed men to fight against them that were in the castle, till they had cleansed the holy places. And he chose priests without blemish, whose will was set upon the law of God: and they cleansed the holy places, and took away the stones that had been defiled into an unclean place.
And he considered about the altar of holocausts that had been profaned, what he should do with it. And a good counsel [remember counsel is one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit] came into their minds to pull it down, lest it should be a reproach to them, because the Gentiles had defiled it; so they threw it down.
And they laid up the stones in the mountain of the temple in a convenient place, till there should come a prophet, and give answer concerning them. And they took whole stones according to the law, and built a new altar according to the former. And they built up the holy places, and the things that were within the temple, and they sanctified the temple and the courts.
And they made new holy vessels, and brought in the candlestick, and the altar of incense, and the table into the temple. And they put incense upon the altar, and lighted up the lamps that were upon the candlestick, and they gave light in the temple. And they set the loaves upon the table, and hung up the veils, and finished all the works they had begun to make.
This is one of my favorite passages in the Bible that deals with historical events. There are several reasons I love how these events were recorded in the scripture, which Catholics consider part of the sacred canon of the Bible, while Jews (who do celebrate the memory of these events in their sacred calendar) and Protestants do not consider it part of the canon. The first reason that I love this passage is that it allows the reader over two thousand years later to look over the shoulders of these soldiers and witness their response when they see how their holy places and God's house were profaned. Soldiers were extremely pious. They were distraught at the profanity they had found.
Second they then get down to business and restore the sanctity of the place. Again one is able to look over the shoulder of the leader, Judas, as he considers how to handle the resanctification of the holy place. Here is a mention of the Holy Spirit giving him counsel, advising him to tear down the sacred altar because having been profaned it cannot remain as it is without being a blemish and a shame to those who would worship there. At the same time, though, Judas realizes that deciding what to do with the removed stones of the altar is beyond him or anyone alive among the Jews, and so they put the stones aside "till there should come a prophet, and give answer concerning them."
This shows two things. One is that the Jews continued to have faith that God would send a prophet when it is time, and so even though it had been very long since a prophet had arisen from God among the people, with confidence they put aside this complex and thorny decision for the next prophet. Secondly it shows their great humility. No one pushed forward and declared themselves to be "wise" enough to know what to do with the profaned stones, or claim to be "channeling" God (yikes) as we see so often today among the multitude of false prophets abroad around the globe. This is why I share this passage with you because it is a crucial part of understanding a genuine relationship with God.
Another thing I love is the loving care where they record how they sanctify and restore the temple, the courts and the altar. They understand that this is God's home, because wherever an altar is sanctified to him, God commits that his presence is there.
I hope you have enjoyed this reading and come to love it as much as I do. And remember that though they did not live to see it, around one hundred and fifty years after these events a prophet came to the Jews indeed, however he was the Messiah himself, Jesus Christ.
Oh, and here is something else to share with you. Chapters four and five describe how Judas fights against all the various oppressors, retaking lands that had been captured. On one particular day this is written:
1 Machabees 5:67
In that day some priests fell in battle, while desiring to do manfully they went out unadvisedly to fight.
This is just information about what had happened, not a hidden message or exhortation about the role of priests. But it does tell you, if you want to understand Biblical times better, that while no one stopped priests from fighting with the army, it was a very rare event because priests are the precious role of serving God and are not, in general, considered as military resources. Lest anyone imagine a role of "fighting priest," I include this passage to show you there is no Biblical justification for warrior priests at all.
1 Machabees 4:36-51
Then Judas and his brethren said: Behold our enemies are discomfited. Let us go up now to cleanse the holy places and to repair them. And all the army assembled together, and they went up into mount Sion.
And they saw the sanctuary desolate, and the altar profaned, and the gates burnt, and shrubs growing up in the courts as in a forest or on the mountains, and the chambers joining to the temple thrown down.
And they rent their garments, and made great lamentation, and put ashes on their heads, and they fell down to the ground on their faces, and they sounded with the trumpets of alarms, and they cried towards heaven.
Then Judas appointed men to fight against them that were in the castle, till they had cleansed the holy places. And he chose priests without blemish, whose will was set upon the law of God: and they cleansed the holy places, and took away the stones that had been defiled into an unclean place.
And he considered about the altar of holocausts that had been profaned, what he should do with it. And a good counsel [remember counsel is one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit] came into their minds to pull it down, lest it should be a reproach to them, because the Gentiles had defiled it; so they threw it down.
And they laid up the stones in the mountain of the temple in a convenient place, till there should come a prophet, and give answer concerning them. And they took whole stones according to the law, and built a new altar according to the former. And they built up the holy places, and the things that were within the temple, and they sanctified the temple and the courts.
And they made new holy vessels, and brought in the candlestick, and the altar of incense, and the table into the temple. And they put incense upon the altar, and lighted up the lamps that were upon the candlestick, and they gave light in the temple. And they set the loaves upon the table, and hung up the veils, and finished all the works they had begun to make.
This is one of my favorite passages in the Bible that deals with historical events. There are several reasons I love how these events were recorded in the scripture, which Catholics consider part of the sacred canon of the Bible, while Jews (who do celebrate the memory of these events in their sacred calendar) and Protestants do not consider it part of the canon. The first reason that I love this passage is that it allows the reader over two thousand years later to look over the shoulders of these soldiers and witness their response when they see how their holy places and God's house were profaned. Soldiers were extremely pious. They were distraught at the profanity they had found.
Second they then get down to business and restore the sanctity of the place. Again one is able to look over the shoulder of the leader, Judas, as he considers how to handle the resanctification of the holy place. Here is a mention of the Holy Spirit giving him counsel, advising him to tear down the sacred altar because having been profaned it cannot remain as it is without being a blemish and a shame to those who would worship there. At the same time, though, Judas realizes that deciding what to do with the removed stones of the altar is beyond him or anyone alive among the Jews, and so they put the stones aside "till there should come a prophet, and give answer concerning them."
