Susan Dies: 0:38

Welcome to the One Yes At A Time podcast. My name is Susan Dies and I'm here with my friend and co-host Keidra Hobley.

Keidra Hobley: 0:44

Hey everybody!

Susan Dies: 0:45

If you were with us for season one, you know that we, uh took about a six week break, and you may have expected us to release the first episode last week since that's the date I said we'd be back, but my 14-year-old Australian Shepherd, has been sick and so I had to cancel our recording date, but he's better now. And so today we're back recording and we are looking forward to season two. So Keidra, welcome back.

Keidra Hobley: 1:06

Thank you.

Susan Dies: 1:07

It's been a minute since I've gotten to see you and so I'm excited about getting to record with you today.

Keidra Hobley: 1:12

Yes, this is gonna be fun.

Susan Dies: 1:14

Well, something you might find really interesting, is I looked up the percentage of podcasts that make it past the 10th episode.

Keidra Hobley: 1:20

Okay.

Susan Dies: 1:20

You wanna take a guess?

Keidra Hobley: 1:22

10%

Susan Dies: 1:23

Close. I found out it's 8%, only 8% ever make it past, the 10th episode. And I'm just really grateful that we're still here... that we're still growing in our listenership... I think the last time I checked, we have listeners in 10 different countries.. Okay... almost 200 different cities. And so the Lord has really blessed this effort and I just wanted us to give praise where praise is due.

Keidra Hobley: 1:44

Well, praise the Lord.

Susan Dies: 1:44

Well, just in case we do have listeners who are new to our podcast, I wanna encourage you to go back to season one if you get a chance, because our first season really laid the foundation for what we're all about, and that is just pointing others to Jesus as we encourage listeners with the truth of God's word, and by challenging you to say"yes" to God by putting the things that you hear into practice. We also talked about, how to come into a relationship with God.. Mm-hmm... through Jesus. We talked about how we can know that the Bible was given to us by God, and not simply a book written by men, which interestingly has been one of our most listened to episodes.

Keidra Hobley: 2:18

Wow. Really?

Susan Dies: 2:19

And yeah. And I think that's because there's just so much out there in this world today, and really, especially online, that isn't true.

Keidra Hobley: 2:26

Mm-hmm.

Susan Dies: 2:26

And I think people are searching for truth. And so Keidra, and I can promise you that God's word is where you're gonna find it because God created us and He didn't leave us here on this earth to figure it out for ourselves. Yes. He gave us his word so that we could know how to live a life that is meaningful and productive, and one that honors Him. So, in this second season, we're gonna continue to build on that foundation of Christian living by talking about divine characteristics in the life of a believer, that are a direct result of the influence of the power of the Holy Spirit. And Keidra, you and I both know that when people start talking about the Holy Spirit.. Mm-hmm... especially if someone didn't grow up in church, that this is where a lot of people will say,'I'm out." You know?

Keidra Hobley: 3:07

Right.

Susan Dies: 3:07

And so I want you to speak to that for a minute. Why do you think people can be so afraid, or unsure, or maybe even kind of weirded out when the subject of the Holy Spirit comes up?

Keidra Hobley: 3:17

No, I think it's the same in any case. I think people are afraid. Uh, there's a fear of the unknown. And if you don't know the Holy Spirit, you're gonna fear him.. Mm-hmm... because you have no idea who he is. So I think that's why it's important that we get to introduce people to him today.

Susan Dies: 3:30

Mm-hmm. Well, I'm excited about this. And for any of our listeners today who aren't exactly sure what to think about the Holy Spirit... maybe you've always thought of him as being mysterious... or maybe this intangible force in the universe... or a supernatural power that only people who attend charismatic churches get to experience... my hope is that after our conversation today that you'll have a better understanding of the Holy Spirit... who he is, and how he works in our lives, because he truly is the Spirit who gives life. Yes, that's the name of our podcast today.'Say Yes to the Spirit Who Gives Life'.. And apart from God sending his son Jesus to die for our sins, the Holy Spirit is the greatest gift that we will ever receive.. Mm-hmm... this side of heaven.

Keidra Hobley: 4:11

Amen.

