Holy Spirit

Then Peter said [to the lame man], "Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk." Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man's feet and ankles became strong. He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God.

—Acts 3:6-8

Key Thought​

Today is leap day. I could not resist using this verse about a man held in...

 

Among those who belong to Christ, everything connected with getting our own way and mindlessly responding to what everyone else calls necessities is killed off for good — crucified. Since this is the kind of life we have chosen, the life of the Spirit, let us make sure that we do not just hold it as an idea in our heads or a sentiment in our hearts, but work out its implications in every detail of our lives.

—Galatians 5:24-25 MESSAGE

Key Thought​

God's written word is...

 

But for you who welcome [the Spirit of Christ], in whom [God] dwells — even though you still experience all the limitations of sin — you yourself experience life on God's terms. 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...

 

Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation — but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.

—Romans 8:12-13 NIV

Key Thought​

In Romans 7:5, Paul made it clear that when he said "flesh," he was talking about "sinful passions." Then, in today's verses, three things capture my attention:

• First, notice the word...

 

For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God's Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, "Abba, Father."

—Romans 8:14-15 NLT

Key Thought​

"She wanted a mother. She wanted me to be her mother. And I wanted to be her mother, but it could not be." My wife, Donna, said these words with tears in her eyes as she thought about precious Gladys, a...

 

But if God himself has taken up residence in your life, you can hardly be thinking more of yourself than of him. Anyone, of course, who has not welcomed this invisible but clearly present God, the Spirit of Christ, won't know what we're talking about.

—Romans 8:9 MESSAGE

Key Thought​

God's children have the Spirit of Christ living in them. But rather than having the Spirit just as a visiting guest, those who follow Jesus want to welcome the Holy Spirit to his home in their...

 

Whenever, though, [the Israelites] turn to face God as Moses did, God removes the veil and there they are — face to face! They suddenly recognize that God is a living, personal presence, not a piece of chiseled stone. And when God is personally present, a living Spirit, that old, constricting legislation is recognized as obsolete. We're free of it! All of us! Nothing between us and God, our faces shining with the brightness of his face. And so we are transfigured much like the Messiah...

 

Such confidence we have through Christ before God. Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant — not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

—2 Corinthians 3:4-6 NIV

Key Thought​

God's words in Scripture remind us of both his holiness and his holy standards for us. "The letter" — that is, legalism — kills. It...

 

"But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel on that day," says the LORD. "I will put my instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. And they will not need to teach their neighbors, nor will they need to teach their relatives, saying, 'You should know the LORD.' For everyone, from the least to the greatest, will know me already," says the LORD. "And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will...

 

[God said,] "I'll give you [my people in Babylonian captivity] a new heart. I'll put a new Spirit in you. I'll cut out your stone heart and replace it with a red-blooded, firm-muscled heart. Then you'll obey my statutes and be careful to obey my commands. You'll be my people! I'll be your God!"

—Ezekiel 11:19-20 MESSAGE

Key Thought​

God had to deal with a rebellious and stubborn people in Ezekiel's day. Of course, those people were not much different than most...