{"id":1914,"date":"2012-09-30T06:00:01","date_gmt":"2012-09-30T06:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/first15\/2012\/09\/life-in-the-spirit\/"},"modified":"2012-09-30T06:00:01","modified_gmt":"2012-09-30T06:00:01","slug":"life-in-the-spirit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/first15\/2012\/09\/life-in-the-spirit\/","title":{"rendered":"Life in the Spirit"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Weekly Overview:<\/h2>\n<p>We serve a God of powerful transformations. All throughout Scripture God takes those whom the world deemed the lowest, the hopeless, and the helpless and uses them to change the world. You are not beyond transformation. God longs to break off that which inhibits you from experiencing fullness of life. He longs to heal you, deliver you, and set you free. May your life be forever changed as we spend time discovering God\u2019s heart for transformation.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Scripture:<\/h2>\n<p><em>\u201cWe were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.&#8221;<\/em> Romans 6:4<\/p>\n<p><a name=\"worship\"><\/a><\/p>\n<h2>Worship:<\/h2>\n<h3>Holy Spirit by Kari Jobe (Live) ft. Cody Carnes<\/h3>\n<p><\/p>\n<div style=\"display: block; margin: auto auto 30px auto; width: 100%; float:left;\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"display: block; margin: auto; float: left; border: 1px solid #000000; background-color: #484846; padding: 2px; -moz-border-radius: 3px; -khtml-border-radius: 3px; -webkit-border-radius: 3px; border-radius: 3px;\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/XPPMSfCdUng?rel=0\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/p>\n<h2>Devotional:<\/h2>\n<p>We devoted time yesterday to searching Scripture for understanding on life in the Spirit. We looked at Romans 6:4 which says, <em>\u201cWe were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.&#8221;<\/em> And in Romans 8 we learned that God has offered us a life free from condemnation (Romans 8:1-2), crowned us with Christ as his co-heir (Romans 8:16-17) and made it so nothing could separate us from the depths of his love (Romans 8:37-39).<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019ve been given an incredible life in the Spirit through Christ. But so often we continue to live as if his death and resurrection didn\u2019t change our everyday occurrences. So often we live according to the flesh rather than our new life in the Spirit. So, building on the foundation of God\u2019s word, let\u2019s take time today to learn some practical ways we can better live the abundant life afforded to us through the resurrection of our Savior.<\/p>\n<p>How can we better live our lives in the Spirit? How can we experience the <em>\u201cnewness of life&#8221;<\/em> Paul talks about in Romans 6? It all starts with growing in our friendship with the Spirit. The Bible tells us that the Spirit prays for us when we don\u2019t know what to pray (Romans 8:26), that he teaches us (John 14:26), helps us (John 14:16), and fills us (Ephesians 5:18). But the Holy Spirit never forces himself on us. He only fills and speaks when he is asked. Such is the depth of God\u2019s love for us that he waits patiently for us to open ourselves to him, beckoning us with his loving-kindness. So, we must make time every day to be filled with the Spirit anew and learn what it is to receive his help, teaching, presence, and prayer. It\u2019s only when we grow in our relationship with him in private that we will learn how to be led and used by him in public. Just as you couldn\u2019t pick out an unfamiliar voice from a crowd, you will have a hard time feeling the nudges of the Holy Spirit in this rushed and busy world without experiencing him in the secret place. Growing in friendship with the Spirit is vital and foundational to living with <em>\u201cnewness of life.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Next, we have to live in obedience to God\u2019s word. God has blessed us with an incredibly practical book meant to guide us into an abundant, Spirit-filled life. To walk in obedience to the word is to live a life experiencing all that God has in store for you. So, spend time in the word of God opening your heart to the Spirit. Allow him to be your teacher. And commit yourself to live in obedience to what he shows you. In obedience to God\u2019s word you will discover how perfectly applicable and powerful Scripture is to your life.<\/p>\n<p>Lastly, set aside time to simply receive the love of God. We live our lives in a society full of people and possessions that promise to satisfy us. We\u2019re surrounded by a world that isn\u2019t living out of personal experience with God and isn\u2019t a reflection of his truth. If we\u2019re going to live in the world but not be of it, as Romans 12:2 commands us, we must spend time experiencing the reality of God\u2019s love. We must allow his presence to be the lens through which we see the world around us. Victory over the enemy comes from encountering the reality of God\u2019s unfathomable grace and affection. Following the leadership of the Spirit moment to moment stems from encountering the reality of his nearness in the secret place. You have to spend time engaging in spiritual relationship to live a spiritual life.<\/p>\n<p>Spend time today growing in your friendship with the Spirit, reading God\u2019s word, and receiving the love of your heavenly Father as you enter into guided prayer.<\/p>\n<h2>Guided Prayer:<\/h2>\n<div style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">\n<p><strong>1. Spend time receiving a fresh filling of the Spirit.<\/strong> Simply open your heart and wait for him. Ask him to make the reality of his presence known to you. Ask him to lead you into deeper friendship with him. The Spirit loves to talk to us, help us, and guide us because he loves us. You will never have a better friend than the Holy Spirit.<\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cOr do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own.&#8221;<\/em> 1 Corinthians 6:19<\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cBut 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.&#8221;<\/em> John 14:26<\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cIf you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!&#8221;<\/em> Luke 11:13<\/p>\n<p><strong>2. Spend time engaging with God\u2019s word.<\/strong> Where does your heart need more life? Where do you feel like the world has taken over? Look up Scripture on whatever subject you need help with, and stand on God\u2019s word! Renew your mind and live in obedience today.<\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cAll Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.&#8221;<\/em> 2 Timothy 3:16-17<\/p>\n<p><strong>3. Receive the love that God has for you today.<\/strong> Similar to receiving a filling of the Holy Spirit, just spend time resting in the presence of God. Ask him to reveal his love to you. Ask him how he feels about you.<\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cI am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.&#8221;<\/em> John 15:5<\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cAs the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love.