Susan Dies: 4:12

You know, when we say yes to God... and when we say yes to Jesus... we are also saying yes to the Holy Spirit.. That's right... whether we realize it or not. And so I'm really excited for us to talk about this today because I don't think the Spirit of God gets enough credit. You know, I always hear people talking about God the Father. Mm-hmm. I hear people talk a lot about Jesus. But rarely do I hear people talking about the Holy Spirit, and I think that's because the Spirit of God just seems to be so much of a mystery, even within Christian circles, unless you're part of a denomination that emphasizes the power of the Holy Spirit. Yeah. I'm thinking about Pentecostal churches and Assembly of God churches, and to a lesser degree the non-denominational churches that have become so popular, I call those Bapticostals.

Keidra Hobley: 4:56

Bapticostals.

Susan Dies: 4:57

You know what those are?

Keidra Hobley: 4:59

Baptist and Pentecostal...

Susan Dies: 5:01

Yeah. Like their doctrine is very much in line with what Baptist believe. They believe in the inerrancy of the Bible. They believe Jesus is the son of God. They believe in full submersion baptism when someone makes that public profession of their faith in Jesus. They believe in the trinity, which we're gonna talk a little bit about today... but the biggest difference I see when I attend a non-denominational church is they definitely have more freedom of expression in their worship.

Keidra Hobley: 5:25

Amen.

Susan Dies: 5:26

They're willing to allow the spirit more freedom to move. Mm-hmm. What do you think about all that?

Keidra Hobley: 5:30

Absolutely. The, the allowing the freedom for the spirit to move. That's huge.

Susan Dies: 5:35

Mm-hmm. You know, you and I both grew up in a Southern Baptist church. Mm-hmm. And I still attend a Southern Baptist church where the emphasis is more on God the Father... and His love for us. Yeah. And on Jesus the Son... and his sacrifice for us... not nearly so much focus on the Holy Spirit who lives in us. Yeah. And so I've been thinking about this a lot lately because I've been teaching a Bible study on the book of John. It's in the book of John, just before Jesus goes to the cross... Jesus promised his followers that after his death and resurrection, after he ascended back to heaven, that he would ask his Father to send the Holy Spirit to help them, and to teach them, and to remind them of his words. And the Bible tells us that God did just that. And there are so many wonderful verses that talk about the spirit's role in our redemption... in our salvation... in our transformation. And so we're gonna lean heavy on the scripture today.. Good... because the Holy Spirit is not confusing. That's right. And the Holy Spirit is not weird.

Keidra Hobley: 6:31

Mm-hmm.

Susan Dies: 6:32

And so we can know him, and we can understand how he works in our life. And I think that's gonna take a lot of the mystery out of it because his role is so important and we need that. In fact, it's equally as important as God the Father and Jesus. And so that's what I want us to talk about today so that we can live with an understanding and awareness of his presence in our lives. Yeah. Do you see that in the lives of believers that they don't really even know the power that lives in them or that is available to them? Yeah. Speak to that for a minute.

Keidra Hobley: 7:03

I think for so many believers, it's all about eternity. Mmmm. And the Holy Spirit is for the here and now. It's what we need for being in the earth.

Susan Dies: 7:11

I have never heard it said that way. Yeah. That is so good.

Keidra Hobley: 7:14

Yeah. So we're just comfortable knowing that our eternal destination is in glory, but we're, eliminating, we're relinquishing all that God has available for us here in the earth.

Susan Dies: 7:24

Right. And honestly, when I think about us growing up in the Baptist church, and I'm not throwing shade at the Baptist church, I love, I love the denomination. I really just prefer that we all be known as Christians. Yeah. Bible believing Christians. Yes... and get rid of the names... but because I do attend a Southern Baptist church, that focus is more on God the Father and on Jesus... and when you don't have someone teaching you or discipling you or pointing out those scriptures in God's word that talk about the Holy Spirit, you don't necessarily grow up with an understanding.. Mm-hmm... that he's been given to us for a purpose... and we need to understand that. And I was thinking about analogies. Let's just say you have a brand new smartphone, right? Mm-hmm. Everybody's got a smartphone. It has all the latest features, all the fastest processing power, all the apps at our fingertips that help us do all the things smartphones are designed to help us do... but we only look at it on the lock screen. Mm-hmm. Like we never open it up. We just look at the lock screen and we wanna know what time it is. Mm-hmm. And that's it. and because we never open it, we never explore its capabilities... and yeah... we never know what it can do. That's okay. We don't even know what it was meant to do. And so we miss out on all the features of this brand new smartphone. Well, in the same way...

