Ive been out of town a lot this last month or so and yesterday morning we were finally at our church together as a family after missing a couple weeks in a row....It was sooo good to be worshiping together with other believer's!!! Even though I read almost every morning and listen to praise music-its just not the same!
The Holy Spirit spoke to me and refreshed me and Im just so thankful for a place to worship together on a regular basis.
We sang this song... not sure on the title or the exact words but what really rang out to me was "You are stronger, You are stronger, Satan is vanquished, You are risen! ....You are Lord of All..." (like I said not sure on the exact song or words but something like that)
I couldnt help but cry as I sang those powerful words proclaiming Christ being stronger than all and Lord over everything.. I need those words ringing in my head all day every day- Christ's strength over the sin and troubles in my life!!
The last few days Ive been opening my bible to John 15-16. John 15 about the Vine and the Branches is my all time favorite passage in scripture... I could read it every day and be encouraged and challenged each and every time. If your not familiar with it you should go read it... its all about remaining close to Christ and how apart from Him we can do nothing. Every time I neglect to spend time with Him for a long time period-Im always drawn back to this passage. Im just so thankful that Hes finally brought me to a place in my life where its 'easy' for me to spend time with Him. I can recall numerous times throughout my life where I struggled to find a good time to set apart to be spending time reading and praying... Not a morning person- so waking up early never seemed to be successful (snooze button was way too easy) and stopping in the middle of the day was hard for me to focus, before bed I was too sleepy and would fall asleep in the middle of it.. excuses, excuses..... Now.. I wake up when Aydin gets up... fix him up with drink and food, make me some coffee and we go outside to play and I sit there and read... its not the most uninterrupted time but I sit there till Im done before I start working and running around. Preschool is about to start and Im praying this schedule of ours still works well.... and Im not rushing to get us ready for school.
Monday, August 30, 2010
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Routine
Good morning blog- please forgive me for my inability to write well and write often. =)
Some of you might know that I was in New York and New Jersey this past weekend.... I honestly missed my routine... as lame and as boring as it is... I missed being home, waking up to Aydin telling me to wake up =), drinking my coffee outside (with peppermint mocha creamer) and reading the bible and/or study book, sitting at the computer and returning emails, editing pics, getting work done and running errands with Aydin... missed it very much!
New York was great and it was neat to see but Im definitely not a city girl... I love spending the evenings at home on the couch watching a movie with my hubby or hanging out outside on nice evenings... thats my kind of enjoyable... boring I know- but thats ok!
Tuesday was the first morning waking up in my bed for me and I busied myself and didn't sit down to spend time with the Lord.. and I knew if I don't do it first thing in the morning... it wont happen. I say ok I will read when Aydin lays down for a nap... not so much.. by then Im completely wrapped up in my work and checking facebook =)
Yesterday morning I did spend some time with the Lord reading Psalm 119 and I was going to write on here about it but when I sat down at the computer I didn't go directly to the blog I checked mail, facebook, and started orders... If i don't do something like this first thing in the morning or right when I feel the need to do it- it wont happen!
Listening to the Holy Spirit is the same way- when I hear His promptings I must right then say that I will do it if its something that will come later or right then and there do it or make preparations to do it.... We were at Carmines in NYC and if you arnt familiar with them- they serve family size portions... (didn't know that going in) Lauren and I split a Lasagna and of course there was a huge piece left over... the HS gave me the idea to take it with us and give it away to someone who needed it... so Im walking around the Times Square area carrying a to go sack with food looking for a homeless person who would be blessed to have this amazingly good food... funny thing- there wasn't anyone around!!!! I guess they have to have permits in order to sit on the street and ask for money- kind of nice but I was actually wanting to bless one! We finally saw one that had a permit and asked for money so I gave him the food- hope he enjoyed it!
Yesterday I was reading in Psalm 119... love this chapter! it always puts a desire within me to want to draw near and read His word.
