Jesus� Sacrifice and The Holy Spirit

I believe that Jesus willingly gave Himself as the perfect and final sin-atonement offering. As an extension of this, I believe that He fulfilled the requirements to give an offering to atone for sins. (Matt 5:17) I believe that when I accept Jesus� sacrifice, I am given access to the Holy Spirit. And finally, I believe that due to Jesus� sacrifice, I have Him living with and within me.

These are beliefs based largely on my personal experience. I am an individual who has always been easily manipulated by guilt. I have even described myself as a person with an over-active guilt complex. As a child I was easy to discipline because I responded well to non-verbal correction. All my Mother had to do was look at me in a certain way and I knew what I had done wrong, apologized and didn�t do it again; most of the time, anyway.

I believe that Jesus died to cancel my sin because there is no longer a sense of guilt within my life. I don�t feel that need to abase myself, grovel or plead for mercy anymore. The freedom this gives me is phenomenal. I truly believe it when Jesus said His yoke was easy and His burden light, as I no longer bear the heavy weight of guilt.

I believe that Jesus� sacrifice, and my acceptance thereof, has granted me the right to use the Holy Spirit. (John 14:15-21) I have felt the Holy Spirit coursing through me during most of my prayers; specifically when I pray for healing or blessings for other people. To me, the Holy Spirit feels like a warm tingling sensation. It is akin to a limb �falling asleep�.

Last year, my Father fell as he was attempting to get into his truck. Mom notified me that she was taking him to the hospital as it seemed he had broken his leg. She described the condition of his leg; that from knee to mid-calf was normal, but from mid-calf to ankle his leg was off-center.

As they drove off I began praying about it. I claimed healing for Dad in the name of Jesus and by the power of the Holy Spirit. My prayer wasn�t long, but it was specific. I got the report from Mom and Dad that about two minutes before they got to the hospital, about five minutes after they�d left the house, as I was praying about it, Dad felt a gentle heat around the broken bone. He felt a tingling moving up and down his leg.

When my parents got to the hospital and had X-rays taken, there was no break. The doctor said that Dad had bruised the bone and his leg would most probably be sore for a few days but that there was no long-term damage. Mom noted that Dad�s leg was straight and the swelling had been reduced dramatically.

I believe from her report, and from Dad�s echo of her report, that the Holy Spirit healed the break in Dad�s leg. I also believe that when I felt the warmth coursing through me, it was the Holy Spirit in tactile form. I have no way to �prove� that the Holy Spirit healed my Father. I have no way to technically prove that Dad�s leg was broken in the first place. However, I believe.

There is another example I would like to share. At another time, my Father had done some serious damage to his toe. In the course of his work day, he�d dropped a heavy cabinet on his foot. For a long while afterward, his toe nail was black. The nerves had died and there was no feeling in that extremity.

He had gone to various doctors and tried a few different remedies with no result. One afternoon I asked him if he would let me pray about it. When he accepted the offer, I laid hands upon the toe of his boot and prayed about it.

I felt heat coursing through my hands. I felt a sense of power flowing within me, but I knew it wasn�t �mine�. I wasn�t doing anything at all. I simply asked God to heal my Dad�s toe. I requested healing in the name of Jesus and by the power of the Holy Spirit. Then, I just left it alone.

The next morning Dad looked at his toe and was amazed. The nail was pure, healthy and whole. He could feel things and he could move the toe easily. He said that it was like he�d never done damage to the toe at all. Because of this, I believe that the Holy Spirit is a real thing. I believe that the Holy Spirit heals. And I believe that I have access to it.

I believe that Jesus is living within me. I often hear His voice in my mind, and there is a sense of peace and comfort which fills me whenever I pray or have a conversation with God. I notice the fruit of the Spirit in my actions and character whenever I let Jesus lead me.

Because I have welcomed Jesus into my life, I feel at peace, joyful, loving, kind and warm all over. There is a famous children�s story about warm fuzzies and cold pricklies which comes to mind here. Whenever I invite Jesus to lead me, the warmth and good feelings are dominant, complete and overflowing.