Transformed by the Spirit

Yesterday I had a thought … actually I had hundreds of thoughts but this one was good. My the process of our recovery is really the work of the Spirit of God transforming us. There are things we must do … and need to continue to do daily. As we do those things the Spirit of God transforms us.

That is the real focus of 180 … it is not a 12 Step approach … it is a spiritual transformation approach and is applicable to every believer whether they are addicted or not. It is simply the heart of a deepening Christian life. So this week we are going to be looking at the role of the Spirit in our transformation.

The Spirit of God dwells in your body. That is incredibly amazing when you stop to think about it. I hear people say all the time that they wish they felt closer to God. They think that God is at the outer edge of the universe and that Jesus went back there to be with the Father. And if they are good enough … then somehow they are going to feel this connected energy type of buzz that the presence of God is with them. And when they don’t feel Him – they conclude that God does not love them. Bad theology always leads to bad conclusions.

So here is some good theology from the lips of Jesus as He was preparing the disciples for his departure …

“I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever ; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.” John 14:16-17

• “another Helper” – the Greek word for another means one of the same kind. The Spirit is equal to Jesus and the Father in being God.

• “with you forever” – the Spirit will never leave you or forsake you.

• “and will be in you” – the Spirit enters our bodies at the moment we accept Jesus as our Savior.

Jesus also said this a few verses later … “Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word ; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him.” John 14:23 Here is the Christian Trifecta …. We have the Spirit living in us and as we keep the word … obey the teachings of Jesus … Jesus and the Father will make their abode with us. i.e. – they will take up residence in our lives. Today I encourage you to ask the Spirit to help you obey the Word and invite the Father and Son to make their abode with you. It’s a party waiting to happen!

— Standing Strong In the Strength of His Might John Doyel doyel53@gmail.com www.180blog.org 740.649.6050

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