"How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word. I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stay from your commands. I have hidden Your Word in my heart that I might not sin against You." Psalm 119:9-11
oh how I need my routine and how frustrating it is when I don't follow it and therefore neglect to spend time with the lover of my soul.
Some of you might know that I was in New York and New Jersey this past weekend.... I honestly missed my routine... as lame and as boring as it is... I missed being home, waking up to Aydin telling me to wake up =), drinking my coffee outside (with peppermint mocha creamer) and reading the bible and/or study book, sitting at the computer and returning emails, editing pics, getting work done and running errands with Aydin... missed it very much!
New York was great and it was neat to see but Im definitely not a city girl... I love spending the evenings at home on the couch watching a movie with my hubby or hanging out outside on nice evenings... thats my kind of enjoyable... boring I know- but thats ok!
Tuesday was the first morning waking up in my bed for me and I busied myself and didn't sit down to spend time with the Lord.. and I knew if I don't do it first thing in the morning... it wont happen. I say ok I will read when Aydin lays down for a nap... not so much.. by then Im completely wrapped up in my work and checking facebook =)
Yesterday morning I did spend some time with the Lord reading Psalm 119 and I was going to write on here about it but when I sat down at the computer I didn't go directly to the blog I checked mail, facebook, and started orders... If i don't do something like this first thing in the morning or right when I feel the need to do it- it wont happen!
Listening to the Holy Spirit is the same way- when I hear His promptings I must right then say that I will do it if its something that will come later or right then and there do it or make preparations to do it.... We were at Carmines in NYC and if you arnt familiar with them- they serve family size portions... (didn't know that going in) Lauren and I split a Lasagna and of course there was a huge piece left over... the HS gave me the idea to take it with us and give it away to someone who needed it... so Im walking around the Times Square area carrying a to go sack with food looking for a homeless person who would be blessed to have this amazingly good food... funny thing- there wasn't anyone around!!!! I guess they have to have permits in order to sit on the street and ask for money- kind of nice but I was actually wanting to bless one! We finally saw one that had a permit and asked for money so I gave him the food- hope he enjoyed it!
Yesterday I was reading in Psalm 119... love this chapter! it always puts a desire within me to want to draw near and read His word.
"How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word. I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stay from your commands. I have hidden Your Word in my heart that I might not sin against You." Psalm 119:9-11
oh how I need my routine and how frustrating it is when I don't follow it and therefore neglect to spend time with the lover of my soul.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Dependance
Ive been meaning to write this post for a while now... and I actually have no excuse other than I let everything else in the world come first and distract me- which is exactly what I let happen with my relationship with Christ... I'm sure I'm not alone- I hear a great sermon that speaks volumes to my heart and then the next day its almost as if I hadn't heard it all...
Ive been re-reading the last chapter of the book trying to ingrain it into my brain and also remind me to blog about it! its a good one- i just kept putting 'work' and stuff before. But now I am sitting here making myself write it =) part of me is pulling away because I have a list of things I need to get done before I leave town this afternoon but this is a long time coming so here we go!
Chapter 7-The Supernatural Church
this chapter speaks a lot about churches and not relying on the Holy Spirit to guide and lead... The parts that I underlined are more specific to me personally not relying on the Holy Spirit.
so that's what I will share...
"I don't want my life to be explainable without the Holy Spirit. I want people to look at my life and know that I couldn't be doing this by my own power. I want to live in such a way that I am desperate for Him to come through. That if He doesn't come through, I am screwed."
"I believe He is calling me-and all of us- to depend on Him for living in a way that cannot be mimicked or forged. He wants us to walk in step with His Spirit rather than depend solely on the raw talent and knowledge Hes given us."