Keidra Hobley: 8:34

...Can I just add before you go there?

Susan Dies: 8:36

Go ahead.

Keidra Hobley: 8:36

Because that's the first time I've heard that, that way. And then what came to my mind is we're looking at our neighbor going'look at all the things they have access to... look at all they can do. Why is it that she can do that, and I can't? Well, you have the same capability. You have access to it. You just haven't unlocked it yet.

Susan Dies: 8:54

Yeah.

Keidra Hobley: 8:54

That's so good. I like it a lot. But I think we need somebody sometimes to come alongside us.. Mm-hmm... and help us figure that out. Yes.

Susan Dies: 9:00

In the same way, you know, when believers have the Holy Spirit, but we don't know what we have, we don't know how he works, we don't know what he can do... we don't know the power that God's made available to us by His presence... we can miss out on all that he wants to do in our lives. You know, we're still saved.. Yeah... but we're just not experiencing all that God has for us. And so my hope is that through today's podcast, It's gonna help people understand.. Mm-hmm... and maybe come to know the spirit who lives in us a little bit better so we can experience all that God has for us. So I'm just gonna start with the most basic question. Who is the spirit that gives life? What would you tell someone who would ask you that question?

Keidra Hobley: 9:39

I'd go straight to John 14:26 in the Amplified,"But the Comforter, Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, Standby, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name... in my place... to represent me and act on my behalf, he will teach you all things. Hmm. And he will cause you to recall, will remind you of, bring to your remembrance everything I have told you.

Susan Dies: 10:06

Wow.

Keidra Hobley: 10:06

That's the one verse that to me, sums up who he is...and what he does. I love it.

Susan Dies: 10:12

I love that too. When I think about who is the Spirit who gives life? Mm-hmm. What comes to my mind is he's God.

Keidra Hobley: 10:21

That's so true.

Susan Dies: 10:22

He's God, he's eternally existent.

Keidra Hobley: 10:24

Mm-hmm.

Susan Dies: 10:24

He was there before the beginning. He is the third person of the Trinity. Just in case we have some listeners who don't know what the Trinity is... the Trinity is a word that describes God existing in three persons God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, all three are one God. Mm-hmm. They all have the same nature, the same attributes, the same character, the same mind, emotions, will, they're all co-equal.. Yes... in their power, but they each manifest their presence in three distinct roles within that godhead, in the way they relate as father son, and spirit, but also distinct in the way they work in the world, as well as in the lives of human beings who are made in God's image. And all throughout the Bible, from the first pages of scripture to the last, we see manifestations of all three persons of the Trinity. And so do you remember where the Holy Spirit shows up for the first time?

Keidra Hobley: 11:16

He was hovering.

Susan Dies: 11:17

He was. Mm-hmm. I thought you were going to quote me those first three verses.

Keidra Hobley: 11:20

Oh. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. And the earth was without form and void and the darkness was upon the face of the deep and the spirit of God moved upon the face of the water.

Susan Dies: 11:29

That's right. I love that so much. I love it when you use your dramatic voice.

Keidra Hobley: 11:34

I know I started to do it even more dramatic, but..

Susan Dies: 11:37

Feel free to do it again. Okay.

Keidra Hobley: 11:38

No, it's okay.

Susan Dies: 11:40

Anyway, that is the first time we see him in scripture. In verse two of that first chapter, the earth was without form and void. It was empty.

Keidra Hobley: 11:48

Yeah.

Susan Dies: 11:49

It was dark and the spirit of God was hovering over the darkness. So have you ever thought about why he was hovering?

Keidra Hobley: 11:56

Mm. I think he was waiting for instruction.

Susan Dies: 11:59

I like that. Mm-hmm. I like that.

Keidra Hobley: 12:01

Mm-hmm.

Susan Dies: 12:01

I'm gonna take that one step further. I believe he was preparing the darkness to receive the light.

Keidra Hobley: 12:06

Come on.

Susan Dies: 12:08

Because in the very next verse, God said,"Let there be light." Yeah. And there was light, and God saw that the light was good and he separated the light from the darkness. And the Holy Spirit does the same thing in our world today. Mm-hmm. One of his responsibilities, according to John 16:8, is to convict the world of sin... sin represents the darkness.. Yeah... to reveal the righteousness of God, who is the light... and to let us know that there is a coming judgment. So when the spirit is moving in this world, I picture him hovering over the darkness of this world, moving in the lives of people, stirring hearts, revealing sin. Not for the purpose of condemnation.. Mm-hmm. But for the purpose of conviction. And there's a big difference.

