How to be a HABITAT FOR HOLINESS
A Practical Guide for Living with the Holy Spirit 24/7 Without Being Rude
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This book is about relationship with the Holy Spirit. I’m not a theologian, but I am student of the Bible and believe I have been assigned to write this book. Let me explain. Most mornings during the 32 years I taught at the University of North Alabama, I’d get to my office early and open my Bible before I did anything else. Usually, I’d journal about prayer needs and what God showed me in the scriptures that day. One of those mornings in 2003, I was reading Ephesians 2:21. “In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.” (Ephesians 2:21-22 NIV) The word “dwelling” caught my attention, and I wrote in my journal … o Dwelling o Home o Inhabit o The Holy Spirit inhabits us. As a believer, I knew the Holy Spirit was in me, but this seemed different somehow. My mind raced as I realized I was sharing my body with the Holy Spirit! Like roommates, we shared a place to live: my life and body were a Habitat for Holiness! Suddenly I focused on what that meant. I realized that if I treated a roommate like I treated the Holy Spirit, that roommate wouldn’t be around for long. If I ignored them, offended them, hurt their feelings, rejected their values, or ignored my responsibilities, they wouldn’t want to live with me. A roommate has options; they can go into another room, leave the apartment, or even find a new place to live, but the Holy Spirit is stuck with me no matter what… Once I accepted Christ, the Holy Spirit is committed to me 24/7, and no matter how I treat him he makes his home – his habitat—in me. Not only does he stay, but he also continuously tries to make my life better as my counselor, comforter and friend. Whether I like it or not, I am a Habitat for Holiness, and I need to consider what that means in a very personal and practical way. The Holy Spirit is not some distant, abstract being, he’s a constant companion in a relationship that’s more up close and personal than any other relationship can be. And since relationships are a two-way association, I have to think about how I’m treating him. That’s also what this book is about.
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About the Book
We are a Habitat for Holiness – a place inhabited by the Holy Spirit 24/7. If we treated a roommate or spouse the way we treat the Holy Spirit, would that person stay with us? Do we show the Holy Spirit the same affection, attention, and respect we would want from someone living with us? This book is about exploring and building our relationship with the Holy Spirit – why it’s so important, why he stays when we ignore him, and what it costs him to live in us. We’ll take a practical look at how we can practice a deep and meaningful relationship with him, and why we have a mandate to do so. God demonstrated his desire for a close relationship with his people in every book of the Bible, and Jesus’ sacrifice enabled us to have an unbroken connection with God more intimate than even Moses or David could experience. But many of us push it aside because we can’t wrap our brains around having a personal relationship with God who lives in us every minute of every day. Over the course of twenty years, God showed me that the Holy Spirit was to be more than just someone I cried out to in an emergency or asked for advice in a quiet time. He’s supposed to be a best friend, a constant companion who shares everything I do, every word I say, and every thought I think. I had to ask myself, “Is he having a good time? Or am I dragging him though a mess that makes him miserable?” Would I want to be treated like I treat him? So now what? What do we do? How would that change our lives? What does it mean on a practical, daily basis? And what’s at stake if we do nothing? That’s what this book is about.
About the Author
Janet Carnal McMullen, Ph.D., is a Christian wife, mother, and grandmother who has spent her life teaching and mentoring others. She taught media ethics, effects, and messaging for thirty-two years in the Department of Communication at the University of North Alabama. She also taught at the University of Texas at Austin, where she earned a Ph.D. She also holds a Bachelor of Science and a master’s degree from Ball State University. She and her husband Randy have two sons and ten grandchildren.