HOLY SPIRIT LIVES WITHIN US

One of the amazing things that a person learns when they accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior is that God takes up residence within us. He is with us in the form of the Holy Spirit. This wonderful gift comes without our asking or perhaps even knowing.

And yet, even some Christians wonder about this. I have had numerous emails asking how to get the Holy Spirit, or how to know when He is with us. I wondered about this myself until I learned from the Bible that the Holy Spirit dwells in all who have accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior. (Matthew 3:11, James 4:5, 2 Timothy 1:14, Romans 8:9, 1 Corinthians 3:16).

The gift that Jesus promised before He left the earth is the Holy Spirit. This wonderful Spirit will be with us until we are taken from the earth to be with Him forever. When Jesus died for our sins we were declared righteous and became eligible for the almighty God to take up residence within us. This is one of the most amazing gifts that anyone could possibly receive or even imagine.   

Dr. David Jeremiah listed benefits from the Holy Spirit taking up residence in our lives. We are “born again”, “born of the Spirit”,given new life. The Holy Spirit dwells in all true Christians. Even as you read this, the Holy Spirit is giving you understanding, and I am receiving His help in writing. He is our permanent live-in counselor. We become a part of Christ’s body, and a part of each other. Our lives are filled with a purpose and are characterized by Christ’s power. We can discern spiritual truth from the deceptions of the world. We are transformed with the fruit of the Spirit, in the form of love, joy, peace, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. We have the privilege of being ambassadors for Christ.

Of course it does one no good to have the Holy Spirit if we are not living in obedience to Jesus Christ, and trusting Him with our decisions and our very lives. The Holy Spirit wants to be the sole and permanent resident within us to guide our lives. As we all know so well, there is a myriad of outside interests that compete for our time and attention. We must be discerning and careful how we use our time. Having some entertainment in our lives is all right, but we must put Christ first and above all.

To make sure we are living the life that Christ intended, we can bow our heads and ask God to help us to know and get rid of anything that is occupying our life so that the Holy Spirit is left out. Invite the Spirit of Christ to fill any void that is left after getting rid of these obstacles. Then begin living a Spirit-powered life that Christ’s death on the cross gave you to enjoy.