Live By The Spirit

Welcome To The Kingdom Of God!

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. Colossians 2:6-7 NIV

If you have received Jesus’ forgiveness and have chosen to follow Him, you now live in God’s Kingdom! This Kingdom is not like kingdoms and governments of this world. It is a Kingdom of the spiritual realm with Jesus as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Because He has invited you into Himself and you accepted His invitation, His Spirit lives in you. You are a child of God and you have a new Family. You are a citizen of Heaven! From this point forward, you will receive your directives from God Himself through the Holy Spirit and God’s Word (the Bible.)

If you have not met Jesus Christ, please visit the Meet Jesus page on the menu because I would love to introduce you to Him!

My Prayer

When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is.

May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen. Ephesians 3:14-21 NLT

Saved by Faith in God’s Grace

Do not think that it is by your own power or achievement that you have been forgiven and can know God intimately. It is through the grace of Jesus that you have become clean and forgiven of your sins. However, our mind, will and emotions need to grow stronger in the Lord. Satan will send demons to lie to you and attack you but the Holy Spirit is in you to keep you close to God and in His truth. Always remember that your brothers and sisters in Christ are growing too. Allow the Holy Spirit to give you His kindness and patience as we all grow up together in the Lord.

But the Spirit produces love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humility, and self-control. There is no law against such things as these. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have put to death their human nature with all its passions and desires. The Spirit has given us life; he must also control our lives. Galatians 5:22-25 GNT

Intimacy With God

So get to know God in His love. By yielding to the Lord and resisting the devil, you will live a victorious life. His grace is always flowing as you mature in Christ. If you fail, all you have to do is humble yourself to ask God’s forgiveness and turn toward Him again, not away from Him.

For all who are allowing themselves to be led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. Romans 8:14 AMP

Baptized by the Spirit

After Jesus rose from the dead, He appeared to His followers and spoke many things to them. He breathed the Holy Spirit into them, but He also told them to wait in Jerusalem until they were empowered by the Holy Spirit. Then Jesus ascended into Heaven and disappeared. So, Jesus’ disciples and followers waited in an upper room, waiting. The Holy Spirit descended upon them like flames of fire. They were empowered by the Spirit supernaturally to tell others about Jesus. After that, when someone believed in Christ, they also prayed for the empowerment of the Holy Spirit.

If you know Jesus, He wants to empower you with His Holy Spirit. This empowerment is for every believer in Jesus. The Holy Spirit empowers supernaturally with spiritual gifts to encourage the Body of Christ (other Christians) and the ability to bring people to Christ.

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. Acts 1:8. NIV

Know God by the Spirit

But a time is coming—and now is here—when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such people to be his worshipers. God is spirit, and the people who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” John 4:23-24 NET

To keep this simple, I am going to mention ways that God has designed us to help us stay close to Him and receive His love, grace and favor. But keep in mind that your growth in the Lord is not about rules. It’s about a loving relationship with God. Any loving relationship requires time and devotion, and the same is with your relationship with God. He is the creator of the universe and the source of life. Just like our physical bodies cannot live without food and water, our spirit, soul and body cannot live without God and His love. He is the author of life itself! And your relationship with God will lead you to love others more genuinely. Here are a few ways you can grow in your relationship with God:

  • Thanksgiving, praise and worship
  • Read or listen to God’s Word
  • Prayer (talking with God)
  • Stay aware of God’s Spirit inside you
  • Understand that you can break spiritual strongholds, receive deliverance and grow in freedom
  • By God’s power, live in God’s forgiveness for yourself and others
  • Learn who you are in Christ and do not allow the devil to belittle and condemn you
  • Always believe and not doubt that you are loved by God and that He will take care of you
  • Be baptized in water and tell others about what Jesus has done for you
  • Share in the Lord’s Supper with other believers
  • Be baptized in the Spirit
  • Pray in the Spirit
  • Find a good church and grow in the Body of Christ (other believers)
  • Learn about the authority Jesus has given you over the devil
  • Learn about the gifts of the Spirit
  • Stay humble before God and others

Remember that these are not rules to get God to accept you. You are already accepted through Jesus Christ! These are some basic ways you can know the Lord more intimately now that you have trusted Jesus.

God is For You

The key to victory is submitting to God in all things and taking Jesus’ words to heart. He always has your best interest in mind and is full of grace as you grow up in Him! In difficult times, keep worshiping God, trusting Him and growing with your brothers and sisters in Christ. Do not ever stop seeking the Lord and loving Him for who He is and what He has done for you! Love and forgive others as God has loved and forgiven you. God loves you so much and He will help you every step of the way! Romans 8 is one of many scripture passages that teach us about walking in the Spirit. I encourage you to read it. I especially love the ending:

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:35-39 NIV

God Bless You!

God bless you in your adventure with our King! Enjoy the journey with the Family of God. He loves us more than we can imagine!