Keidra Hobley: 12:50

Yeah.

Susan Dies: 12:50

What would you say is the biggest difference between conviction and condemnation?

Keidra Hobley: 12:54

I think conviction draws you closer to God and condemnation pushes you further away from him.

Susan Dies: 13:00

It does. Mm-hmm. And conviction is from the Holy Spirit in order to give us that opportunity to repent. To turn to God to be saved. Condemnation is from Satan who wants to tell us that we're guilty, and without hope, and that God could never love us, and so we wind up getting mired in our guilt and our shame and our sin and our self pity, and we can wind up wasting our life. But conviction is the means by which the Spirit of God reveals the darkness of sin in our hearts. Mm-hmm... that separates us from God. But remember, the Holy Spirit also reveals the righteousness of God, and he does that by helping us to believe and to accept that grace that God offers us in Jesus.

Keidra Hobley: 13:39

Mm-hmm. That's so good. Conviction, exposes the darkness in our life. Mm-hmm. Whereas condemnation, encourages us to go further into that darkness.. Mm-hmm... because of shame.

Susan Dies: 13:50

Yeah, when I think about the spirit preparing dark hearts to receive the light. Mm-hmm. The light is Jesus, the light is truth. And so I just thought that was kind of a good way to think about that. John 3:16 is probably the most often quoted scripture about salvation, and it tells us that God so loved the world that he sent his one and only son Jesus. Yeah. To die on the cross in our place to pay the price for our sins. And all who believe in him and what he did for us on the cross will be saved and have eternal life. And so Jesus has made a way for our sin to be forgiven, for us to be reconciled to God, to be made right with God. And according to Scripture it's the Holy Spirit who both convicts us of our sin, and who also draws us to Jesus by God's grace so that we can be forgiven and saved and receive that gift of eternal life. And I want you to look up John 6:44 because I think this is a really interesting verse when it comes to how we come to Jesus.

Keidra Hobley: 14:48

Okay, it says,"No one can come to me unless the father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day."

Susan Dies: 14:56

So he's talking about salvation.

Keidra Hobley: 14:58

Mm-hmm.

Susan Dies: 14:58

Yeah. So no one can come to Jesus unless the father draws them. But who draws?

Keidra Hobley: 15:04

The spirit.

Susan Dies: 15:04

The Holy Spirit. It's the spirit. Mm-hmm. And I thought it was interesting. I love to do word studies and so I looked up this word'draw' in this verse, in the original language of the Bible. It literally means to drag.

Keidra Hobley: 15:16

Ah.

Susan Dies: 15:17

And I thought, isn't that a vivid picture of our human response.. Mm-hmm... to God when he's trying to draw us? We dig in our heels a lot of times because we wanna live life on our own terms, in our own way, even though he's trying to save us.. Yeah... from ourselves and our sin by bringing us to Jesus. And he's not gonna force us against our will.

Keidra Hobley: 15:38

Right.

Susan Dies: 15:38

But he's gonna draw us.. Yeah... to give us that opportunity because the Bible tells us in several places God does not want anyone to perish.

Keidra Hobley: 15:46

That's right.

Susan Dies: 15:46

Not all will come to Jesus when God draws them, but for those who do, we receive God's grace. And so the Holy Spirit, just like God the father and Jesus has a huge role in bringing us to salvation, but he's also the giver of life. So look at John 6:63.

Keidra Hobley: 16:01

John 6 63. It says,"The spirit gives life. Yes. The flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you, they are full of the spirit and life."

Susan Dies: 16:13

So it's the spirit that gives life. And of course he's talking about eternal life, but he goes on to say that our human effort counts for nothing. Mm-hmm. In other words, we can't do enough good to get into heaven on our own. Yeah. We need God's spirit to have eternal life. No spirit, no eternal life. And he ends this verse by saying,"The words that I've spoken to you are full of spirit and life." And that's one of the responsibilities of the Holy Spirit, is to help us understand God's word and to help us to apply it to our life, so that we experience the life that God has for us. And in this way, the Spirit is both the life giver... and the life changer. Mm-hmm. And we need both. And so how does this happen? How do we receive the spirit? And how does his presence change our lives? What would you say to that?

