"Yes, Lord!"

Romans 8:5-9

DEATH & CHAOS

Sound good?  No!

How about… LIFE & PEACE

Yes, much better!

The first set characterizes life without the Spirit, which isn’t very pleasant, but the second set is what you receive when you allow the Spirit to dwell in you.

It seems an easy choice when presented this way, so why can it be such a struggle?

Because we live with sin.  If only, Adam and Eve had listened, right?!  Now we’re stuck with this battle, but guess what?  The battle has been won and victory is ours, when we believe.

Verse 9 states, You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you.  The Spirit must LIVE in us, which is a verb, an action word.  When the Spirit lives in us, then we are truly alive.  Life without Christ is death – a death without the promise of resurrection.

In John 11:25-26, Jesus says, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?"

My prayer is that your answer, like Martha’s, is “Yes, Lord” and that the Spirit dwells in the deepest parts of your soul.  And, May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all (2 Corinthians 13:14).  Amen

Living filled with the spirit of...

What to do when...You know you messed up

Romans 8:14-15 (NIV)
¹⁴  because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. ¹⁵  For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship.  

I just read an article that said the word 'spirit' is used nearly 700 times in the Bible, and usually is followed by the word, of.  Spirit of...fear, spirit of the Lord, spirit of power, spirit of truth, and so on. I have written before about the spirit of fear I once lived in. When my business was failing (before I knew Jesus personally), I was afraid of many things. I was afraid to check my mailbox, I jumped when the phone would ring, I was even afraid that someone would discover the fear I lived with.

I know now that my life of fear was consequences of my actions, or sometimes, my lack of action. Had I faced my fears head-on, (the spirit of courage), I could have saved myself so much pain and anguish. When I hit the bottom, or found myself in the pit, (as Beth Moore puts it) I decided there had to be more to life than the way I was doing it. I cried out to God for help and He responded in ways that eventually changed my entire life and grew my faith.

To get to this point, I had to recognized that I messed up, I had to admit that hiding my head in the sand only added to my fear. My first 'mess up' was thinking I could handle it all by myself. I had to learn to humble myself and ask God for help - even though I didn't really know Him. But this act of reaching out changed that too.

Now, life it good, not perfect, but good. God has used His Word to minister to my fearful heart and freed me from bondage. I have a new spirit of hope and a spirit of joy.

Romans 8:14-17

Genesis 1:1-13

Genesis 1:2 (NIV)
 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

To me, this is one of the most poetic verses in Scripture. The words, "...and the Spirit of God was hovering..." I love to read how the Spirit hovers because I know He is always close, especially when I call upon Him to draw near.

The image I get when reading these lines is that of a mother hen with her wings wrapped tightly around her little chicks; or that of an Eagle whose wings are spread out and the mighty bird is soaring and gliding and 'hovering' over the tree tops. This majestic view is one of sanctuary and spectacle, authority and awe, grandeur and glory.

Paint a picture of the first day of creation in your mind using words that provide a Spiritual High. It takes a bit of doing, as there just aren't words big enough or bright enough to do the scene justice. I often try to put the feelings in my heart onto paper using fancy words or colored pens. But the truth is I am not able to do justice to the work the Spirit of God does within me. I can only try to represent Him to the world as an amazing being, hovering over my life.

When the Spirit hovers, lives are changed. Come Holy Spirit!

Read Genesis 1:1-13 here

Listen to Genesis 1:1-13 here.