Living in the Spirit

Joel 2:28-32 (New International Version)
28 "And afterward,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your old men will dream dreams,
your young men will see visions.
Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days.
I will show wonders in the heavens
and on the earth,
blood and fire and billows of smoke.
The sun will be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood
before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD.
And everyone who calls
on the name of the LORD will be saved;
for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem
there will be deliverance,
as the LORD has said,
among the survivors
whom the LORD calls.

Acts 2:1-4 (New International Version)
When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues[a] as the Spirit enabled them.

Galatians 5:16-26 (New International Version)
Life by the Spirit
So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.
The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

I know I have included some long scripture verses today. However, I think these three are KEY to being a Christ follower truly living in the Spirit. I told you a story yesterday about my morning and how I had allowed God to walk with me through all the mundane craziness that mornings at my house can bring and how he showed me that he noticed by making sure my path was clear....all my lights were green.

I told that story to my daughter and she said "Mom, I think God has more important things to do than to make sure you have green lights".

You know, I used to think just like her. I used to think that God only had time for important things, why would he waste time on simple little prayers. Well that was what I thought until I truly received the Holy Spirit into my heart. You see, I was living a religion not a relationship with God. I had gone to church as a child, kind of fell out of it as an adult having sporadic fits of attending church but never finding a home. I never studied the bible.

I was one of those people who thought God didn't really intervene in our lives, he gave us free will and if we lived a "good" "clean" life we would be OK. I thought God had a finite amount of time and ability and only intervened in extreme circumstance.

Well let me say this, I have found out how wrong I was. Living the way I was thinking was NOT living in the Spirit. It allowed me to chose what I thought was right or wrong which leads to "bending" the rules. I was also under the false impression that living by the "law" was how you would get into Heaven. Well guess what I was headed right down a path of destruction....my life was spinning out of control, I had no direction and I felt lost and alone.

I found myself asking God for help....and indeed he did help. He led me right to what I needed to hear. I woke up one day and was truly led to the bible studies and devotions I needed to hear. He was showing me that I could NOT be truly saved until I had received the Holy Spirit into my heart....and that alone was salvation. If I ever meet Kay Arthur in person, I will kiss her right on the spot. She showed me, right in the words of the bible that God sent his son Jesus to die for our sins and our salvation and Jesus left us the Holy Spirit to guide us in his absence until we meet again. Living and walking with the Spirit is the only way to attain salvation.

I also discovered that God's power is infinite, not finite. Him turning my lights green yesterday morning did not lessen his ability to help a patient dying of cancer. With the Holy Spirit truly inside of us, God is with us during every task, no matter how small or how large. Living in the Spirit also compels us to live as Christ...keeping the Law wont get us into Heaven, but living in the Spirit gives us to power to live a Christ like life, and leads us away from the "sins" he died for and toward the fruits of the Spirit. The Spirit is power over sin!!

Galatians 5 shows us what is like to live without the Spirit and in turn the contrast, what Life in the Spirit is....it is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. All of these I have received and it has literally CHANGED MY LIFE!! I turned 43 yrs old last month but God never gave up on me. I missed out on a lot of years not living in the Spirit and I paid a price....but all that is in the past, God has forgiven me and I am looking so forward to my future living the fruits of the Spirit....read that list again....all I can say is WOW.

I pray everyday that my displaying what it is like to live in the Spirit, I can change someone else's life and give them the gifts I have received. Perhaps someone is reading this and God will lead them to the Spirit. Please share this message with someone you think might need it today, or share it with all your friends.

Prayer:
Lord, thank you, thank you for showing me what life can be like living in the Spirit. I want to be led by the Spirit in everything I do, showing others those fruits so they can find the same blessings I have. Amen"