Understanding the Holy Spirit Today by Doris Wynbeek Rikkers

We know the Holy Spirit is living among us and in us but we often don't recognize nor understand His work. Rikkers suggests reading Bible stories of the Spirit at work will help us realize how He works today.

Rikkers retells the stories and then adds her insights about the Spirit working today. Most of the content of the book is the retold stories. This makes the book a good one for Christians with little knowledge of the Bible. I've read through the Bible many times yet still found insights because of Rikkers' great story telling ability.

I like how she handled a difficult topic, the Spirit physically transporting Ezekiel and Philip. She encouraged us to trust the Spirit when He does things we don't understand and can't explain. We can be assured the He can do whatever God wants to be done in our lives. I like the spiritual lessons she draws from the stories, such as Ezekiel and the bones. We can know that the Spirit renews and restores life.

This book is no theological treatise. It is not an investigation into whether the gifts of the Spirit are manifest today or not. This is a gentle exploration of how the Spirit has worked in Bible times and how that helps us understand how the Spirit works today.

My rating: 4/5 stars.

Doris Wynbeek Rikkers has worked in Christian publishing for more than forty years and was managing editor of the team that originally published the New International Version of the Bible. She has written eight books for children. She is active in the Christian Reformed Church and has served on the board of trustees of Calvin Theological Seminary. She has a master's degree in Bible and theology. She lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

FaithWords, 208 pages.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review.