"God cares about whether people are lovers of Him." "Perhaps I can talk people into praying a prayer, but I cannot talk anyone into falling in love with Christ. I cannot make someone understand and accept the gift of grace. Only the Holy Spirit can do that. So by every measure that actually counts, I need the Holy Spirit. Desperately"
1 Kings 18 about Elijah
"they were stunned by God. They wee in aw of His power. They knew that what they experience could not have been manipulated by Elijah. They experienced the power of God"
"Even in our daily lives we can look more like the prophets of Baal as we live our lives, running about in a frenzy, trying to fix our problems, not stopping long enough to call on the power of God Almighty. Yet as children of God, we are not called to trust in our idols or ourselves. We are made to be like Elijah, who did not question whether God would show His face that day. He prayed and asked for help and God sent down fire from heaven in response."
"whatever you need, the point is that God is aware of you and your circumstances, and He knows what you really need. He is able to bring these things, people, and circumstances into your life."
"But God is not a coercive God. and though He desires for His children to know peace and love and to have wisdom, I have noticed that often He waits for us to ask. "
"He desires to do more than 'help out' a bit. He wants to completely transform us. He wants to take a timid heart and set it ablaze with strength and courage, so much so that people know something about supernatural has taken place- life change just as miraculous as fire coming down from heaven. He wants to imbue us with His wisdom because He is the 'spirit of wisdom and revelation' (Ephesians 1:17)"
Galatians 5-fruits of the Spirit.
"You may have the list memorized. But look over those traits right now and ask yourself if you possess each to a supernatural degree. Do you exhibit more kindness and faithfulness than the Mormons you know? do you have more self control than your Muslim friends? more peace than Buddhists? more joy than atheists? If God truly lives in you, shouldn't you expect to be different from everyone else?"
"I don't know about you, but I cannot simply muster up more love. I cant manufacture patience just by gritting my teeth and determining to be more patient. we are not strong or good enough, and it doesn't work that way. None of us can 'do goodness' on our own, much less all the other elements that make up the fruit of the Spirit."
"But despite our inability to change ourselves in this way, to simply become more peaceful or joyful, we expend a great deal of effort trying. We focus on what God wants us to do and forget the kind of people He wants us to be."
"Instead of mustering up more willpower, lets focus our energies and time on asking for help from the One who has the power to change us. Lets take the time to ask God to put the fruit of His Spirit into our lives. And lets spend time with the One we want to be more like"
"It is safer to avoid situations where we need God to come through then to stake it all on Him and risk God's silence. If Elijah has not had the courage to face down the prophets of Baal that day, if he hadn't prayed, fervently and courageously, then he would not have experiences God's power in such a profound way."
"This is certainly not a call to demand that God prove Himself in each and every circumstance that we manufacture. But it is a profound reminder that God delights in showing up when His people are in desperate need of Him, because that means no one else can steal His glory."
"God wants the praise for what we do in our lives. Bit if we never pray audacious, courageous prayers, how can He answer them? If we never follow Him to positions where we need Him, how can He show up and make His presence known?
"But when I am living in a way that requires me to depend on the Holy Spirit, people respond by praising my Father in heaven"
"If you have not known and experienced God in ways you cannot deny, I would suggest that you are not living in a needy and dependant way. God delights to show up when His children call on His name and when they are trusting fully in Him to come through, whether that is in relationships, in battling sin, in strength to make sacrifices, or in endurance to be faithful in daily life. "
"without the Spirit of God in our midst, working in us, guiding us, and living and loving through us, we will never be the kind of people who make up this kind of community."
"I spent years asking God to be part of whatever I was doing. When I read the book of Acts, I see people privileged to play a part in what God was doing"
"No matter where you live and what your days look like, you have the choice each day to depend on yourself, to live safely, and to try to control your life. Or you can live as you were created to live- as a temple of the Holy Spirit of God, as a person dependant on Him, desperate for God the Spirit to show up and make a difference."
Ive been re-reading the last chapter of the book trying to ingrain it into my brain and also remind me to blog about it! its a good one- i just kept putting 'work' and stuff before. But now I am sitting here making myself write it =) part of me is pulling away because I have a list of things I need to get done before I leave town this afternoon but this is a long time coming so here we go!
