Holy Spirit

Verse
The mind controlled by the sinful nature is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace.

— Romans 8:6 NIV

Thought
What do you want from your limited days on earth? If you are like me, you want to enjoy life and have every moment of it bring joy and peace. There is only one way for this kind of life to happen: the Holy Spirit must be in you, must lead you, and must govern you. All other paths to peace are temporary. Some are simply mirages: tempting deceptions...

 

Verse
Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit.

— Romans 8:5 NLT

Thought
We don't like to be controlled. However, we will be controlled by our sinful nature or by the Spirit of God. There are no middle options (Ephesians 2:1-3; Romans 6). While politically incorrect, deep in the core of our souls we know it's true. The things that Satan entices us to think of as...

 

Verse
The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin's control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit.

— Romans 8:3-4 NLT

Thought
Jesus...

 

Verse
So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death.

— Romans 8:1-2 NLT

Thought
This is such a great description of our identity — "those who belong to Christ Jesus." When this is my identity — our identity — God stamps his mark of authenticity on our hearts and Jesus places the empowering Comforter in our souls. The Holy Spirit's presence...

 

Verse
But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.

— Romans 7:6 NIV

Thought
We could not, and cannot, keep the law of God completely. Trying to be righteous when one failure, one transgression, one sin, makes us guilty ensures that we cannot be righteous through works of law-keeping. But, we have died to that basis of righteousness. We've died because we...

 

Verse
For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God.

— Romans 2:28-29 ESV

Thought
Prejudice based on a person's skin color or type is an unholy and divisive stain empowered by the divisive powers of hell. To view people based on their ethnicity, their skin color, their tribe, or their language is...

 

Verse
The Good News is about his Son. In his earthly life he was born into King David's family line, and he was shown to be the Son of God when he was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit. He is Jesus Christ our Lord.

— Romans 1:3-4 NLT

Thought
Jesus is the Son — David's Son, God's Son in power, Christ, and Lord! Each name means something very important, but the simple truth based on Jesus' resurrection from the dead is this: Jesus is the one of ultimate importance to...

 

Verse
The Scriptures tell us, "The first man, Adam, became a living person." But the last Adam — that is, Christ — is a life-giving Spirit.

— 1 Corinthians 15:45 NLT

Thought
Death, the immutable reality of our physical mortality, is an enemy (1 Corinthians 15:26). Yes, there are times for those who follow Jesus that death is a blessing. The hard reality, however, is that death, and the decay of everything good and precious to us in this world, hold our world captive. They have since...

 

Verse
And we have received God's Spirit (not the world's spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us.

When we tell you these things, we do not use words that come from human wisdom. Instead, we speak words given to us by the Spirit, using the Spirit's words to explain spiritual truths.

— 1 Corinthians 2:12-13 NLT

Thought
The apostle Paul is making a direct claim to speak the truth of God based on the work of the Holy Spirit to inspire what he says. In other...

 

Verse
Who else has held the oceans in his hand? Who has measured off the heavens with his fingers? Who else knows the weight of the earth or has weighed the mountains and hills on a scale? Who is able to advise the Spirit of the Lord? Who knows enough to give him advice or teach him?

— Isaiah 40:12-13 NLT

Thought
In Genesis 1, we find that the "Spirit of God was hovering over" the primordial deep waiting for God's word to bring the work of creation to completion. So when Isaiah talks...