This shows two things. One is that the Jews continued to have faith that God would send a prophet when it is time, and so even though it had been very long since a prophet had arisen from God among the people, with confidence they put aside this complex and thorny decision for the next prophet. Secondly it shows their great humility. No one pushed forward and declared themselves to be "wise" enough to know what to do with the profaned stones, or claim to be "channeling" God (yikes) as we see so often today among the multitude of false prophets abroad around the globe. This is why I share this passage with you because it is a crucial part of understanding a genuine relationship with God.
Another thing I love is the loving care where they record how they sanctify and restore the temple, the courts and the altar. They understand that this is God's home, because wherever an altar is sanctified to him, God commits that his presence is there.
I hope you have enjoyed this reading and come to love it as much as I do. And remember that though they did not live to see it, around one hundred and fifty years after these events a prophet came to the Jews indeed, however he was the Messiah himself, Jesus Christ.
Oh, and here is something else to share with you. Chapters four and five describe how Judas fights against all the various oppressors, retaking lands that had been captured. On one particular day this is written:
1 Machabees 5:67
In that day some priests fell in battle, while desiring to do manfully they went out unadvisedly to fight.
This is just information about what had happened, not a hidden message or exhortation about the role of priests. But it does tell you, if you want to understand Biblical times better, that while no one stopped priests from fighting with the army, it was a very rare event because priests are the precious role of serving God and are not, in general, considered as military resources. Lest anyone imagine a role of "fighting priest," I include this passage to show you there is no Biblical justification for warrior priests at all.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
7 gifts of the Holy Spirit: (5a) Bible citations
A selection of Bible readings about Counsel.
2 Samuel 16:23
Now the counsel given by Ahithophel at that time was a though one had sought divine revelation. Such was his counsel to both David and to Absalom.
[This is praise of a wise human counselor as being so beneficial that it is like having revelation directly from God].
2 Samuel 20:15-16, 19-22
So David’s servants came and besieged him [Sheba, son of Bichri] in Abel Beth-maacah. They threw up a mound against the city, and all the soldiers who were with Joab began battering the wall to throw it down.
Then a wise woman from the city stood on the outworks and called out, “Listen, listen! Tell Joab to come here that I may speak with him.” [She then speaks an old saying to him and concludes with:] “You are seeking to beat down a city that is a mother in Israel. Why do you wish to destroy the inheritance of the Lord?”
Joab answered, “Not at all, not at all! I do not wish to destroy or to ruin anything. That is not the case at all. A man named Sheba, son of Bichri, from the hill country of Ephraim has rebelled against King David. Surrender him alone, and I will withdraw from the city.” Then the woman said, “His head shall be thrown to you across the wall.”
She went to all the people with her advice, and they cut off the head of Sheba, son of Bichri, and threw it out to Joab. He then sounded the horn, and they scattered from the city to their own tents, while Joab returned to Jerusalem to the king.
[I love how so called feminists say women had a degraded or no role in the Bible. I guess they are too busy burning their bras or thongs and haranguing others to read it. Here is a wise woman, not a witch, not an oracle, not a ruler, but a wise woman who has the Counsel of the Holy Spirit, who comes on her own accord but with the guidance of God to the wall of her besieged city to ask to speak to Joab, who was in command of the whole army of Israel: first example of the Counsel of the Holy Spirit. The second example of the Counsel of the Holy Spirit is that Joab listens to this unnamed woman, recognizing that she is a wise woman in the Godly sense. Third example of the Counsel of the Holy Spirit is that the wise woman recognizes how to save the city and quickly bring the divisive ruinous conflict among God’s people in this case to an end. The fourth example of the Counsel of the Holy Spirit is that Joab deems her trustworthy and waits to see if she will deliver on her promise, rather than pressing the attack. The fifth example of the Counsel of the Holy Spirit is that the wise woman speaks with authority to the people and they agree with her advice, and thus slay the betrayer and cast his head to Joab.]
Proverbs 11:14
For lack of guidance a people falls; security lies in many counselors.
Proverbs 12:15
The way of the fool seems right to his own eyes, but he who listens to advice is wise.
[But it better be advice from correct and wise Godly counselors, as the following demonstrate].
Joshua 9:14-15
Then the Israelite prices partook of their provisions, without seeking the advice of the Lord. So Joshua made an alliance with them and entered into an agreement to spare the, which the princes of the community sealed with an oath.
[That did not turn out well.]
Judges 20:17-8
Meanwhile, the other Israelites who, without Benjamin, mustered four hundred thousand swordsmen ready for battle, moved on to Bethel and consulted God. When the Israelites asked who should go first in the attack on the Benjaminites, the Lord said “Judah shall go first.”
[This was not a matter of battle tactics, but of penance and honor, and this was how God directed the order that that should take place. That’s why as I explained God’s Counsel is more than just a “yes” or a “no” for literal success at one endeavor, but also “soul” “strategy”].
Numbers 30:1-3
Moses then gave the Israelites these instructions, just as the Lord had ordered him.
Moses said to the heads of the Israelite tribes, “This is what the Lord has commanded: When a man makes a vow to the Lord or binds himself under oath to a pledge of abstinence, he shall not violate his word, but must fulfill exactly the promise he has uttered.”
[I left discussion of taking vows or oaths and its relationship to Counsel until this post so that you could see the scripture that illuminates this problem. When one gives counsel, and seeks counsel, it is usually because a situation has arisen. If the situation is “what to do next” that is one thing, but often the situation then results in a vow being made or an oath taken. Remember that there was no such thing as written contracts in those days, which is why people would make these solemn vows or oaths. God from the very beginning cautions the Israelites not to take lightly making a vow to Him or that invokes his name or forms of worship to him. So obviously wise Counsel is crucial-and life or soul saving-if as a result of advice seeking the seeker plans to make a vow or an oath. One of the worst things one can do is to make a vow using the name of God after taking some un-Godly advice. Jesus sought to correctly scare people from doing that, in this part of his Sermon on the Mount, for just that reason.]
Matthew 5:33-37
“Again you have heard that it was said to your ancestors, ‘Do not take a false oath, but make good to the Lord all that you vow.’ But I say to you, do not swear at all; not by heaven, for it is God’s throne; nor by the earth, for it is his footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Do not swear by your head, for you cannot make a single hair white or black. Let your ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No’ mean ‘No.’ Anything more is from the evil one."
