DEVOTIONAL

But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.

Romans 8:11 NASB

Dear Christian, may the grace of God give you the wisdom and discernment needed to walk in a way that brings glory to God the Father, Who sent His only Son to die in your place, bearing your sins. For this is a holy calling in which God is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure. For this reason, you need to discipline yourself to examine every detail of your life, from your thoughts, to your emotions, to the very attitude of your heart, not to mention, every word that proceeds from your mouth. Paul said to the Church in Corinth, “Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you-unless indeed you fail the test?” Paul also said to the church in Galatia, “But each one must examine his own work.” So then, I beg you to keep watch over your heart so that you will “walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” The Holy Spirit has placed you in the body of Jesus Christ, and you are an ambassador of this great King. You are to hold forth the word of truth for all to see, bearing witness to Jesus who bore your sins upon the cross.” “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

Please understand, Christian, “Those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you.” And if the Spirit of the living God dwells in you, then you have become the temple of the Holy Spirit. Not only that, but the Spirit of God bears witness to your spirit that you are a child of God, for “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.” Therefore, we have the power in us by God, through the Holy Spirit, to live a life of holiness, for if “The Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.” So then “Do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.” May the grace of God bring you to a more profound understanding of the great love which He demonstrated to you on the cross.