Chapter 7-The Supernatural Church
this chapter speaks a lot about churches and not relying on the Holy Spirit to guide and lead... The parts that I underlined are more specific to me personally not relying on the Holy Spirit.
so that's what I will share...
"I don't want my life to be explainable without the Holy Spirit. I want people to look at my life and know that I couldn't be doing this by my own power. I want to live in such a way that I am desperate for Him to come through. That if He doesn't come through, I am screwed."
"I believe He is calling me-and all of us- to depend on Him for living in a way that cannot be mimicked or forged. He wants us to walk in step with His Spirit rather than depend solely on the raw talent and knowledge Hes given us."
"God cares about whether people are lovers of Him." "Perhaps I can talk people into praying a prayer, but I cannot talk anyone into falling in love with Christ. I cannot make someone understand and accept the gift of grace. Only the Holy Spirit can do that. So by every measure that actually counts, I need the Holy Spirit. Desperately"
1 Kings 18 about Elijah
"they were stunned by God. They wee in aw of His power. They knew that what they experience could not have been manipulated by Elijah. They experienced the power of God"
"Even in our daily lives we can look more like the prophets of Baal as we live our lives, running about in a frenzy, trying to fix our problems, not stopping long enough to call on the power of God Almighty. Yet as children of God, we are not called to trust in our idols or ourselves. We are made to be like Elijah, who did not question whether God would show His face that day. He prayed and asked for help and God sent down fire from heaven in response."
"whatever you need, the point is that God is aware of you and your circumstances, and He knows what you really need. He is able to bring these things, people, and circumstances into your life."
"But God is not a coercive God. and though He desires for His children to know peace and love and to have wisdom, I have noticed that often He waits for us to ask. "
"He desires to do more than 'help out' a bit. He wants to completely transform us. He wants to take a timid heart and set it ablaze with strength and courage, so much so that people know something about supernatural has taken place- life change just as miraculous as fire coming down from heaven. He wants to imbue us with His wisdom because He is the 'spirit of wisdom and revelation' (Ephesians 1:17)"
Galatians 5-fruits of the Spirit.
"You may have the list memorized. But look over those traits right now and ask yourself if you possess each to a supernatural degree. Do you exhibit more kindness and faithfulness than the Mormons you know? do you have more self control than your Muslim friends? more peace than Buddhists? more joy than atheists? If God truly lives in you, shouldn't you expect to be different from everyone else?"
"I don't know about you, but I cannot simply muster up more love. I cant manufacture patience just by gritting my teeth and determining to be more patient. we are not strong or good enough, and it doesn't work that way. None of us can 'do goodness' on our own, much less all the other elements that make up the fruit of the Spirit."
"But despite our inability to change ourselves in this way, to simply become more peaceful or joyful, we expend a great deal of effort trying. We focus on what God wants us to do and forget the kind of people He wants us to be."
"Instead of mustering up more willpower, lets focus our energies and time on asking for help from the One who has the power to change us. Lets take the time to ask God to put the fruit of His Spirit into our lives. And lets spend time with the One we want to be more like"
"It is safer to avoid situations where we need God to come through then to stake it all on Him and risk God's silence. If Elijah has not had the courage to face down the prophets of Baal that day, if he hadn't prayed, fervently and courageously, then he would not have experiences God's power in such a profound way."
"This is certainly not a call to demand that God prove Himself in each and every circumstance that we manufacture. But it is a profound reminder that God delights in showing up when His people are in desperate need of Him, because that means no one else can steal His glory."
"God wants the praise for what we do in our lives. Bit if we never pray audacious, courageous prayers, how can He answer them? If we never follow Him to positions where we need Him, how can He show up and make His presence known?