[Jesus is telling his listeners in no uncertain terms that anyone who advises someone to make a vow or an oath invoking God or his creation, or one’s own person, instead of simply answering “Yes” or “No” is acting on behalf or under the influence of Satan. Foolish or evil counselors result in good people making dishonorable vows to God, and that is a horrible pickle to be in. Jesus could not have made this point stronger and more dire of a warning that if he had gone and hit each person on the head with a plank of wood with those words written on it.]
2 Samuel 16:23
Now the counsel given by Ahithophel at that time was a though one had sought divine revelation. Such was his counsel to both David and to Absalom.
[This is praise of a wise human counselor as being so beneficial that it is like having revelation directly from God].
2 Samuel 20:15-16, 19-22
So David’s servants came and besieged him [Sheba, son of Bichri] in Abel Beth-maacah. They threw up a mound against the city, and all the soldiers who were with Joab began battering the wall to throw it down.
Then a wise woman from the city stood on the outworks and called out, “Listen, listen! Tell Joab to come here that I may speak with him.” [She then speaks an old saying to him and concludes with:] “You are seeking to beat down a city that is a mother in Israel. Why do you wish to destroy the inheritance of the Lord?”
Joab answered, “Not at all, not at all! I do not wish to destroy or to ruin anything. That is not the case at all. A man named Sheba, son of Bichri, from the hill country of Ephraim has rebelled against King David. Surrender him alone, and I will withdraw from the city.” Then the woman said, “His head shall be thrown to you across the wall.”
She went to all the people with her advice, and they cut off the head of Sheba, son of Bichri, and threw it out to Joab. He then sounded the horn, and they scattered from the city to their own tents, while Joab returned to Jerusalem to the king.
[I love how so called feminists say women had a degraded or no role in the Bible. I guess they are too busy burning their bras or thongs and haranguing others to read it. Here is a wise woman, not a witch, not an oracle, not a ruler, but a wise woman who has the Counsel of the Holy Spirit, who comes on her own accord but with the guidance of God to the wall of her besieged city to ask to speak to Joab, who was in command of the whole army of Israel: first example of the Counsel of the Holy Spirit. The second example of the Counsel of the Holy Spirit is that Joab listens to this unnamed woman, recognizing that she is a wise woman in the Godly sense. Third example of the Counsel of the Holy Spirit is that the wise woman recognizes how to save the city and quickly bring the divisive ruinous conflict among God’s people in this case to an end. The fourth example of the Counsel of the Holy Spirit is that Joab deems her trustworthy and waits to see if she will deliver on her promise, rather than pressing the attack. The fifth example of the Counsel of the Holy Spirit is that the wise woman speaks with authority to the people and they agree with her advice, and thus slay the betrayer and cast his head to Joab.]
Proverbs 11:14
For lack of guidance a people falls; security lies in many counselors.
Proverbs 12:15
The way of the fool seems right to his own eyes, but he who listens to advice is wise.
[But it better be advice from correct and wise Godly counselors, as the following demonstrate].
Joshua 9:14-15
Then the Israelite prices partook of their provisions, without seeking the advice of the Lord. So Joshua made an alliance with them and entered into an agreement to spare the, which the princes of the community sealed with an oath.
[That did not turn out well.]
Judges 20:17-8
Meanwhile, the other Israelites who, without Benjamin, mustered four hundred thousand swordsmen ready for battle, moved on to Bethel and consulted God. When the Israelites asked who should go first in the attack on the Benjaminites, the Lord said “Judah shall go first.”
[This was not a matter of battle tactics, but of penance and honor, and this was how God directed the order that that should take place. That’s why as I explained God’s Counsel is more than just a “yes” or a “no” for literal success at one endeavor, but also “soul” “strategy”].
Numbers 30:1-3
Moses then gave the Israelites these instructions, just as the Lord had ordered him.
Moses said to the heads of the Israelite tribes, “This is what the Lord has commanded: When a man makes a vow to the Lord or binds himself under oath to a pledge of abstinence, he shall not violate his word, but must fulfill exactly the promise he has uttered.”
[I left discussion of taking vows or oaths and its relationship to Counsel until this post so that you could see the scripture that illuminates this problem. When one gives counsel, and seeks counsel, it is usually because a situation has arisen. If the situation is “what to do next” that is one thing, but often the situation then results in a vow being made or an oath taken. Remember that there was no such thing as written contracts in those days, which is why people would make these solemn vows or oaths. God from the very beginning cautions the Israelites not to take lightly making a vow to Him or that invokes his name or forms of worship to him. So obviously wise Counsel is crucial-and life or soul saving-if as a result of advice seeking the seeker plans to make a vow or an oath. One of the worst things one can do is to make a vow using the name of God after taking some un-Godly advice. Jesus sought to correctly scare people from doing that, in this part of his Sermon on the Mount, for just that reason.]
Matthew 5:33-37
“Again you have heard that it was said to your ancestors, ‘Do not take a false oath, but make good to the Lord all that you vow.’ But I say to you, do not swear at all; not by heaven, for it is God’s throne; nor by the earth, for it is his footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Do not swear by your head, for you cannot make a single hair white or black. Let your ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No’ mean ‘No.’ Anything more is from the evil one."
[Jesus is telling his listeners in no uncertain terms that anyone who advises someone to make a vow or an oath invoking God or his creation, or one’s own person, instead of simply answering “Yes” or “No” is acting on behalf or under the influence of Satan. Foolish or evil counselors result in good people making dishonorable vows to God, and that is a horrible pickle to be in. Jesus could not have made this point stronger and more dire of a warning that if he had gone and hit each person on the head with a plank of wood with those words written on it.]
7 gifts of the Holy Spirit: (5) Counsel
When you have at least a moderate receptivity to having received and understood the use of the gifts of the Holy Spirit of Fear of the Lord, Piety, Knowledge and Fortitude, you can now anticipate and understand use of the gift of Counsel. Counsel is not the giving of advice in and of itself, although receiving advice is part of receiving counsel. True counsel, however, is having an ongoing relationship with a colleague who has wisdom that he or she imparts to you. So you can think of Counsel as having access to the transmission to you of Wisdom. So to have the gift of the Holy Spirit of Counsel means that you have an ongoing relationship with God where, through the Holy Spirit, you benefit from consultation with his Wisdom.
