You know what truth about God it took me a really long time to understand...
That Jesus, through the holy spirit, lives in me.
When I first accepted Christ I didn't understand the real implications what that meant. I knew for sure accepting Jesus as my savior meant I was going to heaven. I knew I was suppose to some how live differently, stand up for Jesus, and tell other people about Jesus.
But when things got hard, when it didn't seem like God was listening to my prayers, ...I'd cry out:
"Where are you!?"
"What the heck are you doing!?"
"Excuse me, Are you even listening!?"
"I asked for a parking spot, not for problems at work!"
.... I'd even try to be biblical about it and quote scripture "Why have you forsaken me?"
"What the heck are you doing!?"
"Excuse me, Are you even listening!?"
"I asked for a parking spot, not for problems at work!"
.... I'd even try to be biblical about it and quote scripture "Why have you forsaken me?"
"Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?"- 1 Corinth 3:16
The spirit of GOD, the holy spirit, lives inside of me, ALL the time. He is not far off, up in heaven, checking his voice mail to see if he missed my call.
But its funny because we picture him like that! We cry out upwards, hoping our prayers will make it to his ears.
But he is inside US! He is always with US. WE literally can't be forsaken. That's amazing right!?
But its funny because we picture him like that! We cry out upwards, hoping our prayers will make it to his ears.
But he is inside US! He is always with US. WE literally can't be forsaken. That's amazing right!?
At first I wasn't excited to hear that. It actually put this huge burden on me. "If God is in me, he's watching me and I need to be on my best behavior". I remembered a verse that talked about not grieving the holy spirit ( The verse was Ephesians 4:30 "And do not bring sorrow to God's Holy Spirit by the way you live"). I thought that meant if I grieved him, or did something wrong, he would get upset and leave. Well after doing things wrong a couple of times, I just figured he left.
Every time I stepped into church I would repent and ask God to give me back his spirit. That this time I would be different, I wouldn't grieve him anymore. I did this over and over and over.
Can you see the problem? His presence relied totally upon my works, my actions, my ability to behave.
That verse actually has another part. The whole verse is:
"And do not bring sorrow to God's Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption."
That verse never said "and if you upset me, I'm leaving". That was something I just made up (probably with the help of Satan).
Why would he leave you when he just said "you [are] his own". What he is actually saying is this:
"You know what will prevent you from grieving me? Remembering me. Remembering that I died for you, taking on the sin you deserved, and then rose from the dead, so that I could live in you and be with you, and so that nothing, NO SIN, could separate us. I did all that to be with you. To claim you as my own. So we could be together now and in heaven."
He actually WANTS to be with us. He chose to be with us.
What he is saying is: KNOWING YOUR IDENTITY is what will prevent you from grieving the holy spirit. You are God's child. You are his child because his son is living in you. He is saying security in your identity will prevent you and motivate you to live differently.
That was not a verse intended to be condemning. It's purpose was not so that you would strive to be perfect.
"We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin."- Romans 6:6
Sinning does not separate from God anymore. It did. But God took care of all sin: past, present, and future. Your old sinful self..was literally crucified with Christ. That's not who you are anymore. You can still do it, but it does not define you. And because your sinful self died when Christ died, your new self rose when Christ rose. That is why Christ can live in you, no matter what mistakes you make!
You are not slave. Sin does not have to run your life. The purpose of God living in you is to encourage you, empower you, and confirm you are indeed a child of God.
That changes everything! That means, because God is in me. I can immediately enter his presence any time and place. If you don't "feel" God, it is not because he is not there...it's because you have stopped recognizing his presence. God is always there. He is always in you. He never leaves.
It's funny, sometimes we think God can't handle our emotions. We only want to go to God when we are doing good. But God is a big boy. He can handle our angry, irritable, frustrated, selfish fits. He is also compassionate. He takes no joy in sorrow, or hurt, in fact, he hates it. He holds us in our weakest moments, and whispers hope in the darkest.
God isn't far away, he is in you. He will not leave. Sin can not separate you once you enter into a relationship with him.
God is not far away, he is so very near.
Every time I stepped into church I would repent and ask God to give me back his spirit. That this time I would be different, I wouldn't grieve him anymore. I did this over and over and over.
Can you see the problem? His presence relied totally upon my works, my actions, my ability to behave.
That verse actually has another part. The whole verse is:
"And do not bring sorrow to God's Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption."
That verse never said "and if you upset me, I'm leaving". That was something I just made up (probably with the help of Satan).
Why would he leave you when he just said "you [are] his own". What he is actually saying is this:
"You know what will prevent you from grieving me? Remembering me. Remembering that I died for you, taking on the sin you deserved, and then rose from the dead, so that I could live in you and be with you, and so that nothing, NO SIN, could separate us. I did all that to be with you. To claim you as my own. So we could be together now and in heaven."
He actually WANTS to be with us. He chose to be with us.
What he is saying is: KNOWING YOUR IDENTITY is what will prevent you from grieving the holy spirit. You are God's child. You are his child because his son is living in you. He is saying security in your identity will prevent you and motivate you to live differently.
That was not a verse intended to be condemning. It's purpose was not so that you would strive to be perfect.
"We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin."- Romans 6:6
Sinning does not separate from God anymore. It did. But God took care of all sin: past, present, and future. Your old sinful self..was literally crucified with Christ. That's not who you are anymore. You can still do it, but it does not define you. And because your sinful self died when Christ died, your new self rose when Christ rose. That is why Christ can live in you, no matter what mistakes you make!
You are not slave. Sin does not have to run your life. The purpose of God living in you is to encourage you, empower you, and confirm you are indeed a child of God.
That changes everything! That means, because God is in me. I can immediately enter his presence any time and place. If you don't "feel" God, it is not because he is not there...it's because you have stopped recognizing his presence. God is always there. He is always in you. He never leaves.
It's funny, sometimes we think God can't handle our emotions. We only want to go to God when we are doing good. But God is a big boy. He can handle our angry, irritable, frustrated, selfish fits. He is also compassionate. He takes no joy in sorrow, or hurt, in fact, he hates it. He holds us in our weakest moments, and whispers hope in the darkest.
God isn't far away, he is in you. He will not leave. Sin can not separate you once you enter into a relationship with him.
God is not far away, he is so very near.
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