Romans 8:11 - Relying on The Holy Spirit.
Romans 8:11 (NLT) The Spirit of God, who
raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just
as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he
will give life to your mortal bodies by this same
Spirit living within you.
Romans 8:11 (MSG) It stands to reason,
doesn't it, that if the alive-and-present God who
raised Jesus from the dead moves into your life,
he'll do the same thing in you that he did in
Jesus, bringing you alive to himself? When God
lives and breathes in you (and he does, as surely
as he did in Jesus), you are delivered from
that dead life. With his Spirit living in you,
your body will be as alive as Christ's!
COMMENTARY PEARL
To grow spiritually you must rely
constantly on the Holy Spirit. Remember that Christ
dwells in you through the Holy Spirit. Your body is
now the dwelling place of the Third Person of
the Trinity. Do not ask Him to help you as you
would a servant. Ask Him to come in and do it
all.
It is impossible for you to hold out in
your Christian life - but He can hold you. Just
relax and rest in the Lord. Do not fret about
important decisions - let Him make them for you. Do
not worry about tomorrow - He is the God of
tomorrow. Do not worry about the necessities of life -
He is there to provide. A victorious Christian
is one who, in spite of worries, is confident
that God is in control. In reliance on the Holy
Spirit, you will find that many of your troubles
will disappear.
What struggles should you release to the
Holy Spirit? [Peace for Each Day by Billy
Graham]
COMMENTARY
Music for the Dance
Let's imagine that you want to learn to
dance. Being the rational, cerebral person you are,
you go to a bookstore and buy a book on
dancing.
You take the book home and get to work.
You do everything it says. The book says sway;
you sway. The book says shuffle; you shuffle.
The book says spin; you spin.
Finally, you think you've got it, and you
invite your wife to come in and watch. You hold the
book open and follow the instructions step by
step.
You continue to read, then dance, read,
then dance, until the dance is completed. You
plop exhausted on the couch, look at your wife,
and proclaim, "I executed it perfectly."
"You executed it, all right," she sighs.
"You killed it."
"What?"
"You forgot the most important part.
Where is the music?"
Music?
We Christians are prone to follow the
book while ignoring the music. We master the
doctrine, outline the chapters, memorize the
dispensations, debate the rules, and stiffly step down the
dance floor of life with no music in our hearts.
We measure each step, calibrate each turn, and
flop into bed each night exhausted from another
day of dancing by the book.
Dancing with no music is tough stuff.
Jesus knew that. For that reason, on the
night before his death he introduced the disciples
to the song maker of the Trinity, the Holy
Spirit. (John 16:7-9).
Of the three persons of the Godhead, the
Holy Spirit is the one we understand the least.
Perhaps the most common mistake made regarding the
Spirit is perceiving him as a power but not a
person, a force with no identity. Such is not true.
The Holy Spirit is not an "it." He is a
person. He has knowledge (1 Cor. 2:11). He has a
will (1 Cor. 12:11). He has a mind (Rom. 8:27).
He has affections (Rom. 15:30). You can lie to
him (Acts 5:3-4). You can insult him (Heb.
10:29). You can grieve him (Eph. 4:30).
The Holy Spirit is not an impersonal
force. He is not Popeye's spinach or the surfer's
wave. He is God within you to help you. In fact
John calls him the Helper.
Envision a father helping his son learn
to ride a bicycle, and you will have a partial
picture of the Holy Spirit. The father stays at the
son's side. He pushes the bike and steadies it if
the boy starts to tumble. The Spirit does that
for us; he stays our step and strengthens our
stride. Unlike the father, however, he never leaves.
He is with us to the end of the age.
What does the Spirit do?
He comforts the saved. (John 16:7).
He convicts the lost. (John 16:8).
He conveys the truth. (John 16:12).
Is John saying we don't need the book in
order to dance? Of course not; he helped write it.
Emotion without knowledge is as dangerous as
knowledge without emotion. God seeks a balance. "God
is spirit, and those who worship him must
worship in spirit and truth" (John 4:24).
What is essential is that you know the
music is in you. "If Christ is in you, then the
Spirit gives you life" (Rom. 8:10). You don't need
a formula to hear it. I don't have a four-step
plan to help you know it. What I do have is his
promise that the helper would come to comfort,
convict, and convey.
So think about it; have you ever been
comforted? Has God ever brought you peace when the
world brought you pain? Then you heard the music.
Have you ever been convicted? Have you
ever sensed a stab of sorrow for your actions?
Then you've been touched by the Holy Spirit.
Or have you ever understood a new truth?
Or seen an old principle in a new way? The
light comes on. Your eyes pop open. "Aha, now I
understand." Ever happen to you? If so, that was the Holy
Spirit conveying to you a new truth.
What do you know? He's been working in
your life already.
By the way, for those of us who spent
years trying to do God's job, that is great news.
It's much easier to raise the sail than row the
boat. And it's a lot easier getting people to join
the dance when God is playing the music.
That's what makes God, God. From A Gentle
Thunder [Max Lucado Daily Devotional at
maxlucado.com]
LINK FOR FURTHER STUDY
Romans 8:11 - God Wants to Spend Eternity
with You.
http://www.abible.com/devotions/2021/20210409-0934.html
LINKS WORTH CHECKING OUT
https://abible.com/links/