Keidra Hobley: 17:00

Well, we receive the spirit upon salvation. Okay. The Holy Spirit comes to live inside of us. He saves us not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. We can't work our way into salvation. There's nothing that we can do to earn it. It's because of the goodness of God and the Holy Spirit that we are even drawn to him in the first place.

Susan Dies: 17:22

Right. God gives us His Holy Spirit. Titus three five says He saves us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit. So that's two more things that the Holy Spirit does. Jesus said in John chapter 3:5,"Unless one is born of water and the spirit he cannot enter the kingdom of God. Mm-hmm. Being born of water is our first birth, when we come out of our mother's womb. Being born again is when we're cleansed of our sins by the spirit of God. And so that is the washing of rebirth and the renewal by the Holy Spirit, that it's talking about here in Titus chapter 3:5. Look up Ezekiel 36 and read verses 26 and 27.

Keidra Hobley: 18:00

It says,"I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you. I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh, and I will put my spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.

Susan Dies: 18:18

So God puts his spirit in our hearts 2 Corinthians 1:22 says, the Holy Spirit living in us is proof that we belong to God. Mm-hmm. What are some other things the Spirit does?

Keidra Hobley: 18:30

Oh, he reveals the word. A lot of times when people say, I just don't understand when I read the Bible. Well, it's the Holy Spirit who gives revelation. So that's one of the greatest things I enjoy and appreciate about the Holy Spirit. Yeah.

Susan Dies: 18:42

That's John 14:26.. Mm-hmm... that you were talking about. He helps us, and he guides us, by reminding us of God's word. And that's why it's so important for us to be in God's word, reading it for ourselves.. Mm-hmm... He can't remind us of what we haven't read. Yes, that's right. He can't remind us of what we haven't already put in our hearts through the word. John 16:13 says that he teaches us truth. As we read God's word the Spirit is the one, as you said, that helps us to understand it.

Keidra Hobley: 19:09

That's right.

Susan Dies: 19:09

And then 2 Timothy 1:7 says that he replaces our spirit of fear.. Mm-hmm... with power and love and a sound mind. Come on.

Keidra Hobley: 19:18

Yes.

Susan Dies: 19:18

And then Galatians 5:22-23 tells us that the spirit in us produces good fruit that proves that he lives in us. There is love and joy and peace, and patience, and kindness and goodness, and gentleness and faithfulness, and self-control. And all of these are things that we're gonna be talking about throughout this season two of our podcast, which is why we started with'Say Yes to the Spirit.. So Good.. Because we can't do any of these other things.. Yes... without his help. But some say, well, if you can't see the spirit, how do we know the spirit's real? How do we know he's really doing all these things that y'all are talking about, moving in the world, moving in hearts. what would you say to that?

Keidra Hobley: 19:57

I mean, think about the wind in the natural. Can you see the wind right in the natural? Yet we believe that the wind is blowing. We know that it exists because of how it manifests and the effects that it has when it manifests. So it is evidence, there's evidence of its existence. So even though you can't see it, you can see the evidence.

Susan Dies: 20:17

What are some ways you've experienced him this week?

Keidra Hobley: 20:20

Oh, this week alone.

Susan Dies: 20:21

I mean, today. Come on on, come on. If he's active and he is real..

Keidra Hobley: 20:25

Listen, I. He's working. How much time do I have? Well, because it has been a supernatural week, I will just say in short we had some, prophetic words that came straight from the Holy Spirit that was spoken to me by someone who has not known me long, but they were confirming something that was spoken back in 2017. Mm-hmm. Wow. Like only, only the Holy Spirit could reveal such a thing. So it's those types of things that gets me excited and fired up when he does stuff like that.

Susan Dies: 20:53

Well, what about the day to today? Mm-hmm. Because that's where I'm at. Okay. I have a wrong thought. Mm-hmm. Part of the Holy Spirit's job is to remind me.. Mm-hmm... what thoughts to think on. Yeah. What thoughts to dwell on. So that's just a way he's working with me all throughout the day. Yes. When I have thoughts that are not in alignment with God's word, whether it's a wrong thought, a harsh thought, a judgmental thought, or just something that I'm about to say..

Keidra Hobley: 21:18

Yes.

Susan Dies: 21:19

When I'm more aware of his presence..

Keidra Hobley: 21:20

Mm-hmm.

