From the recent Las Vegas shooting, to the tense political atmosphere, Hurricanes, earthquakes in Mexico and brush fires engulfing numerous California areas, chaos has undoubtedly devastated the world we live in. Students all across the Biola campus have experienced and expressed an array of emotions in regards to these events and tonight allowed for the perfect way to feel refreshed and renewed by way of the Holy Spirit. With that being said, tonight marked the opening session of the 82nd annual Torrey Memorial Bible Conference: Pneuma, The Lord, The Giver of Life with guest speaker, author, songwriter and pastor Glenn Packiam from Colorado.

The conference kicked off with incredible worship with the song, “Holy Spirit”, an appropriate way to dive into what the Spirit means to us as Christians. Students raised their hands in reverence of God and prayed passionately during the worship service. The night consisted of learning about the nature of the Holy Spirit and the way we should respond to him. “[The] hope for us… is that the Lord would give you fresh eyes” Packiam said. Packiam stressed the idea that the Holy Spirit is not the way you feel something. In fact, the Spirit exists not just as an emotion, but as its own entity. He built upon his argument with the notion that the Spirit is not a force — he does not come into our lives just once and then move on, he remains constantly available to us. Tonight students experienced a fresh reminder of the person, power and presence of the Spirit and Packiam gave a prime example of how Christians should react to the Spirit by learning to say, “okay Holy Spirit, I know that you are with me,” and allowing it to have full control over our life.

The night ended when Glenn Packiam asked the students to put their hands in an upright posture and asked them to say, “Holy Spirit, I know that you are here”. By doing this, students could acknowledge the Spirit and take a moment with the Lord. Willingly, students put their hands out to receive what God had to offer. Having left feeling refreshed and renewed and ready for what God has to show them, Packiam did a phenomenal job reminding students that the Spirit can bring order to the chaos of this world and calm the roaring seas in their hearts. With all that to say, tonight’s first session created a welcoming environment and hinted at the beginning of a great conference week.