God's Presence

2 Corinthians 3:17 For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. It all comes down to the Spirit of God and His presence in our lives, doesn't it? To deny the importance of the Holy Spirit in our lives is a major mistake for us if we want to grow in our faith. This realization comes from the Word of God in 1 Corinthians 6:19 Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself. The Spirit of God leads us in our walk with God and our very steps are led by the Spirit. The Holy Spirit lives in this temple we know as our body and His control, comfort, and power empowers us to live a more Godly life with our physical body affecting our mind, our soul, and our focus. When we make decisions the Holy Spirit guides us in those decisions and gives us direction as only He can do.

The dwelling place of the Holy Spirit is YOU! As the above scripture states was given to you by God? So why do we doubt the Spirit's work in our lives? The enemy has a part in this and he wants us to focus on us and not on the Spirit, so we will water down the direction God has for us to live. Paul wrote about the result of living in the Spirit in Ephesians 3:17 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. Life in the Spirit is a life that has deep roots in Jesus and He begins to change us at our core. Some wonder why I mention born-again so much in all of this process. At our core, there must be a radical life change and that only happens when we are born again in the Spirit. A new person. Totally reset!! When you receive Jesus by faith that new person you received is Jesus, or the Holy Spirit, and he dwells in your heart and changes you completely.

Don't take God's presence so lightly and you will begin to crave the Word of God that feeds the Spirit and gives you a born-again direction that only Jesus can make happen. So many believers miss the power of the calling of God because they don't understand the fullness and freedom that only the Holy Spirit can give. What does your temple look like? Carnality will cause it to look different than God intended and first confess your sins to God and ask Him to clean it up. Paul also wrote this to the Ephesians in Ephesians 5:18 Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit. LIfe in the Spirit is not brought on by outside stimuli, but it is a gift from God through the Holy Spirit and He ushers in His presence in every situation. God's presence is wonderful and it is realized when we realize the Spirit-filled life.

The Pilgrimage Continues

David Warren