As we look at the Spirit of God in our lives, it is difficult to grasp that the Holy Spirit is in all places and times at once. His Spirit is as omnipresent as is God. That is why as we trudge through life; we often need to seek God’s lead. He can see ahead and behind from the beginning to the end. He knew us from when we were knit in our mother’s wombs. He knew every fear, mistake, triumph, and decision we would make. Who better to guide us to the truth.
When we understand the Spirit’s deity and His omnipresent nature, then we can ask for his guidance and His leadership on a daily basis. As we ask, we can do so with confidence and with peace. It is not that we will always like the answers; but, we will ask knowing that God Himself knows us like none other and will guide us to a place of peace and of faith. Our Father will prepare us for an eternity in His presence. The God that created the universe will allow His Spirit to protect and perfect us like no other thing on earth.
The idea that God’s Spirit would enter our sinful hearts and lives is not a New Testament concept. Instead it was a concept born in Genesis three and carried through God’s Journey with men starting with Abraham and carried through to our lives today.
It was always God’s intention to restore man’s relationship with Him. We must remember that Israel was selected to be God’s chosen nation. He did not choose them to be a nation of self-absorbed warriors; looking to destroy their enemies and conquer all. Instead, God chose Israel to become a nation of priests; to partner with Him in restoring the personal relationships between God and men.
Sadly, God could not partner with people whose hearts were sinful and hardened like stone. So, God Himself, became flesh, He lived, He loved us, and died for our sin. His sacrifice made it possible for our hardened and sinful hearts to be regenerated into a heart of flesh, so that we could accept Christ’s gift, be one with God’s spirit, and claim our place as God’s adopted children. Romand 8:14-17.
It is only as God’s chosen, that we can claim and enjoy the title of and benefits of being His children. Then, and only then will we be indwelt and led by His Spirit. It is a gift of restoration, renewal, and regeneration that prepares us and equips us to be a part of the nation of priests God envisioned from the beginning.
God Bless You
24 “‘For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land. 25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. 28 Then you will live in the land I gave your ancestors; you will be my people, and I will be your God. 29 I will save you from all your uncleanness. I will call for the grain and make it plentiful and will not bring famine upon you. 30 I will increase the fruit of the trees and the crops of the field, so that you will no longer suffer disgrace among the nations because of famine. 31 Then you will remember your evil ways and wicked deeds, and you will loathe yourselves for your sins and detestable practices. 32 I want you to know that I am not doing this for your sake, declares the Sovereign Lord. Be ashamed and disgraced for your conduct, people of Israel!
33 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: On the day I cleanse you from all your sins, I will resettle your towns, and the ruins will be rebuilt. 34 The desolate land will be cultivated instead of lying desolate in the sight of all who pass through it. 35 They will say, “This land that was laid waste has become like the garden of Eden; the cities that were lying in ruins, desolate and destroyed, are now fortified and inhabited.” 36 Then the nations around you that remain will know that I the Lord have rebuilt what was destroyed and have replanted what was desolate. I the Lord have spoken, and I will do it.’
Romans 8
14 For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. 15 The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship.[f] And by him we cry, “Abba,[g] Father.” 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.
When we discuss the Holy Spirit and the Spirit’s effect upon our lives, we often forget that the Spirit IS God. It is easy to focus upon the Spirit being sent as a guide and comfort and lose sight that in the beginning That same spirit hovered above the waters and saw light being created. The Spirit saw the universe formed. That same spirit saw God form and fill the earth, the oceans and the garden which ultimately means us.
Who better than the Spirit of the God that is the creator and master of the universe to guide and comfort God’s greatest treasures, us. Please do not misunderstand, as a group, God’s chosen are at best a mess. But God Himself knew the mess we were to be as His Spirit hovered over the face of the deep. He knew we would make terrible choices and have amazing needs; the chief of which was a Savior.
When Christ ascended to rejoin the Father, He did not send the 2nd team in as a backup. He sent the Spirit of God who has guided His chosen throughout time. That spirit led Moses, David, Daniel, and the Apostles. The Spirit of God created us and knows us like none other! We simply need to trust and follow the Spirit’s lead. If we will, then that spirit will guide us to the truth, lead us through trials, temptations, and comfort us in the best and worst of times.