This is the difference between obtaining true “advice” from God and false “advice” through the use of occult means. When you read in the Bible and the Qur’an about the ancient Prophets, they did not receive Counsel from God without first having: Fear of the Lord, Piety, Knowledge and Fortitude. Pagans believe that they can “skip” right to the obtaining of “advice” without first having a relationship with the one true God as evidenced by accepting and understanding the first gifts of the Holy Spirit: Fear of the Lord, Piety, Knowledge and Fortitude. Pagans believe that they can personally invoke and “interpret” the advice or the prognostication of supernatural powers or some of the divinities by performing occult rituals, and that only they have access through their arcane knowledge or “gifts” of advice or fortunetelling. It is one of the hallmarks of false prophets, and one sure way to “spot” them, that they believe that only those inducted into their methods receive Counsel from God. In other words, it never occurs to them that the Bible reading “simpleton” who not only reads the Bible but has cultivated a humble relationship with God is receiving more true Counsel that they are, through the Holy Spirit, who loves and guides all people, particularly the pious and the humble in the eyes of God.
To understand Counsel, look at the great Kings of the Israelites, such as David. David had a personal and direct relationship with God, one that is totally unique, yet he understood that he had to surround himself with wise counselors of the government, military and priesthood. To have Counsel in the earthly setting means that you have a circle of wise friends, family and colleagues who have an ongoing relationship with you, where you can discuss all that is going on. When one receives the gift of the Holy Spirit of Counsel, you are “adding to your counselors” the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit does not replace human counsel, and is not “summoned” to “answer questions” anymore than your valued counselors are kept far away, only to be summoned to answer “yes or no” to your problems. Through the gift of Counsel the Holy Spirit is a quiet and gentle continuing presence that brings the Wisdom of God as a contribution to your overall living of your life and your quiet consultations of God.
Counsel from the Holy Spirit is not dramatic, and does not provide “new” revelation. Nothing that truly comes from God contradicts or changes what has gone before and is in the scripture. Counsel from the Holy Spirit is, in fact, very rarely prophecy at all. Counsel from the Holy Spirit can be likened to the wisest and quietest counselor of the King, who sits while the other counselors debate alternative courses of action in front of the King. Once in a while the King will glance at the wise old counselor, who is observing silently, and notice that he will convey in a look what he thinks of the person now speaking. When one prays for Counsel from the Holy Spirit, that is often what you receive, a slight “eye roll” when you think about one of your courses of action, a slight nod of approval when you think of another, but not in a prognosticating way. Rather, the Holy Spirit Counsels you to understand what you are hearing with your own ears, and seeing with your own eyes, and see the evidence of results in your own hands, and thus understand how to discern a situation within the context of God’s ongoing will. By God’s “ongoing will” I mean, again, that God is not prophesying or making a decision for you, but you are making your own decision while firmly grounded and comprehending God’s ongoing will and greater plan, for not only you but also the community of the faithful and the entire world. This is why the gifts of Knowledge and Fortitude are prerequisite to actually receiving the gift of Counsel. One must have the facts of God, how to worship and serve him, through Knowledge, and one must have trust and the ability to endure through Fortitude, before one can receive and comprehend God’s Counsel.
Impatience, which is lack of Fortitude, tempts one to seek Counsel as I’ve described above, an occult tool, to answer “What will happen” and “What should I do?” That is why Fortitude that is grounded in Fear of the Lord, Piety and Knowledge is a prerequisite to receiving the genuine gift of Counsel from the Holy Spirit. Trust in God, which is the basis of Fortitude, allows one to understand that the Counsel of the Holy Spirit walks with you at all times, rather than having to be “summoned” as an “advice giver” or “fortune teller.” Genuine patience and trust in God prevents one huge temptation, which is to start to think of life as a string of supernatural “yes and no” decisions and occurrences. That is a mistake of pagan and now “New Age” “thinking.” The Bible is about a book of living, of ongoing life, not a “how to” of a string of decisions, with life being meaningless filler in between supernatural or “destined” events.
The true and genuine Counsel of the Holy Spirit is always with you, although obviously, when in quiet prayer, you might be more conscious of the Holy Spirit’s presence. That does not mean that the Counsel of the Holy Spirit “works” only when you pray, far from it. Like the wise and quiet counselor in the analogy of the King’s circle, the Holy Spirit’s Counsel is quietly there, and is reassurance that there is no part of life that has a monopoly on God’s benevolent attention. The Counsel of the Holy Spirit is just as available and present to the poor person as he or she works in the rice paddy as it is to you when you have to make a difficult decision regarding an investment, or how to deal with a parental situation. Be clear in understanding, though, that the Counsel of the Holy Spirit does not make you wise. The Counsel of the Holy Spirit allows you to benefit from God’s Wisdom. The actual gift of the Holy Spirit of Wisdom comes only to those who have received, acknowledged and comprehended all of the previous six gifts, one of which will be the topic of the next blog post on this subject. You see, this is another problem with occult thinking, where they believe that their prognostications and receipt of “answers” makes them personally wise, or that they are “tapping” or “channeling” some universal databank of supposed wisdom. That is not true. Genuine Counsel of the Holy Spirit is always received only in the context of living a true one God centered normal life. True Counsel of the Holy Spirit is not about “what will happen” but how to live in the present, with a mind to the future of eternal life, a good life, in other words, a life that is filled with goodness and seeks the goodness of God for self and neighbor.
For example, as a friend, an intimate, a confident, a colleague and a boss, many people in my personal and professional life have noticed that sometimes when they pitch an idea to me I respond with a neutral “Mmmm.” That is sometimes very frustrating to them, LOL! I have never done it consciously; that is my genuine response to hearing what is being said. They have asked me, is that an “Mmmm” or an “mmmM,” trying to discern even a tendency toward approval or disapproval! At those times it is genuinely neither, and even an atomic scale would not detect a trend either way, ha. That is because the best I can translate my “Mmmm” is that it means “keep on going.” It means I’ve heard what you’ve said, but a point of sufficient information has not yet been reached to make a decision or to change course. That is often how the Counsel of the Holy Spirit “sounds,” because genuine Counsel is received as an ongoing presence throughout an ongoing coherent life, not one that is parceled into decisions, “destiny” and prognostications. Sometimes the Counsel of the Holy Spirit is, simply, to “keep on going,” (another reason why Fortitude is a prerequisite to comprehending the gift of Counsel). Think of that wise and quiet counselor of the King. If he continues to sit there, with an occasional nod, significant look to you, or a sigh and a look up to heaven, you know that you should “keep on going” and use your own skills of discernment to continue gaining information. That means he is neither agreeing with nor condemning what he hears your other counselors tell you.
