Holy Spirit

Verse

So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won't be doing what your sinful nature craves.

— Galatians 5:16 nlt

Thought

What has the most influence in my life? Who guides my steps? What determines the values that I live? Whose voice and whose words are most important for me, especially when I am making my day-to-day decisions? The issue is quite simple: if the answer to those questions is not the Holy Spirit, then we are going to find ourselves repeatedly facing...

 

Verse

But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope.

— Galatians 5:5 tniv

Thought

Waiting is hard. Waiting for something or someone special is incredibly hard. Waiting for our transformation to be like Jesus, full of righteousness and grace, is impossibly hard without the gift of the Holy Spirit. Yet with the Spirit, we eagerly hope and expect to see all that God has prepared for us and transformed within us!

Prayer

O Father, I eagerly wait...

 

Verse

In the days of Hagar and Sarah, the child who came from faithless connivance (Ishmael) harassed the child who came — empowered by the Spirit — from the faithful promise (Isaac). Isn't it clear that the harassment you are now experiencing from the Jerusalem heretics follows that old pattern?

— Galatians 4:29 msg

Thought

Those who do not understand the way of the Spirit and who do not recognize the gift of the Spirit have always criticized those who live by the Spirit. This...

 

Verse
Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, "Abba, Father."

— Galatians 4:6 tniv

Thought
We have been adopted by God — we are children of the One who paints every sunset! To help us celebrate this incredible blessing, God has sent the Holy Spirit to live within us and to cry out with us, "Abba Father." This simple, two syllable word from Jesus' own life was used by babies to call out to their fathers. The Holy Spirit...

 

Verse

Through Christ Jesus, God has blessed the Gentiles with the same blessing he promised to Abraham, so that we who are believers might receive the promised Holy Spirit through faith.

— Galatians 3:14 nlt

Thought

What breaks down the barriers of cultures and nations and races? The presence of God's Holy Spirit within us. We sense a commonality, we feel a shared bond, and we celebrate the unity of the Spirit that exists because each of us has God's presence — the Holy Spirit —...

 

Verse

Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you by your observing the law, or by your believing what you heard?

— Galatians 3:5 tniv

Thought

God's Spirit is given and God's power is displayed in those who believe. We don't make the Spirit come to us — the Spirit is God's gift to followers of Jesus. We cannot make God's power happen in our lives — this power is released through the work of the Holy Spirit in those who believe. So what is the bottom line? Do we believe...

 

Verse

How foolish can you be? After starting your Christian lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort?

— Galatians 3:3 nlt

Thought

Try harder! Be better! Achieve more! Approach perfection! These are all messages that we hear every day in our competitive world. In fact, these help in almost every area of our lives. However, there is one area that they do not help — becoming holy like God! Yes, we need to obey God. Yes, we must offer...

 

Verse

I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard?

— Galatians 3:2 tniv

Thought

Most of us love lists that we can check off and show we've completed our tasks or deserve what we get. The Holy Spirit, however, is a gift given to those who believe in Jesus, trusting that his death, burial, and resurrection saves them and sharing with Jesus in these through baptism (1 Cor. 15:1-5; Rom. 6:3-6). Paul is...

 

Verse

For by God's grace, I am a special messenger from Christ Jesus to you Gentiles. I bring you the Good News so that I might present you as an acceptable offering to God, made holy by the Holy Spirit. So I have reason to be enthusiastic about all Christ Jesus has done through me in my service to God.

— Romans 15:15b-17 nlt

Thought

There are moments when we recognize that we are in the center of God's will, doing what God would have us do, exactly when the Father wants us to be...

 

Verse

And after they had argued back and forth among themselves, they left with this final word from Paul: "The Holy Spirit was right when he said to your ancestors through Isaiah the prophet ..."

— Acts 28:25 nlt

Thought

Jewish leaders in Rome come to visit Paul while he is under house arrest. He shares the good news of Jesus with them, yet they reject this message. This only convinces Paul even more of the need to share the good news of Jesus with all people because they will...