Susan Dies: 21:21

I kind of had that little check in my spirit.. Like, don't Yes. That's the Holy Spirit.

Keidra Hobley: 21:25

He's so good like that.

Susan Dies: 21:26

And so, you know, I think about that, but I also think about the ways in which he makes me grateful. Mm-hmm. You know, the more we are filled with God's spirit, the more we're surrendered to HIm the more his joy wells up in us and overflows. And so we're able to experience even the smallest joys in life to an even greater degree. So, I mean, he's always working in our lives, in practical ways, but also in these big ways that you talk about. Mm-hmm. The other night at Bible study, we prayed for your friend and my friend, Jeannie Nyman. Yes. She's been in the hospital and, she lost her purse. Okay. It was on the end of her bed and then it just wasn't. Mm-hmm. And so a lady from our Sunday school class had gone to visit her and looked everywhere they could not find it. And so we just prayed. Mm-hmm. We prayed,"Lord. You see it."

Keidra Hobley: 22:13

Yeah.

Susan Dies: 22:13

You know where that purse is. Mm-hmm. If you want her to have it back, if somebody took it, let them feel the power of your conviction and just bring it back. If it went down the laundry chute, let them find it. They had actually already called the laundry and they said they didn't have it. Mm-hmm. But hours later we got a text that Ms Jeanie got her purse back.

Keidra Hobley: 22:30

Praise the lord. You know?

Susan Dies: 22:31

And so it's just little things like that. God cares about the little things and the big things and everything.. Yes... in between. And through his spirit. when we rely on his spirit and when we pray to his spirit, he helps us.. Yes... in all of these ways. And I think for me just becoming more and more aware of his presence and that God's spirit can experience joy, but he can also be grieved. The word says that his spirit in us can also be quenched. And so just that realization that I have the ability to bring him joy.

Keidra Hobley: 22:59

Yeah.

Susan Dies: 23:00

I have the ability to allow him to overflow in my life... or, I can make the choice to grieve him and to quench that power in my life. And so just that awareness of his presence has been life changing. Mm-hmm... and as I've led this Bible study, the ladies and I have talked about how they've become more aware of his presence just because we've been talking about it so much. So I love that. But I want the Holy Spirit to overflow in my life and not be quenched. I want to bring him joy and not grief, and I can do those things by the choices that I make.

Keidra Hobley: 23:31

That's so good. Just even the fact that you just mentioned all those different emotions that the Holy Spirit experiences... to us should prove that he's a person. Because we as human beings, we have a mind. We have will. We have emotions and so does the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit has a mind. He has a will. And he also has emotions. That's right. That is the makeup of a person.

Susan Dies: 23:51

So how can we know when it's the voice of God's spirit speaking to us and not just our own spirit?

Keidra Hobley: 23:58

The first thing that comes to my mind... it will always consistently line up with this word.

Susan Dies: 24:02

That's right. One of my favorite verses in scripture about the spirit is Galatians 5 25. It says,"If we walk by the spirit, let us keep in step with the spirit." Yeah. And I love that word picture because it makes me, think of walking side by side with Jesus. Mm-hmm. Like not getting ahead of him because of my zeal. Mm-hmm. Not lagging behind because of disobedience or I don't really wanna go where he's leading me. Yeah. But walking side by side and talking with him in that personal one-on-one relationship, letting his spirit teach me and guide me. It also made me think about a three-legged race. Okay, yes. You know, from elementary school when you tie one of your legs to another person, and to finish that race, especially if you wanna win.. Mm-hmm... you have to figure out how to keep in step with one another.

Keidra Hobley: 24:45

Yes. That's so good.

Susan Dies: 24:47

And so that probably describes me in my earlier walk in my Christian life, one leg tied to the leg of Jesus... and me trying to run ahead. Mm-hmm. Or me lagging behind and stumbling all the way, but he never let me fall.

Keidra Hobley: 24:59

That's so good.

Susan Dies: 25:00

As long as I stayed connected, I may have stumbled a whole lot.. Mm-hmm... but he never let me fall, and he never let me go. And so I'm so grateful for that. So what are some things that maybe you can think of that we could do on a daily basis to help us keep in step with the spirit?

Keidra Hobley: 25:15

Well, stay in the word is the first of all. If you stay in the word and, obey... don't just hear it... don't just read it, but obey it... I think that's critical. Right.. Because then we are more receptive to hearing his voice when we're obeying his instructions.

