Tag: Hope

I am a temple in which God dwells.

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Because I believe Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead, I am a temple in which God dwells.   This is one of those mind stretching statements that believers often don’t stop to ponder.  We know we are alive and have a conscience and a spirit within us that makes us alive.  When we accept Jesus as our Savior, He sends His Holy Spirit to join with our spirit and live inside of us.  Why would He do that?   In the Old Testament times the Jews built a tabernacle at God’s direction as a place to worship God but also a place for God to dwell.  God instructed Moses in Exodus 25:8 “And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst.”   God desires to live in our midst so He can guide and direct us into right living, but also so we can know and understand God and His ways more clearly.  1 Corinthians 2:11-12  “For who knows a person’s thoughts except Holy Spiritthe spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.  Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God.   What an amazing gift God has given us in the indwelling Holy Spirit.  We can feel connected to God at all times, loved and cherished by Him, guided and protected.  I love Romans 8:16 “The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,”   We can know that we are God’s child because the Holy Spirit tells us so from within.

How does this fact affect you?  Paul tells us in Romans 8:9 that if we do not know Christ we do not have His Spirit within us. “You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.”  Having God’s Spirit living within us and helping us to grow in understanding of Him and His ways is the privilege of every believer.  Paul says we are not led by the flesh anymore but are in the Spirit. To know Christ is to have His Spirit indwell us.  Do you let this fact that the Holy Spirit lives within you guide your words and actions each day?  Or do you ignore the nudging of the Holy Spirit and determine to do your own thing be it godly or not?  God put His Holy Spirit within us to help us to be more and more like Jesus.  Is that you?

walk-in-the-spirit-logoPrayer:  Lord, thank you for your indwelling Holy Spirit.  Help me listen more carefully to you as I speak and interact with others.  Guide and protect me as I seek to be your light in a dark world.   In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Striving to walk in the Spirit each day,

Linda

On Writing “Promises for Dynamic Living”

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After I published my first book, Fearless Living, people asked me if I was going to write a second book. Since I never thought I would write even one book, I couldn’t imagine God giving me a second one.

However, while I was publishing my first book, God gave me a new idea to research. As I was studying the book of Genesis, I began to notice promises that God gave to Abraham that could apply to me. I started searching His Word for promises that I could claim in my own life. Each day, I would look up a new promise, write it in my journal, pray, and ask God what He was promising me through that particular verse. I saw His character revealed more and more and the vast scope of His promises. I became really excited about His promises, and what a difference I could see they were making in my life! I thought, I’m not the only one who needs to know the promises of God, nor am I the only one who needs His Word to penetrate in my life. Through His encouragement, Promises for Dynamic Living began to develop and become alive.

Knowing that pulling verses out of context could lead to error and misunderstanding, I searched God’s Word to verify the chosen passages. Great promises of God are stated repeatedly in various contexts so that we can get the idea and claim the promise. Each day’s devotional promise explains the truths we learn about God and where we can find a similar promise or concept in the Bible. I must admit, this search was a challenge and caused me to think, meditate, and internalize God’s promises, as I saw them reaffirmed throughout His Word.

Through the writing of this book, I have seen the completeness of God’s Word and how He has woven it together to confirm, assure, and build us up to be the men and women He desires. His Word in us glorifies Him, and He longs for us to study and know Him. When I work with young people, I try to teach them that God’s Word, on the pages of our Bible, holds the same power as the spoken word of God, which brought the world into existence.

There is power in His Word and He desires that we know His Word and claim it in our lives.

I am so encouraged because the depth of God’s promises span throughout the entire Bible. God’s promises are not just limited to those things given to us by Christ. God has been in the promise-making business from the very beginning of His relationship with man. He knows us and knows that we need assurance of who He is and what He will do in and through our lives. I pray you will find promises in both the Old and New Testaments to enrich your walk with the Lord and that it brings you assurance of His loving character. May His promises remove any, and all, doubts you are experiencing. Claiming His promises in your life will dispel doubt and fear. It will lead you on the pathway toward assurance and HOPE in Christ.

Blessings,

Linda

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