Holy Spirit

Verse
And Christ lives within you, so even though your body will die because of sin, the Spirit gives you life because you have been made right with God.

— Romans 8:10 nlt

Thought
Everything we know that lives is actually in the process of dying. Everything, that is, except for those animated and empowered by the Spirit of the living Christ. The power that raised Jesus from the dead is actually at work in us. Not only does the Spirit empower us to find life now, but his presence...

 

Verse

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

— Romans 8:6 tniv

Thought

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

 

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. Yet 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. What Satan entices us to think is freedom, invariably...

 

VerseThe 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

ThoughtJesus...

 

VerseSo 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

ThoughtSuch a great description of identity — "[T]hose who belong to Christ Jesus." When this is my identity — our identity — God stamps his mark of authenticity in our hearts and Jesus places the empowering Comforter in our souls. The Holy Spirit's presence brings...

 

VerseBut 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 tniv

ThoughtWe could not, and cannot, keep the law of God. 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 surrendered that way...

 

VerseFor 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

ThoughtSkin prejudice 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, their language, is to remain trapped in the sin dominated...

 

VerseThe 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

ThoughtDeath, the immutable reality of our physical mortality, is an enemy (1 Cor. 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, holds our world captive. It has since the sad...

 

VerseThe 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

ThoughtJesus is the Son — David's Son, God's Son in power, Jesus, Christ, and Lord! Each name means something very important, but the simple truth based on Jesus' resurrection from the dead is this: Jesus is everyone and everything...

 

VerseAnd 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

ThoughtThe 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...