You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit,
if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you.
Romans 8:9 ESV
You...
Remember... we are looking at part of a letter... one written to Believers in Rome... so the you in this verse refers to Christians...
If you are a Believer... one in whom the Spirit of God dwells... then you are not in the flesh... but in the Spirit...
If...
This word appears a lot in Scripture... creating conditions for lots of God's promises...
In this case... Paul is asking Believers to consider...
Is the Spirit of God dwelling in you...?
If so... you no longer live in flesh... but in the Spirit...
Your life is different... than previously...
How can we tell if the Spirit is living in us...?
Living by the Spirit... means we let the Spirit take the lead in our lives... and this can make life very interesting...
"... The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound,
but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes.
So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit."
John 3:8 ESV
Life becomes a practice of listening for the blowing of the Spirit...
For example... this evening in Wal-Mart... I had a plan to shop quickly... breeze through... and get home...
After leaving the return desk... ready to power shop... I saw someone... felt the urge to just go up and give a hug... say hello... but my flesh said... No... move on...
Well I didn't get too far... before the urging of the Spirit caused me to turn... back up... and give a hug...
That led me to turn the same corner again... the one I did previously... and there was another soul... who I felt led to connect with...
It turned into a time to hear someone's heart...
Hugs... tears... more hugs...
This was not my plan... but yes... even after my balk... I was willing to let the Spirit lead... even through Wal-Mart...
This is a life led by the Spirit...
giving up control...
not always sure where your going to end up...
but willing to listen... and move... wherever He blows...
That's a sign of God dwelling in you... the Spirit giving promptings...
So do you live a life controlled by you...? or the unpredictable Spirit...?
No comments:
Post a Comment