"But when I am living in a way that requires me to depend on the Holy Spirit, people respond by praising my Father in heaven"
"If you have not known and experienced God in ways you cannot deny, I would suggest that you are not living in a needy and dependant way. God delights to show up when His children call on His name and when they are trusting fully in Him to come through, whether that is in relationships, in battling sin, in strength to make sacrifices, or in endurance to be faithful in daily life. "
"without the Spirit of God in our midst, working in us, guiding us, and living and loving through us, we will never be the kind of people who make up this kind of community."
"I spent years asking God to be part of whatever I was doing. When I read the book of Acts, I see people privileged to play a part in what God was doing"
"No matter where you live and what your days look like, you have the choice each day to depend on yourself, to live safely, and to try to control your life. Or you can live as you were created to live- as a temple of the Holy Spirit of God, as a person dependant on Him, desperate for God the Spirit to show up and make a difference."
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Living Water
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Take up your cross pt 1
"And He died for all that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for Him who died for them and was raised again." 2 Corinthians 5:15
today's post comes from part of the chapter titled "Forget about God's will for your life' but to me the title of the post fits better with the rest of the chapter!
"God wants to see His children stake everything on His power and presence in their lives."
"Nowhere in Scriptures do I see a 'balanced life with a little bit of God added in' as an ideal for us to emulate." "People who have, in a sense, asked Him to join them on their life journey, to follow them wherever they feel they should go, rather than following Him as we are commeanded. The God of the universe is not something we can just add to our lives and keep on as we did before. The Spirit who raised Christ from the dead is not someone we can just call on when we want a little extra power in our lives. Jesus Christ did not die in order to follow us. He died and rose again so that we could forget everyting else and follow Him to the cross, to true life"
"If all you wanted is a little Jesus to 'spiritualize' your life, a little extra God to keep you out of hell, you are missing out on the fulness of life you were created for."
"You only need the Holy Spirit's guidance and help if you truly want to follow the Way of Jesus Christ. You only need Him if you desire to 'obey everything' He commanded and to teach others to do the same (Matt 28:18-20). You only need the Holy Spirit if you have genuinely repented and believe. And you only need the Holy Spirit if you understand that you are called to share in Christ's suffering and death, as well as His resurrection (Rom 8:17, 2 Cor 4:16-18, Phil 3:10-11)
"If you truly belive and have turned from the way you were headed and joined a different Way of living, then you desperately need the Holy Spirit. You know you cannot live this Way without the Spirit in you."
"How does He desire that we live? The fact is we were called by Jesus to give up everything. His call is to come and take up the cross (luke 9:23) 'Taking up my cross' has become a euphemism for getting through life's tyical burdens with a semi-good attitude. Yet life's typical burdens-busy schedules, illness, bills, hard decisions, paying for college tuition, losing jobs, house not selling, and the family's dog dying- are felt by everone, whether or not they follow the Way of Jesus."
"When Jesus calls us to take up our cross, He is doing much more than calling us to endure the daily, circumstantial troubles of life. It is a call to radical faith. Jesus is calling us to be willing to suffer anything and forsake everything for the sake of the gospel. His call is to love those who have cheated us in business, those who have spread nasty rumors about is.... His call is to consider everything a loss for His sake. His call is for total surrender"
"His call means realizing that His power is made perfect in our weakness, that when we are weak we are also strong (2 Cor 12:9-10).
(too much goodness to share: to be continued)
today's post comes from part of the chapter titled "Forget about God's will for your life' but to me the title of the post fits better with the rest of the chapter!
"God wants to see His children stake everything on His power and presence in their lives."
"Nowhere in Scriptures do I see a 'balanced life with a little bit of God added in' as an ideal for us to emulate." "People who have, in a sense, asked Him to join them on their life journey, to follow them wherever they feel they should go, rather than following Him as we are commeanded. The God of the universe is not something we can just add to our lives and keep on as we did before. The Spirit who raised Christ from the dead is not someone we can just call on when we want a little extra power in our lives. Jesus Christ did not die in order to follow us. He died and rose again so that we could forget everyting else and follow Him to the cross, to true life"
"If all you wanted is a little Jesus to 'spiritualize' your life, a little extra God to keep you out of hell, you are missing out on the fulness of life you were created for."
