Walking by the Spirit

 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.

The Holy Spirit testifies of our Lord and through His help we can live lives that testify of our Lord and King. Turn to Him for He is the breath of our Lord and will never lead us astray. He is the promise of God and the only way for us to live lives that honour our Lord. We are not alone, let us not walk without our Help.

Living in the Spirit

 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.

Romans 8

Our Lord gave us a Helper and this Helper reminds of His Word; helps and guides us in our journey. Today we learn of living in the Spirit, please make time to read the chapter.

The Spirit helps us overcome self and sin. He frees us to live for Christ our Lord. 

He empowers and strengthens to live for the glory of our God.

The one who abides with us

But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. John 14

Who is the Holy Spirit?

He is our Help through this journey of faith. He is our advocate; our counselor. He is there to remind us the Word of Truth. He is our comforter and the one who walks alongside.  He is our guide as we journey to become more and more like our Lord Jesus. 

We are a priviledged people our journey has a helper, one who can help us in all of life. We are sometimes afraid or dont understand our Helper but the scripture above is our Lord telling us who He is and our need of Him. 

Know that the Lord has given us the Holy Spirit to aid us dont neglect to get to know Him and learn to trust Him as we seek to be like Jesus.

 

We are never alone

 Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.

“I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

John 16

Continuing with our theme for 2023. In the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit we have HOPE 

next week  we will be continuing to look at the work of  the Holy Spirit in our lives, We are not alone the HELPER is with us.

My redeemer lives

Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David,

I mean that the heir, as long as he is a child, is no different from a slave, though he is the owner of everything, but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by his father. In the same way we also, when we were children, were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world. But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.

Oh that my words were written! Oh that they were inscribed in a book! Oh that with an iron pen and lead they were engraved in the rock forever! For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth.And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. My heart faints within me!

Luke 1; Galatians 4; Job 19

Oh what a privilege to know that we have a redeemer and He lives. Luke celebrates the coming of our redeemer and honours our Father for the gift of His Son; Paul in galatians reminds us because of Christ we are children of God and we are to live by faith.

Job reminds us  that our Father is the beginning and the end. we are to trust and revere Him no matter the circumstance.

Just as we said in the first blog this year, In the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit we have HOPE.

Be still I am God

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah

Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations,

I will be exalted in the earth!” The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah

Psalm 46

Taking a moment each day to consider how great our God is.

Sit still and meditate on Him,He is worthy of our honour and praise. When we look to His greatness we gain perspective and  are reminded of His goodness and power. Suddenly we are not so ovewhelmed.

Our HOPE

 A new hope, our old hope, and our only hope. Christ our Lord, our Ever Living Hope.

As we reflect on the past year and look with hope to the new year with hope may our inspiration be our Christ our Lord. In Him all things are renewed, we have been renewed.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honour at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

1 Peter 1

Our Father reconciled us to Himself in His Son.

In this new year

•  may we continually renew our hope and remember our redeemer lives.

• may we stop and remind ourselves of who our Father is

• May we remind ourselves we are not alone the Father has give us a Helper, the Holy Spirit.

As we face the new year with hope, we are aware of the wars, the state of the economy, the high unemployment rate BUT in the Father , the Son and the Holy Spirit we have HOPE for all of life.