How is one way to hear the Counsel of the Holy Spirit in a real situation? A guilty conscience is one way. It is the Counsel of the Holy Spirit when you feel a pang of guilty conscience when you contemplate a course of action that is contrary to the goodness that God has taught one to always pursue. You might say, well, why do some evil people not feel a guilty conscience? Precisely; that answers one’s own question. They no longer have the gift of the Holy Spirit of Counsel. The evaporation of shame or the lack of a guilty conscience when contemplating what is bad and wrong is a warning sign that one either never had or has lost the gift of Counsel of the Holy Spirit. Behind many jokes there is a kernel of truth, and the joke of “Catholic childhood guilt trip” or the “Jewish mother making her child feel guilty” is a sign of genuine and serious contact with the Counsel of the Holy Spirit. Parents, nuns or priests who teach children during their spiritual formation to feel some sense of guilt or shame are, in moderation, doing good work, because it is countering the tendency of society to shut down the amber warning lights that guilt or shame provide. When one does not feel some honest guilt or shame in appropriate circumstances this is an example of the wise counselor of the king no longer being in the room. A voice of Counsel of the Holy Spirit is silent when one can contemplate what is wrong without having warning feelings of guilt and/or shame. It is ironic that the freak show society teaches spiritual experimentation to have illusions, revelations and listen to every random narcissistic firing of one’s brain cell on one hand, but teaches silencing and rejection of the loudest and continuous warning of the wise counselor, which are appropriate feelings of guilt and shame.
What is another way that one feels the Counsel of the Holy Spirit in a real situation? Having feelings of interest and affection for fellow humans and one’s “neighbor” is another way one feels the Counsel of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit seeks to constantly intertwine humans in a benevolent way with one another, so that one’s own human circle of counselors is widened, and not narrowed. Genuine Counsel of the Holy Spirit teaches humans not to constantly “divine God’s every instruction for every situation,” but to live godly and God based lives among benevolent and wise fellow companions. This is, sadly, another way that “New Age” has ruined genuine Counsel from God. “New Age” “teaches” that people “enter your life” “for a reason,” related to “learning lessons” or “karma.” That is so manipulative, wrong and anti-God and anti-humanity. Everyone is equal companions in the journey of life, and people are supposed to have normal relationships with everyone, not impugn self important motives to people who enter “your” life. Love of neighbor means loving those of your community, whether the literal local community or the broader community of fellow mankind and womankind, the way God loves them, which is as an equal person created in God’s image, and not as a “tool” for occult thinking. So when one feels genuine interest and affection for a neighbor, friend, acquaintance, work colleague or hobby sharer, one is responding to the Counsel of the Holy Spirit, broadening one’s connectivity in a pure and motiveless way among one’s fellow humans who are loved by God.
I know that if I were speaking to a group, this question would be asked, so I will answer it. No, it is not the Counsel of the Holy Spirit if you imagine that the Holy Spirit is “giving you a message” for someone else. That is hubris and lack of understanding of God’s ways. If the Holy Spirit had a “message for someone else” the Holy Spirit would give the message to that someone else directly. However, the Counsel of the Holy Spirit will stir you to compassion and intervention when a fellow human is suffering, is in need or is misguided into sin. The Counsel of the Holy Spirit is felt not through “incoming messages” but through the stirring of compassion and ongoing concern for another, where one is encouraged to have a truthful ongoing relationship with that person and to be an ongoing helping hand, not to deliver an “oracle.” There is a world of difference between those two scenarios.
A traditional saying, said in admiration of people who have been remarkably kind, pious, and/or wise is that he or she “walks with God.” This is a folk saying that recognizes someone who emanates through their attitude toward life and their fellow humans that they are walking with the Counsel of the Holy Spirit from God. Again, this is something that “New Age” has ruined, trying to get people to feel that they have “spirit guides” of dead people or so called “angels” and, of course, this is all about their ego rather than being about God and his goodness, and normal human life. A person who “walks with God” is not “channeling spirits,” but is someone who through their receipt, acknowledgement and cultivation of Fear of the Lord, Piety, Knowledge and Fortitude has opened themselves to the continual gift of Counsel from the Holy Spirit. Their Counsel is not in world shaking matters, but as I said, well developed and serene understanding of guilt and shame as a trip wire to warn of bad behavior, and the ability to turn to the Wisdom of God for encouragement and solutions throughout life. Their Counsel is also a genuine egalitarian spirit toward their fellow humans that can only come from God and is rooted in the understanding that all are equal and loved in the eyes of God, even when they seriously stray.
Again, one needs to look no further for the example of walking with God than Jesus Christ, who was constantly with the Counsel of the Holy Spirit. This is why people constantly commented on the “authority” with which Jesus spoke. No human can ever hope to have the authority of Jesus, who could and did speak for God the Father, but one can see no better role model for how the Counsel of the Holy Spirit “works.” Jesus did not deliver “messages” and “oracles” to individuals. Rather, when challenged by his detractors and sinners he rebuked, but always with the tone of explaining with authority their error and allowing them to view the option of changing themselves.
Jesus always knew “the right thing to say,” to use a modern expression, because of his continual gift of the Counsel of the Holy Spirit. This not only means that Jesus spoke correctly, with the authority of God the Father, but also that Jesus always knew what to say, or not say, and when to say it. Jesus would ask a question and then sit in companionable silence when that was best for the situation, or he spoke a parable that moves the hearts and enlightened about God the thousands who listened to him. Jesus was the human embodiment of a man who walked with the visible and continuous Counsel of the Holy Spirit. This is why he continually astonished those who knew that he had not attended years of religious study, starting when he as a child amazed the scholars and holy men in the very Temple of Jerusalem. Jesus was already “role modeling” what a person who walks with the genuine Counsel of the Holy Spirit looks and sounds like.
