God is a great gift-giver. No one is as generous as He is. The gifts He gives us- the blessings, the new life, the breakthroughs and the forgiveness- are greater than any other gift anyone else gives to us.

But of all the gifts God has given, there is nothing greater than the gift that is Himself. In His love for us, He first gave us Jesus Christ as our means of redemption and second He gave us the Holy Spirit.

Starting off in the walk of faith, the Holy Spirit actually scared me more than He excited me. I was intimidated by the idea of being overtaken by a spirit not of my own so I ran away from Baptism by fire. But when I experienced Him one fateful day, my life was never the same again.

Receiving the Holy Spirit is not only possible, it is essential for Christ-centered living. We cannot live in and for God apart from the power, work and manifestation of the Holy Spirit in our lives. The Holy Spirit is God Himself tangibly working in our hearts, minds and sometimes in our bodies to experience God's grace here on earth as it is in heaven.

It's through the Person and Work of the Holy Spirit that God works in us to allow us to be regenerated, reconciled, empowered, guided and strengthened for the work God calls us to do. But how does the Holy Spirit work in our life? Understanding this is essential so that we know how to ask God to work in us and so that we will learn to discern and recognize the Holy Spirit's work in us. Here are just some of the roles the Holy Spirit has in our personal an corporate lives.

Counselor

The Bible refers to the Holy Spirit by many names, but one of the most common names are counselor, comforter and advocate. In John 14:26, Jesus introduced the Holy Spirit saying, "But the Helper (Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor—Counselor, Strengthener, Standby), the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name..."

The Holy Spirit guides us into truth and gives us wisdom to live our lives the way we should and cause us to love God and love others through our thoughts and actions.

Enabler

Have you ever felt like you couldn't physically or mentally do something but somehow you were able to do it anyway? It's likely that the Holy Spirit was working in you. God's Spirit has been known to enable men and women both in the Bible and even today to do things they would've never been able to do on their own.

When Philippians 4:13 tells us that we can "do all things through Christ," it's because Christ has bridged us with access to the Spirit who now works in us by giving us gifts, abilities and promptings that allow us to do greater things for Him.

Change-maker

The Holy Spirit does not just transform our spiritual destination, but also transforms us here on earth as well. Acts 1:8 tells us, "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses..."

Being a witness means so much more than just being enabled to speak in front of crowds. It also means being empowered to live lives that glorify God. The Holy Spirit is the one who changes our hearts and attitudes so that we can turn away from sin and turn to Christ.