This journey is a faith journey. Knowing that, we need to trust God’s Spirit to lead us and complete the work started when we were saved.
God Bless You
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 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.
3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.
As God’s Chosen people, His children we are given the Holy Spirit as a sign of our relationship with God. It is our reminder that we were bought with a price. Prior to Christ’s death, God’s Spirit was only given to certain people and for specific purposes. The spirit of God rested on God’s prophets as they were to be God’s voice to His people. He also imparted the spirit on the Kings and the judges so that they would have the tools to lead His people.
Prior to Christ’s sacrifice, however, God did not have a personal relationship with His people. They interacted with God through the priests at thr tabernacle and later at the temple. the people of God would trek to Jerusalem to make sacrifices and to seek God’s favor.
When Christ came, he changed everything. His death, burial and resurrection allowed people to have a personal relationship with God. When we accept Christ as our savior, we receive the Holy Spirit into our lives. That indwelling is our guarantee that Christ did save us and is in our lives. Once God’s spirit indwells us we can understand the things of God. We can see why selflessness and love are keys to peace. God’s spirit leads us in our lives, through Good and bad times giving us the hope and comfort we need to carry on.
God’s Spirit is our testimony that our relationship with God is real, and our prayer is not simply bouncing off a ceiling. We have to trust God and allow His spirit to lead and guide us. If we will do that, We will have a full and meaningful life.
God Bless You
1 Corinthians 3:16-Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?
Romans 8–Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you[a] free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh,[b] God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering.[c] And so he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
5 Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6 The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. 7 The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. 8 Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.
9 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. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. 10 But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life[d] because of righteousness. 11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of[e] his Spirit who lives in you.
Walking with the Lord is not a group of boxes to check off and by their completion somehow attain some level of greater standing. As God’s chosen, it is so easy to want to do that. We would rather find a way to live a checklist form of religion that proves we are good enough to run with God and His people. Our alternative is to live a life that is devoid of God’s influence and simply do whatever we want.
Ephesians 5 sets up a lifestyle that is separate from the lifestyle encouraged by the culture of the times when Paul wrote the Letter and certainly not consistent with the times in which the church currently lives. Ephesians 5:1 says it best. “Be imitators of God and Walk in Love.” Satan has spent his entire career trying to deceive people into “becoming Like God”.
In truth, Satan wants to overthrow God and His kingdom. So he does all He can to cause God’s chosen to turn from being imitators of God and attempt to become their own gods. His two favorite games are to make us ultra religious or to make us ultra worldly.
Paul attempts to clarify the issue by setting out the goal–being an imitator of God. Do not try to become the God of your own journey by acting and doing like the world acts. The world is filled with folks that are the center of their own universe and they worship themselves and regard themselves over all others–they become their own idols.
Paul tells us as God’s chosen people to walk a life that is not self-focused, but others and God focused. We are to love folks, hate sin, and be filled with the Spirit of God; allowing the Spirit to guide and comfort us. Then, as we are led, we are prepared for living eternally in God’s presence.
Walking with God simply looks different than walking apart from Him. There is no other or better means for walking with God than allowing the Spirit to be in control.
God Bless You
Ephesians 5
jTherefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. 2 And kwalk in love, las Christ loved us and mgave himself up for us, a nfragrant ooffering and sacrifice to God.
3 But psexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness qmust not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. 4 Let there be rno filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, swhich are out of place, but instead tlet there be thanksgiving. 5 For you may be sure of this, that ueveryone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (vthat is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. 6 wLet no one xdeceive you with empty words, for because of these things ythe wrath of God comes upon zthe sons of disobedience. 7 Therefore ado not become partners with them; 8 for bat one time you were cdarkness, but now you are light in the Lord. dWalk as children of light 9 (for ethe fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), 10 and ftry to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. 11 gTake no part in the hunfruitful iworks of darkness, but instead jexpose them. 12 For kit is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. 13 But when lanything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, 14 for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says,
15 pLook carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16 pmaking the best use of the time, because qthe days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what rthe will of the Lord is. 18 And sdo not get drunk with wine, for that is tdebauchery, but ube filled with the Spirit, 19 addressing one another in vpsalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, 20 wgiving thanks always and for everything to God the Father xin the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Walking With God 