And while no one can ever hope to be as Jesus, for that is impossible, one can understand how to strive to be a role model in his footsteps by looking at the Apostles and disciples as they received, as Jesus promised, the Holy Spirit at Pentecost and, in the case of St. Paul, directly from the resurrected Jesus Christ. It is the Counsel of the Holy Spirit who is the helper and consoler when the Apostles and disciples preached and pled their cases in persecution, often providing them with the words with which to speak. (This is another reason that historical-critical Biblical scholars totally miss the point when they analyze the “writing styles” of the New Testament authors, questioning how they could be so literate and erudite, and why they seem to write in a style that is “popular” only “later.” I mean, duh. The Holy Spirit is nothing if not erudite, in every language, in every time, and in every heart and head.) The Holy Spirit knows what they could not know, which are what eyes would someday read their Biblical authorship, and which souls would depend on belief in what they said. That is why the Bible was written “then,” but for all times, and what being “inspired by the Holy Spirit” truly means. The Counsel of the Holy Spirit does not move the pen on scroll like pagan belief in “automatic writing,” but the Counsel of the Holy Spirit provides access to the Wisdom of God, allowing the Bible authors to write the truth of what transpired in a way that future generations can all understand, follow, and find their faith and belief.
Once you understand this, dear readers, you no longer fall for false prophets and their writings, because the ego and delusion of their speech and script become to your ears like the grating of finger nails on a chalk board. Likewise, you can identify right away those authors through the ages (I’m speaking now of literature, not the Bible) who have the Counsel of the Holy Spirit, not because they prophesy and “reveal,” but because they manifest the obvious benefits of having the Counsel of the Holy Spirit. They demonstrate love and fear of God, genuine love of neighbor, and flashes of quiet wisdom and comfort that “hit the spot” (an American expression for a food or beverage that directly and perfectly addresses a hunger or a thirst). When one reads what a person who truly writes with the Counsel of the Holy Spirit writes, you may leave with greater Fear of the Lord (in the way that I have explained, which is not terror) but you also leave with greater love of and confidence in life and humanity itself. That is how it was for those who listened to Jesus. Jesus woke them up and pricked them with genuine concern that they better do what is right and get their souls in shape for God’s final judgment of them, and so Jesus helped those who listened and believed to have the gift of Fear of the Lord, in a time of much complacency and the blaming of sin on the poor, widowed, orphaned and crippled. Do not skip over the parts of the Gospel where Jesus “put the fear of God” into people; that would be most unwise. However, equally Jesus spoke with authority about the goodness of life and how a life lived for God prepares one to receive the blessing of eternal life in God’s presence. Those who truly, therefore, walk with the Counsel of God manifest to all who read and listen the Fear of the Lord and the Knowledge of God.
I’ll conclude this blogging with this thought. The Counsel of the Holy Spirit is far more common than people realize, but it is hidden among the every day lives of the humble, and it is rarer than people think, for many of the so-called “wise” have pyrite in their hands and not the genuine gold of Counsel of the Holy Spirit. I hope that you have found this useful. I love this subject as I love God.
This is the difference between obtaining true “advice” from God and false “advice” through the use of occult means. When you read in the Bible and the Qur’an about the ancient Prophets, they did not receive Counsel from God without first having: Fear of the Lord, Piety, Knowledge and Fortitude. Pagans believe that they can “skip” right to the obtaining of “advice” without first having a relationship with the one true God as evidenced by accepting and understanding the first gifts of the Holy Spirit: Fear of the Lord, Piety, Knowledge and Fortitude. Pagans believe that they can personally invoke and “interpret” the advice or the prognostication of supernatural powers or some of the divinities by performing occult rituals, and that only they have access through their arcane knowledge or “gifts” of advice or fortunetelling. It is one of the hallmarks of false prophets, and one sure way to “spot” them, that they believe that only those inducted into their methods receive Counsel from God. In other words, it never occurs to them that the Bible reading “simpleton” who not only reads the Bible but has cultivated a humble relationship with God is receiving more true Counsel that they are, through the Holy Spirit, who loves and guides all people, particularly the pious and the humble in the eyes of God.
To understand Counsel, look at the great Kings of the Israelites, such as David. David had a personal and direct relationship with God, one that is totally unique, yet he understood that he had to surround himself with wise counselors of the government, military and priesthood. To have Counsel in the earthly setting means that you have a circle of wise friends, family and colleagues who have an ongoing relationship with you, where you can discuss all that is going on. When one receives the gift of the Holy Spirit of Counsel, you are “adding to your counselors” the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit does not replace human counsel, and is not “summoned” to “answer questions” anymore than your valued counselors are kept far away, only to be summoned to answer “yes or no” to your problems. Through the gift of Counsel the Holy Spirit is a quiet and gentle continuing presence that brings the Wisdom of God as a contribution to your overall living of your life and your quiet consultations of God.
Counsel from the Holy Spirit is not dramatic, and does not provide “new” revelation. Nothing that truly comes from God contradicts or changes what has gone before and is in the scripture. Counsel from the Holy Spirit is, in fact, very rarely prophecy at all. Counsel from the Holy Spirit can be likened to the wisest and quietest counselor of the King, who sits while the other counselors debate alternative courses of action in front of the King. Once in a while the King will glance at the wise old counselor, who is observing silently, and notice that he will convey in a look what he thinks of the person now speaking. When one prays for Counsel from the Holy Spirit, that is often what you receive, a slight “eye roll” when you think about one of your courses of action, a slight nod of approval when you think of another, but not in a prognosticating way. Rather, the Holy Spirit Counsels you to understand what you are hearing with your own ears, and seeing with your own eyes, and see the evidence of results in your own hands, and thus understand how to discern a situation within the context of God’s ongoing will. By God’s “ongoing will” I mean, again, that God is not prophesying or making a decision for you, but you are making your own decision while firmly grounded and comprehending God’s ongoing will and greater plan, for not only you but also the community of the faithful and the entire world. This is why the gifts of Knowledge and Fortitude are prerequisite to actually receiving the gift of Counsel. One must have the facts of God, how to worship and serve him, through Knowledge, and one must have trust and the ability to endure through Fortitude, before one can receive and comprehend God’s Counsel.
