(Audio)
But you are not in the flesh;
on the contrary, you are in the spirit,
if only the Spirit of God dwells in you.
We are in the Spirit, the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus Christ from the dead, and because of that we can live lives that are pleasing to God. Even though our bodies still show symptoms our eventual death yet these symptoms no longer need to control us. The Spirit dwells in us and gives us life.
For if you live according to the flesh, you will die,
but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body,
you will live.
We can live the old way, the way that anyone can live without God. Or instead we can choose to live by the power of the Spirit. We can rely on ourselves or we can rely on the Spirit. One thing that won't work is stradling some middle way between our effort and God's grace. We need to be all in for the Spirit.
No one can say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the Holy Spirit.
We need to rely on the Spirit. But the how is not something we need to figure out or struggle with. We need to be attentive rather than inventive.
The Advocate, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in my name,
will teach you everything
and remind you of all that I told you.
The Holy Spirit shows us how to live. But even before this he shows us who we are in him. Only when we live this new identity are we able to live Spirit-filled lives.
For those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.
It is the confidence we have as sons and daughters in the Son that make us cry, "Abba, Father!" When we know that we are children of the Father death and temptation will not be able to intimidate us into compliance. We will choose the new life of the Spirit that is constantly being offered to us.
When we let the Holy Spirit direct us miracles happen.
Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire,
which parted and came to rest on each one of them.
And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit
and began to speak in different tongues,
as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim.
When we welcome the fire from on high we receive gifts uniquely appropriate to each one of us and to our individual missions for the kingdom. Though the gifts are many the world stands in dire need of all of them.
To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit
is given for some benefit.
Let's spend a few prayerful moments allowing the Spirit to say, "Jesus is Lord" in us. May he cry out "Abba, Father!" from the depths of our own hearts. As his voice shouts we know that we are transformed. We feel the life of the resurrection being released in us. These are cries we can shout when the enemy comes against us. These are words on which we can rely.
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