"You only need the Holy Spirit's guidance and help if you truly want to follow the Way of Jesus Christ. You only need Him if you desire to 'obey everything' He commanded and to teach others to do the same (Matt 28:18-20). You only need the Holy Spirit if you have genuinely repented and believe. And you only need the Holy Spirit if you understand that you are called to share in Christ's suffering and death, as well as His resurrection (Rom 8:17, 2 Cor 4:16-18, Phil 3:10-11)
"If you truly belive and have turned from the way you were headed and joined a different Way of living, then you desperately need the Holy Spirit. You know you cannot live this Way without the Spirit in you."
"How does He desire that we live? The fact is we were called by Jesus to give up everything. His call is to come and take up the cross (luke 9:23) 'Taking up my cross' has become a euphemism for getting through life's tyical burdens with a semi-good attitude. Yet life's typical burdens-busy schedules, illness, bills, hard decisions, paying for college tuition, losing jobs, house not selling, and the family's dog dying- are felt by everone, whether or not they follow the Way of Jesus."
"When Jesus calls us to take up our cross, He is doing much more than calling us to endure the daily, circumstantial troubles of life. It is a call to radical faith. Jesus is calling us to be willing to suffer anything and forsake everything for the sake of the gospel. His call is to love those who have cheated us in business, those who have spread nasty rumors about is.... His call is to consider everything a loss for His sake. His call is for total surrender"
"His call means realizing that His power is made perfect in our weakness, that when we are weak we are also strong (2 Cor 12:9-10).
(too much goodness to share: to be continued)
take up your cross pt 2
So I posted these backwards so that if your scrolling through and reading it will be read in order =) i was going along typing in all the quotes I underlined and going ohh yes that's good and ouch yep that hurts and didn't realize how long the post was getting already... and if anyone reading this is anything like me... if i see a long worded post.. i tend to skip =) so maybe this will help splitting it up! My prayer is that by me just posting quotes from this book and other books in the future that it will touch someone else's life too... This book is so harsh with the straight to the truth talk-theres just nothing I can add to it!
(continued from pt 1)
"What if you could hear the voice of the Holy Spirit and He asked you to literally give everything you owned? What is He asked you to sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor? Could you do it? Before you start explaining why He would never ask that of you, take a moment and answer the question honestly. Its not out of His character to ask for everything"
"I say I want to give it all to God, to truly submit myself to the leading of the Holy Spirit. But I wont lie; sometimes the reality of what that means leaves me wanting to hold back a little."
"To submit and give up everything truly is radical and terrifying. However when I think deeply about it, walking in my own wisdom, contrary to the Spirit's leading, is even more frightful"
"The crux of it, I believe, is realizing that being filled with the Spirit is not a one-time act. walking with the Spirit implies an on going relationship.Being filled with the Spirit is not limited to the day we first meet Christ. Instead, throughout Scripture we read of a relationship that calls us into an active pursuit of the Spirit"
"He typically asks us to play an active role in the journey toward wholeness. He doesn't need our help but invites us to participate. Often this journey to freedom takes time, sometimes a very long time. and it takes perseverance. It takes participation on our part. We have to get on the treadmill and run-merely looking at the workout machine doesn't do a whole lot. (see also Rom 12:11 and 1Thes 5:19)"
"Because of the fact that is you were in step with the Holy Spirit, listening to and obeying Him, you wouldn't sin (Gal 5:16)
"This doesn't mean that if you sin, you didn't have the Holy Spirit or aren't a follower of Christ, It does mean that when you are sinning, you are not simultaneously submitted to the authority and presence of the Holy Spirit in your life. He is still present, but you are most likely suppressing or ignoring His counsel"
"Take some time to think about areas in your own life where you tend just to do your own thing, heedless of the Spirit's will and call."