Impatience, which is lack of Fortitude, tempts one to seek Counsel as I’ve described above, an occult tool, to answer “What will happen” and “What should I do?” That is why Fortitude that is grounded in Fear of the Lord, Piety and Knowledge is a prerequisite to receiving the genuine gift of Counsel from the Holy Spirit. Trust in God, which is the basis of Fortitude, allows one to understand that the Counsel of the Holy Spirit walks with you at all times, rather than having to be “summoned” as an “advice giver” or “fortune teller.” Genuine patience and trust in God prevents one huge temptation, which is to start to think of life as a string of supernatural “yes and no” decisions and occurrences. That is a mistake of pagan and now “New Age” “thinking.” The Bible is about a book of living, of ongoing life, not a “how to” of a string of decisions, with life being meaningless filler in between supernatural or “destined” events.
The true and genuine Counsel of the Holy Spirit is always with you, although obviously, when in quiet prayer, you might be more conscious of the Holy Spirit’s presence. That does not mean that the Counsel of the Holy Spirit “works” only when you pray, far from it. Like the wise and quiet counselor in the analogy of the King’s circle, the Holy Spirit’s Counsel is quietly there, and is reassurance that there is no part of life that has a monopoly on God’s benevolent attention. The Counsel of the Holy Spirit is just as available and present to the poor person as he or she works in the rice paddy as it is to you when you have to make a difficult decision regarding an investment, or how to deal with a parental situation. Be clear in understanding, though, that the Counsel of the Holy Spirit does not make you wise. The Counsel of the Holy Spirit allows you to benefit from God’s Wisdom. The actual gift of the Holy Spirit of Wisdom comes only to those who have received, acknowledged and comprehended all of the previous six gifts, one of which will be the topic of the next blog post on this subject. You see, this is another problem with occult thinking, where they believe that their prognostications and receipt of “answers” makes them personally wise, or that they are “tapping” or “channeling” some universal databank of supposed wisdom. That is not true. Genuine Counsel of the Holy Spirit is always received only in the context of living a true one God centered normal life. True Counsel of the Holy Spirit is not about “what will happen” but how to live in the present, with a mind to the future of eternal life, a good life, in other words, a life that is filled with goodness and seeks the goodness of God for self and neighbor.
For example, as a friend, an intimate, a confident, a colleague and a boss, many people in my personal and professional life have noticed that sometimes when they pitch an idea to me I respond with a neutral “Mmmm.” That is sometimes very frustrating to them, LOL! I have never done it consciously; that is my genuine response to hearing what is being said. They have asked me, is that an “Mmmm” or an “mmmM,” trying to discern even a tendency toward approval or disapproval! At those times it is genuinely neither, and even an atomic scale would not detect a trend either way, ha. That is because the best I can translate my “Mmmm” is that it means “keep on going.” It means I’ve heard what you’ve said, but a point of sufficient information has not yet been reached to make a decision or to change course. That is often how the Counsel of the Holy Spirit “sounds,” because genuine Counsel is received as an ongoing presence throughout an ongoing coherent life, not one that is parceled into decisions, “destiny” and prognostications. Sometimes the Counsel of the Holy Spirit is, simply, to “keep on going,” (another reason why Fortitude is a prerequisite to comprehending the gift of Counsel). Think of that wise and quiet counselor of the King. If he continues to sit there, with an occasional nod, significant look to you, or a sigh and a look up to heaven, you know that you should “keep on going” and use your own skills of discernment to continue gaining information. That means he is neither agreeing with nor condemning what he hears your other counselors tell you.
How is one way to hear the Counsel of the Holy Spirit in a real situation? A guilty conscience is one way. It is the Counsel of the Holy Spirit when you feel a pang of guilty conscience when you contemplate a course of action that is contrary to the goodness that God has taught one to always pursue. You might say, well, why do some evil people not feel a guilty conscience? Precisely; that answers one’s own question. They no longer have the gift of the Holy Spirit of Counsel. The evaporation of shame or the lack of a guilty conscience when contemplating what is bad and wrong is a warning sign that one either never had or has lost the gift of Counsel of the Holy Spirit. Behind many jokes there is a kernel of truth, and the joke of “Catholic childhood guilt trip” or the “Jewish mother making her child feel guilty” is a sign of genuine and serious contact with the Counsel of the Holy Spirit. Parents, nuns or priests who teach children during their spiritual formation to feel some sense of guilt or shame are, in moderation, doing good work, because it is countering the tendency of society to shut down the amber warning lights that guilt or shame provide. When one does not feel some honest guilt or shame in appropriate circumstances this is an example of the wise counselor of the king no longer being in the room. A voice of Counsel of the Holy Spirit is silent when one can contemplate what is wrong without having warning feelings of guilt and/or shame. It is ironic that the freak show society teaches spiritual experimentation to have illusions, revelations and listen to every random narcissistic firing of one’s brain cell on one hand, but teaches silencing and rejection of the loudest and continuous warning of the wise counselor, which are appropriate feelings of guilt and shame.
What is another way that one feels the Counsel of the Holy Spirit in a real situation? Having feelings of interest and affection for fellow humans and one’s “neighbor” is another way one feels the Counsel of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit seeks to constantly intertwine humans in a benevolent way with one another, so that one’s own human circle of counselors is widened, and not narrowed. Genuine Counsel of the Holy Spirit teaches humans not to constantly “divine God’s every instruction for every situation,” but to live godly and God based lives among benevolent and wise fellow companions. This is, sadly, another way that “New Age” has ruined genuine Counsel from God. “New Age” “teaches” that people “enter your life” “for a reason,” related to “learning lessons” or “karma.” That is so manipulative, wrong and anti-God and anti-humanity. Everyone is equal companions in the journey of life, and people are supposed to have normal relationships with everyone, not impugn self important motives to people who enter “your” life. Love of neighbor means loving those of your community, whether the literal local community or the broader community of fellow mankind and womankind, the way God loves them, which is as an equal person created in God’s image, and not as a “tool” for occult thinking. So when one feels genuine interest and affection for a neighbor, friend, acquaintance, work colleague or hobby sharer, one is responding to the Counsel of the Holy Spirit, broadening one’s connectivity in a pure and motiveless way among one’s fellow humans who are loved by God.