&#8221;<\/em> John 15:9<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>I pray that you would be transformed as you align your life with the resurrection culture. May you see yourself as one saved, redeemed, empowered, and delivered. May you live in pursuit of the abundant life available to you. May the chains of this world fall off in light of God\u2019s powerful grace. And may your life be a reflection of the reality of Jesus\u2019 life, death, and resurrection.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>Extended Reading:<\/strong>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=John+15&#038;version=ESV\" rel=\"alternate\">John 15<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Weekly Overview: We serve a God of powerful transformations. All throughout Scripture God takes those whom the world deemed the lowest, the hopeless, and the helpless and uses them to change the world. You are not beyond transformation. God longs to break off that which inhibits you from experiencing fullness of life. He longs to&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":636,"featured_media":1917,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1914","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-first15"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Life in the Spirit<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Weekly Overview: We serve a God of powerful transformations. All throughout Scripture God takes those whom the world deemed the lowest, the hopeless, and the helpless and uses them to change the world. You are not beyond transformation. God longs to break off that which inhibits you from experiencing fullness of life. He longs to&hellip;\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/first15\/2012\/09\/life-in-the-spirit\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Life in the Spirit\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Weekly Overview: We serve a God of powerful transformations. All throughout Scripture God takes those whom the world deemed the lowest, the hopeless, and the helpless and uses them to change the world. You are not beyond transformation. God longs to break off that which inhibits you from experiencing fullness of life. He longs to&hellip;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/first15\/2012\/09\/life-in-the-spirit\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"First15 Daily Devotional\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-09-30T06:00:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/450\/2021\/09\/4.01.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"5472\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"3078\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cdenison\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Life in the Spirit","description":"Weekly Overview: We serve a God of powerful transformations. All throughout Scripture God takes those whom the world deemed the lowest, the hopeless, and the helpless and uses them to change the world. You are not beyond transformation. God longs to break off that which inhibits you from experiencing fullness of life. He longs to&hellip;","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/first15\/2012\/09\/life-in-the-spirit\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Life in the Spirit","og_description":"Weekly Overview: We serve a God of powerful transformations. All throughout Scripture God takes those whom the world deemed the lowest, the hopeless, and the helpless and uses them to change the world. You are not beyond transformation. God longs to break off that which inhibits you from experiencing fullness of life. He longs to&hellip;","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/first15\/2012\/09\/life-in-the-spirit\/","og_site_name":"First15 Daily Devotional","article_published_time":"2012-09-30T06:00:01+00:00","og_image":[{"width":5472,"height":3078,"url":"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/450\/2021\/09\/4.01.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"cdenison","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/first15\/2012\/09\/life-in-the-spirit\/","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/first15\/2012\/09\/life-in-the-spirit\/","name":"Life in the Spirit","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/first15\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/first15\/2012\/09\/life-in-the-spirit\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/first15\/2012\/09\/life-in-the-spirit\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/450\/2021\/09\/4.01.jpg","datePublished":"2012-09-30T06:00:01+00:00","dateModified":"2012-09-30T06:00:01+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/first15\/#\/schema\/person\/ab397c9ca5ade37b7fc66fefa43eb0cf"},"description":"Weekly Overview: We serve a God of powerful transformations. All throughout Scripture God takes those whom the world deemed the lowest, the hopeless, and the helpless and uses them to change the world. You are not beyond transformation. God longs to break off that which inhibits you from experiencing fullness of life. He longs to&hellip;","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/first15\/2012\/09\/life-in-the-spirit\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/first15\/2012\/09\/life-in-the-spirit\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/first15\/2012\/09\/life-in-the-spirit\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/450\/2021\/09\/4.01.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/450\/2021\/09\/4.01.jpg","width":5472,"height":3078},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/first15\/2012\/09\/life-in-the-spirit\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/first15\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Life in the Spirit"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/first15\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/first15\/","name":"First15 Daily Devotional","description":"Scripture, reflection, prayer and more","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/first15\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/first15\/#\/schema\/person\/ab397c9ca5ade37b7fc66fefa43eb0cf","name":"cdenison","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/first15\/author\/cdenison\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/first15\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1914","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/first15\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/first15\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/first15\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/636"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/first15\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1914"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/first15\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1914\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/first15\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1917"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/first15\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1914"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/first15\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1914"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/first15\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1914"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}