"Living by the Spirit implies a habitual, continual, and active interaction with the Holy Spirit. While this sounds exhausting, it really isn't because all of this living and action is done in the power of the Spirit. It is not by your own strength"
"If we never responded to God, if we never acted based on what He has done for us, there wouldn't me much of a relationship thee. God is all real and moving, but at some point we have to respond and act because of what He's done. Like yeast and flour are both necessary to bread, both God's action and our response-action are necessary in this relationship with God."
"In Philippians 2:12-13 Paul says in one breath 'Work out your own salvation' and in the next, 'it is God who works in you' The both-ness here doesn't allow us to escape with a simple conclusion. Yes it is God who works in you. and, yes, there is work for you to do. Yes, the Spirit empowers you to do the work. and, yes, you do the work."
"It requires continual engagement and wrestling and discovering how to live a Spirit-filled life today. Not ten years from now. Not tomorrow. But right now, in the particular time and place He has put us. As we 'work out our salvation' and as 'God works in us' Let us keep in step."
(continued from pt 1)
"What if you could hear the voice of the Holy Spirit and He asked you to literally give everything you owned? What is He asked you to sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor? Could you do it? Before you start explaining why He would never ask that of you, take a moment and answer the question honestly. Its not out of His character to ask for everything"
"I say I want to give it all to God, to truly submit myself to the leading of the Holy Spirit. But I wont lie; sometimes the reality of what that means leaves me wanting to hold back a little."
"To submit and give up everything truly is radical and terrifying. However when I think deeply about it, walking in my own wisdom, contrary to the Spirit's leading, is even more frightful"
"The crux of it, I believe, is realizing that being filled with the Spirit is not a one-time act. walking with the Spirit implies an on going relationship.Being filled with the Spirit is not limited to the day we first meet Christ. Instead, throughout Scripture we read of a relationship that calls us into an active pursuit of the Spirit"
"He typically asks us to play an active role in the journey toward wholeness. He doesn't need our help but invites us to participate. Often this journey to freedom takes time, sometimes a very long time. and it takes perseverance. It takes participation on our part. We have to get on the treadmill and run-merely looking at the workout machine doesn't do a whole lot. (see also Rom 12:11 and 1Thes 5:19)"
"Because of the fact that is you were in step with the Holy Spirit, listening to and obeying Him, you wouldn't sin (Gal 5:16)
"This doesn't mean that if you sin, you didn't have the Holy Spirit or aren't a follower of Christ, It does mean that when you are sinning, you are not simultaneously submitted to the authority and presence of the Holy Spirit in your life. He is still present, but you are most likely suppressing or ignoring His counsel"
"Take some time to think about areas in your own life where you tend just to do your own thing, heedless of the Spirit's will and call."
"Living by the Spirit implies a habitual, continual, and active interaction with the Holy Spirit. While this sounds exhausting, it really isn't because all of this living and action is done in the power of the Spirit. It is not by your own strength"
"If we never responded to God, if we never acted based on what He has done for us, there wouldn't me much of a relationship thee. God is all real and moving, but at some point we have to respond and act because of what He's done. Like yeast and flour are both necessary to bread, both God's action and our response-action are necessary in this relationship with God."
"In Philippians 2:12-13 Paul says in one breath 'Work out your own salvation' and in the next, 'it is God who works in you' The both-ness here doesn't allow us to escape with a simple conclusion. Yes it is God who works in you. and, yes, there is work for you to do. Yes, the Spirit empowers you to do the work. and, yes, you do the work."
"It requires continual engagement and wrestling and discovering how to live a Spirit-filled life today. Not ten years from now. Not tomorrow. But right now, in the particular time and place He has put us. As we 'work out our salvation' and as 'God works in us' Let us keep in step."
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