Susan Dies: 25:29

One of the things that I've developed a habit of doing and it really just starts my day off, right. And literally it is a habit because I wake up every single day... and the very first thought is."Good morning morning. Good morning, holy Spirit. That's me. Well, I don't say Holy, holy Spirit, spirit, but it's Lord, you know? Yeah. Mine is Holy

Keidra Hobley: 25:44

Spirit. I love that.

Susan Dies: 25:45

Good morning, Lord. Thank you for the rest I got last night. I love you so much. I can't wait to spend this day with you. And of course then I go into my kitchen and I get a cup of coffee and I sit on the couch and just begin to spend some quiet time with him in prayer and in his word... and then just give him my day. Mm-hmm. Lord, this is what I have planned for the day, but if you need to interrupt my plans.. Yeah... if you need to change my plans, that's fine. Just don't let me miss what you have for me today. Don't let me miss the opportunities to share your love with someone today.. Mm-hmm... or give a word of encouragement to someone today. That's another way that he works in my life daily. He may give me a word in my quiet time. Mm-hmm. Yes, it's for me, but it may be a specific word that someone else needs to hear. And he brings it back to my mind and then I'm able to use that word to encourage someone else. So just, going throughout our day.. Mm-hmm... talking with him.. Yes... about anything and everything. I know a lot of people like to just turn on the music and.. Mm-hmm... and there's nothing wrong with that. But I love quiet. Yes.'cause my life is so busy and I have so much going on all the time... when I can have that quiet.. Yes... that's how I recharge. It's an opportunity to just talk to him really about anything and everything that comes to my mind. This is what it means to pray without ceasing.

Keidra Hobley: 26:55

Yes.

Susan Dies: 26:55

You're in that constant awareness of his presence, and so when something comes to mind, it's natural.

Keidra Hobley: 27:00

Mm-hmm.

Susan Dies: 27:01

Just like I would talk to you.

Keidra Hobley: 27:02

Yeah.

Susan Dies: 27:03

I talked to him.

Keidra Hobley: 27:03

Yes. And so it sounds like it's just a conscious, continuous awareness of his presence.

Susan Dies: 27:09

Yeah. Yeah. I mean, think about if you're in the room with another person and you're both just ignoring each other mm-hmm. You're missing out on it. Yeah. You know, it's the same if we're ignoring the spirit of God that is living in us and he's trying to talk to us. He's trying to get our attention. But we're so busy, we're so distracted. That's why he says, be still.

Keidra Hobley: 27:26

Yes.

Susan Dies: 27:27

You know, be still and know that I am God. Mm-hmm. Do you have anything else you'd wanna share with our listeners?

Keidra Hobley: 27:32

Yeah, I think for me, a big one is, 2 Corinthians 3:17,"Where the Spirit of the Lord is there is freedom."

Susan Dies: 27:39

Ooh. I love that. Yes, I had read that and I thought, we need to talk about that.

Keidra Hobley: 27:42

Yeah

Susan Dies: 27:43

I love that. Where the spirit of the Lord is,

Keidra Hobley: 27:46

Yes

Susan Dies: 27:46

...there is freedom. And that's really what this podcast is all about.

Keidra Hobley: 27:49

That's exactly right.

Susan Dies: 27:50

That we experience freedom every time.. Yes... we say yes to God.

Keidra Hobley: 27:54

That's it.

Susan Dies: 27:55

Alright, well, we are out of time today, but we hope that you've enjoyed this first episode of season two, and that you'll join us again in a couple of weeks for our next episode. In the meantime, we'd love for you to take a minute to scroll down and leave us a text or maybe head over to our page oneyes@atime.net and leave us a comment or a review. We would love to hear from you. So until next time, we just wanna encourage you to say yes to the Spirit who gives us life, and allow him to teach you, and to guide you, help you, comfort you, and find out for yourself that everything that we've shared with you today from God's word is absolutely true. Keidra, would you pray us out?

Keidra Hobley: 28:31

I sure will. Father, we thank you for this time with you. We just acknowledge you and your Holy Spirit. Dear Lord, thank you for the power that comes with us accepting you and receiving him. We just pray that every listener would grow in their understanding and their relationship with not only you as Father, not only with you, Jesus as His son, but also with the Holy Spirit. We thank you. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

Susan Dies: 28:57

Amen.