The Power Within

I've been reading Forgotten God by Francis Chan.  The book is on the Holy Spirit and how many believers don't live with the power of the Spirit in their lives.  It has definitely set my mind thinking in many areas.  We have an incredible power available to us, as believers in Christ. 
Acts 2:38 says:
Peter replied, “Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.


God sent His Spirit to live within us.  Think about that.  Really, stop and think.  The Spirit of God lives in each believer!  If you are a believer, do you live like that?  Do you live with that power, or do you live a life of defeat?  I think if we truly realized what it meant, how truly special we are that God gives us His very own Spirit to live in us, we would live our lives very different.  We would not think about worldly issues, worldly treasures, we would not live with pride, fear, or be discouraged.  We wouldn't worry.  If we lived with the power we have been given, our lives would be a reflection of the Holy Spirit, of how Christ lived, not of the world.
Galatians 5:16-26 says this about living by the Spirit’s Power:


So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses.


When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.


But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!


Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another.


The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control.  If you follow Christ, does your life reflect those gifts?  Personally, I need some work on most of the fruits in my life.  One thing I am going to start doing is to really focus on each fruit, one at a time.  I am going to spend quiet time in the Word of God looking up each fruit of the Spirit.  If you want to do the same, but not sure how to start looking up each one, go to Bible Gateway and type the words in for a search.  I am going to start by looking up scriptures on love, and just sit in what that means, how much the Father loves me since He sent His Son to die for me. 


If we want to make our body better, we work out.  How about our Spirit?  Are you willing to dive in with me, and study, sit and reflect on what the Spirit does for our lives and learn how to build our spiritual strength, to think on each fruit and ask what would my life look like if I lived by each of these virtues?  How would I be different and how would those in my world be different?  What are practical ways I can apply these to my every day life?  I plan to start today.  I hope you join me.