The Misunderstood Spirit  The person and work of the Holy Spirit are often misunderstood. Some attribute to the Holy Spirit unbiblical excesses like “holy laughter or barking or rolling!” Others ignore the person and work of the Holy Spirit and do not speak much about it. But the Acts church was a church genuinely empowered and directed by the Holy Spirit. You could say that the book of Acts is actually about the acts of the Holy Spirit through the Apostles. So how can we as a people live in that power? The Exchanged Life It begins with surrender. Surrendering the control of our lives to the Holy Spirit. That’s what it means when Paul said in Eph 5:18 “be filled with the Spirit. ” It means that we yield to the controlling influence of the Holy Spirit. We exchange our “self” for the Spirit in the throne of our hearts. Notice too that this is a command, for it is imperative in the Greek text. Our flesh profits nothing, and power belongs unto God. God’s people must be filled or controlled by the Spirit. Not to be filled with the Spirit is like the sin of being drunk with wine. In Step with the Spirit But how do we be filled? Is it through some mystical “zap” from above or some esoteric transcendental experience? No. Comparing with Col 3:16, we see that the filling of the Spirit, or the yielding to the control of the Spirit, is when we obey the word of Christ in our lives. So, instead of living our own lives, we “march” to the rhythm and direction of the Holy Spirit in His word. We keep in step with Him (Gal 5:25) when we do His will inspired in the Bible. When we yield ourselves to the Spirit, we live sober and godly lives. We will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh. We will see victory over sin and an increasing likeness to Jesus. We will be a praiseful, thankful and respectful people. O how we need the Holy Spirit in our lives to manifest His power! May we ask for His power as we aim to be witnesses for Jesus in this world!