a discerning heart

​The Holy Ghost is far more than a Spirit that dwells in the hearts of believers.  He has been sent for a specific purpose that most Christians never comprehend.  Jesus said it was important for Him to go away so the Holy Spirit could come to us and take His place. 
 
John 16:13 When the Holy Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth, for whatsoever He hears, that shall He speak.
 
The Holy Ghost has a voice and He can speak to us but that is not His only way to communicate.  When the Holy Spirit comes into our lives we can on occasion “feel” Him.  I am not saying that the Holy Spirit is a feeling, I am saying that you can “feel” Him as a means of Him attempting to lead us.  The Bible calls it the “inward witness”, much more reliable than any natural feeling we could have.  Getting to know and understand the Holy Ghost is like getting to know your best friend.  You know what makes your friend happy and what makes them sad, you can “feel” their emotions.
 
1John 5:10 He that believes on the Son of God has the witness in Himself. 
 
Jesus went to hell and back in order to cleanse us of all of our sins.  The Holy Spirit does not indwell sinners.  He will speak to them on occasion but His purpose is to draw them into the Kingdom.  As we work our way through life the Holy Spirit endeavors to keep us on the straight and narrow path.  You will not always hear His voice but you can always “hear” His “feelings”.  In the natural you know what it is like to feel good or feel bad.  In the spirit you can feel the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit can be grieved and He can be full of joy.  He can express “feelings” of everything between these two.  No matter how strongly you “feel” the Holy Ghost, you can choose to ignore Him or obey Him. 
 
Romans 8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. 
 
As you live as a Christian and you seek to please God, you will live in a constant state of peace.  The peace of God is not the absence of problems, it’s the presence of the Lord.  His peace is not an overwhelming force, in fact you become scarcely aware of it.  That is until something tries to hinder it and then you must do whatever is necessary to protect that peace.  If something is not good for you the Holy Spirit  will “feel” it and pass it on to you for your consideration.  If it doesn’t “feel” right you don’t want to embrace it, you want to abstain from it.  The Holy Spirit will not make you do anything.  You can graciously accept His ministry or you can oppose Him.
 
If God sends His Spirit to lead you and you won’t accept His gift, He won’t call you His son.  A son wants to please his father, he trusts in the wisdom of his father.  A good father won’t tell you what you want to hear but rather what you need to hear.  We must commit to yield to what the Spirit gives witness to us about and just let God bless us.  Yielding to the witness of the Holy Spirit needs to become our lifestyle.  He knows what is good for us and what is not.  He knows what we should buy and what to say no to.  God has sent His Spirit so we could have a discerning heart to know right from wrong.