About the Teachings

The Author of these Teachings is the Holy Spirit of God.

But, as has been done many times throughout history, God superintended a man to do the writing: Dr. Robert D. Russell.

The Story

The story of Bob Russell’s experience with the Spirit is unique. It is worth recounting the highlights of his spiritual story, from the early days of his youth, and how he came to live “in the Spirit.”

Bob grew up in a Methodist household. When he was 15, he attended a church camping trip in the San Bernardino mountains in southern California. One morning, Bob and a friend went on a hike in the surrounding hills, and after several hours of walking, discovered they were lost. Not panicking, but forging on with youthful determination, the two boys walked many more miles and hours, until dusk descended, and the determination turned to fear.

Bob finally “hit his knees” and for the first time in his life, fear drove him to ask God for help… for real help. Bob had persevered in his youthful hope; had done everything he knew how to do, and was still lost and scared, and he called on God for help.

He stood up from his prayer in trepidation; walked wearily to the top of the next hill, and found himself looking down on the camp, in the valley just below.

The 1st lesson of living “In the Spirit”: A personal call on God’s mercy can produce immediate results.

The Turning Point

Fast forward 20 years. It is 1960. Bob is married to the woman of his dreams, with 4 boys and a budding career at the prestigious Stanford University. He is 34 years old, and something happens to him that has a marked influence on his life. It came through his mother-in-law, Mabel.

In her earlier years Mabel had received from the Holy Spirit the ministry of “Personal Directive Prophecy.” Specifically, she had been instructed that she could “Come to God and ASK, and within the hour it would be given.”

In January, 1960, she had asked for, and received, an intention for Bob. It was a 3 page missive instructing him on personal and professional questions. It was so significant to him that he committed a part of it to memory:

“If thou wilt incline thine ear unto learning, thy soul unto believing, and thy mind unto obedience, then will no good thing be withheld from thee. Release thy control that He might direct thee. Abstain no longer from boldness of proclamation that ‘THE LORD IS DIRECTOR OF MY LIFE’”

Later that year, he was visiting Baltimore, Maryland for an education conference, and was staying with Bob and Joyce Bilgrave (sister-in-law). During the 3 day conference, he had several opportunities for long, serious talks with Joyce regarding the presence of God in their lives. He comments, “In some wonderful and unusual way God used Joyce and me as instruments to our mutual benefit.”

In a letter to Mabel, recounting the visit, he says:

“Perhaps I was helpful to her; she said I was. But out of this experience together came a great ‘leap of faith’ for me – a cleansing, opening, surging forward. Somehow it focused many diverse ideas, it marked a turn toward God’s more direct dealing with and through me. The glory, the credit, goes to God, but Joyce was his instrument.”

The 2nd secret of living “In the Spirit”: Be willing to accept the presence of God acting through other people.

The Sanctuary

This acceptance of the guidance of God in his life, and his commitment to live his life “In the Spirit” began to permeate his life. He was in earnest correspondence with Mabel, telling of his struggles and his aspirations, and requesting words from God to help him along the way. Not once… not twice. He asked frequently. He listened intently. He acted on what he heard, and his life had a zeal that was infectious to all.

In 1962, he asked Mabel for another word, and this is what he received:

“Build Me a sanctuary. Enter as oft as day appeareth, yielding thyself UNTO ME, leaving outside ALL that pertaineth unto reason or man… Must ye daily allow for Me, for I choose to instruct thee in My wisdom, causing thee not to err in thy walk amid man’s wisdom. I shall require this of thee!”

Bob took this literally, and he added an office off the main bedroom of their new house being built at 946 Casanueva Place in Stanford California – an office that he named, ‘The Sanctuary’. And he would begin most days by going there, and giving God the first hour of his day.

The Teachings Begin

Fast forward another 15 years. It is May, 1979. Bob is at the height of a great career. A full professor, respected nationally and invited to write and speak around the world.

Bob had a contract to write a book for Scott Foresman. A chapter was due, and he had taken it home one night to do some final edits. When he came down the next morning to send it off, it was nowhere to be found.

After spending hours looking at home, he convinced himself that he must have left it at the office, so he drove to his University office to look for it. Nowhere to be found.

After several hours of searching, in desperation he headed back home to search again. And once again, as he had those many years before, he “hit his knees” as he drove, and he called on God for help. And as clearly as if spoken in his ear, he heard:

“Give me the first hour of your day.”

So he cut a deal with God. “If I find the manuscript at home, I’ll give you the first hour of my day – for the next 30 days.”

When he got back home, he went inside and sat down at the kitchen table. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath and said a little prayer to God. When he opened his eyes, he looked down at the table, and there, in a pile of papers he had looked through a dozen times, he saw the corner of a manilla folder. He pulled it out, and it was the lost manuscript!

The next morning, May 11th at 6:45 am, Bob was in his home office, giving God the first hour of his day. It was the same discipline he had started 17 years earlier.

But ten days later, things took an unexpected turn. On May 20th at 5:50 am… when he sat down to begin the ritual… the words he wrote were not his own. He “heard” a voice coming from within his own soul, and the voice dictated a title, “Read the Messages.” The voice continued to dictate an entire essay.

And so it began. Bob finished the remaining 20 day commitment to God, with each day being one of listening and writing what was being spoken to him. He then committed to 30 days more, and on each of those days the Spirit spoke and Bob wrote. By the time these 60 days were complete, this most unique Spirit-to-spirit liturgy had been established, and it lasted the rest of Bob Russell’s life.

For the next 23 years, Bob had an amazing and personal relationship with God, the Spirit. Two or three times a week, for about an hour, the Spirit would talk, and Bob would write verbatim what was said. Together, they penned over 3300 of what became known as “Teachings” from the Holy Spirit. Each Teaching was exactly 3 handwritten pages long.

The 3rd secret of living “In the Spirit”: The search for God requires that you keep asking God for help, and accept it when it comes.

About the Writer

Dr. Russell was born in 1926 in Long Beach, California. He matriculated at UCLA, Berkeley, and Stanford, where he received his Ed.D. He began his teaching career at Punahou, went on to teach at Stanford for 8 years, and finished his 49-year teaching career at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Illinois.

The Curriculum Vitae of that career is 44 pages long. It begins with a record of his Classes and Teaching. It then notes that he directed 67 Master’s theses and 78 Ph.D. dissertations.

Not listed in the CV are the 3349 Teachings he wrote from 1979 through 2003.

Dr. Russell died in 2005, and is buried at his beloved farm in Cobden, IL.

John Patrick Russell is Dr. Russell’s 3rd son. He is organizing and compiling the Teachings into books such as this one.

He recommends a deep-dive into the Teachings themselves.

Like C.S. Lewis, Dr. Russell kept a photograph of the Shroud of Turin on his wall for most of his adult life — a quiet reminder of the face of Christ.