I know that if I were speaking to a group, this question would be asked, so I will answer it. No, it is not the Counsel of the Holy Spirit if you imagine that the Holy Spirit is “giving you a message” for someone else. That is hubris and lack of understanding of God’s ways. If the Holy Spirit had a “message for someone else” the Holy Spirit would give the message to that someone else directly. However, the Counsel of the Holy Spirit will stir you to compassion and intervention when a fellow human is suffering, is in need or is misguided into sin. The Counsel of the Holy Spirit is felt not through “incoming messages” but through the stirring of compassion and ongoing concern for another, where one is encouraged to have a truthful ongoing relationship with that person and to be an ongoing helping hand, not to deliver an “oracle.” There is a world of difference between those two scenarios.
A traditional saying, said in admiration of people who have been remarkably kind, pious, and/or wise is that he or she “walks with God.” This is a folk saying that recognizes someone who emanates through their attitude toward life and their fellow humans that they are walking with the Counsel of the Holy Spirit from God. Again, this is something that “New Age” has ruined, trying to get people to feel that they have “spirit guides” of dead people or so called “angels” and, of course, this is all about their ego rather than being about God and his goodness, and normal human life. A person who “walks with God” is not “channeling spirits,” but is someone who through their receipt, acknowledgement and cultivation of Fear of the Lord, Piety, Knowledge and Fortitude has opened themselves to the continual gift of Counsel from the Holy Spirit. Their Counsel is not in world shaking matters, but as I said, well developed and serene understanding of guilt and shame as a trip wire to warn of bad behavior, and the ability to turn to the Wisdom of God for encouragement and solutions throughout life. Their Counsel is also a genuine egalitarian spirit toward their fellow humans that can only come from God and is rooted in the understanding that all are equal and loved in the eyes of God, even when they seriously stray.
Again, one needs to look no further for the example of walking with God than Jesus Christ, who was constantly with the Counsel of the Holy Spirit. This is why people constantly commented on the “authority” with which Jesus spoke. No human can ever hope to have the authority of Jesus, who could and did speak for God the Father, but one can see no better role model for how the Counsel of the Holy Spirit “works.” Jesus did not deliver “messages” and “oracles” to individuals. Rather, when challenged by his detractors and sinners he rebuked, but always with the tone of explaining with authority their error and allowing them to view the option of changing themselves.
Jesus always knew “the right thing to say,” to use a modern expression, because of his continual gift of the Counsel of the Holy Spirit. This not only means that Jesus spoke correctly, with the authority of God the Father, but also that Jesus always knew what to say, or not say, and when to say it. Jesus would ask a question and then sit in companionable silence when that was best for the situation, or he spoke a parable that moves the hearts and enlightened about God the thousands who listened to him. Jesus was the human embodiment of a man who walked with the visible and continuous Counsel of the Holy Spirit. This is why he continually astonished those who knew that he had not attended years of religious study, starting when he as a child amazed the scholars and holy men in the very Temple of Jerusalem. Jesus was already “role modeling” what a person who walks with the genuine Counsel of the Holy Spirit looks and sounds like.
And while no one can ever hope to be as Jesus, for that is impossible, one can understand how to strive to be a role model in his footsteps by looking at the Apostles and disciples as they received, as Jesus promised, the Holy Spirit at Pentecost and, in the case of St. Paul, directly from the resurrected Jesus Christ. It is the Counsel of the Holy Spirit who is the helper and consoler when the Apostles and disciples preached and pled their cases in persecution, often providing them with the words with which to speak. (This is another reason that historical-critical Biblical scholars totally miss the point when they analyze the “writing styles” of the New Testament authors, questioning how they could be so literate and erudite, and why they seem to write in a style that is “popular” only “later.” I mean, duh. The Holy Spirit is nothing if not erudite, in every language, in every time, and in every heart and head.) The Holy Spirit knows what they could not know, which are what eyes would someday read their Biblical authorship, and which souls would depend on belief in what they said. That is why the Bible was written “then,” but for all times, and what being “inspired by the Holy Spirit” truly means. The Counsel of the Holy Spirit does not move the pen on scroll like pagan belief in “automatic writing,” but the Counsel of the Holy Spirit provides access to the Wisdom of God, allowing the Bible authors to write the truth of what transpired in a way that future generations can all understand, follow, and find their faith and belief.
Once you understand this, dear readers, you no longer fall for false prophets and their writings, because the ego and delusion of their speech and script become to your ears like the grating of finger nails on a chalk board. Likewise, you can identify right away those authors through the ages (I’m speaking now of literature, not the Bible) who have the Counsel of the Holy Spirit, not because they prophesy and “reveal,” but because they manifest the obvious benefits of having the Counsel of the Holy Spirit. They demonstrate love and fear of God, genuine love of neighbor, and flashes of quiet wisdom and comfort that “hit the spot” (an American expression for a food or beverage that directly and perfectly addresses a hunger or a thirst). When one reads what a person who truly writes with the Counsel of the Holy Spirit writes, you may leave with greater Fear of the Lord (in the way that I have explained, which is not terror) but you also leave with greater love of and confidence in life and humanity itself. That is how it was for those who listened to Jesus. Jesus woke them up and pricked them with genuine concern that they better do what is right and get their souls in shape for God’s final judgment of them, and so Jesus helped those who listened and believed to have the gift of Fear of the Lord, in a time of much complacency and the blaming of sin on the poor, widowed, orphaned and crippled. Do not skip over the parts of the Gospel where Jesus “put the fear of God” into people; that would be most unwise. However, equally Jesus spoke with authority about the goodness of life and how a life lived for God prepares one to receive the blessing of eternal life in God’s presence. Those who truly, therefore, walk with the Counsel of God manifest to all who read and listen the Fear of the Lord and the Knowledge of God.
I’ll conclude this blogging with this thought. The Counsel of the Holy Spirit is far more common than people realize, but it is hidden among the every day lives of the humble, and it is rarer than people think, for many of the so-called “wise” have pyrite in their hands and not the genuine gold of Counsel of the Holy Spirit. I hope that you have found this useful. I love this subject as I love God.
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