Are you filled? No, I didn’t say fed up, I said full. We can
be full of lots of things. What comes to mind? Some of you can get your minds
out of the pig trough. What I had in mind is, are you filled with the Holy
Spirit? Some will say of course and others will say, what does that mean?
The Apostle Paul in his letter to the Ephesians says, “Do
not get drunk with wine which leads to debauchery, but instead be filled with
the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18). I
like the New Living Translation that says that the wine will ruin your life.
The filling of the Holy Spirit of God comes when we receive Jesus Christ as
Lord and Savior of our lives. Whatever filled us before, work, wine, women, "wurst"
or rutabagas, will change. Jesus tells us in the Gospel of John that He will
send the Holy Spirit of Truth to live with us and be in us as Counselor, guide
and stay. He will convict us of the truth and sin. That is an incredible promise of God. It is
God with us “Immanuel,” the Spirit of Christ himself to be with all believers
in faith. What must we do to receive Him? We must believe in Him and as John 15
says, abide, live dwell in Him, the Vine of life. Apart from Him we are and can
do nothing!
I received the Holy Spirit in a “Superior Road” experience
like the then Saul of Tarsus had a “Damascus Road” experience. I needed to be
stopped and changed. My life like Saul’s was way off course and headed for
disaster, but God chose by His grace to come into my life that I would repent
and chose Him over my off course life. At the time I really did not know about
the Holy Spirit and His life-changing power and presence was all about. I would
need to be discipled or taught by another godly man to understand my new life in
Christ. I learned that I had the Holy Spirit within me. I had been made new,
the old gone. God has transformed me. Now I have the opportunity to be likeminded.
Paul says in Romans 12, “Be transformed by the renewing of your
mind.” He is telling us not to be conformed any longer to the ways of
this world, but to God’s good and perfect will. This way, “the most excellent way” ((1
Corinthians 12:31), is explained fully in Scripture. God has given us His
guidebook, equipped with a “Trailguide” and Illustrator/Illuminator, the Holy
Spirit. God wants us to know Him and His ways through His Word by Spirit power.
This is a transforming journey into truth. We need to be transparent and open
to His hospitality offered freely to us who will believe.
This is the new life in the Spirit. It is described as a “river
of life” in Revelation 22. It is a full and abundant life as Jesus
tells us in John 10:10. It is a life filled with the fruit of the Spirit or, “Love,
joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and
self-control” (Galatians 5:22).
We are told to live by the Spirit and not grieve or blaspheme the Spirit with
our words or lifestyle. We are to become new, “Therefore, if anyone is
in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed
away; behold, all things have become
new” (2 Corinthians 5:17). It is
through the sacrifice and blood of Christ on the cross that we have the
opportunity to become new. It is His life and death that transforms us,
becoming one with Him as Ephesians 2 explains. This is a new and overflowing
life in the Spirit. We are new chosen people and therefore should live a life
of praise and thanksgiving for being changed like a butterfly to transcend this
world. That is the peace that God gives us to live without anxiety, but peace
in His presence because He is always present with us. “In His presence is fullness of
joy, at His right hand pleasures forevermore” (Psalm 16:11). This is the life in the Spirit introduction.
I will write about its transformative power in future letters.
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Thanks for sharing your thoughts.