"Thou sent forth Thy Spirit, they are created, and Thou renews the face of the earth ...The glory of the Lord shall endure forever: the Lord shall rejoice in His works." (Psalm 140:30-31)
"And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying, "Abba Father," wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ." (Galatians 4:6-7)
"For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death." (Romans 8:2)Such a range of scriptures when it comes to understanding that the Spirit of the Lord God dwells within us. It is He that renews our minds and quickens our spirits -- aligning His purpose in our heart -- so that we are no longer servants and sons, but instead heirs of God through His work on the cross -- when He said once and for all, "It is finished!"
But there is much more.
"But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwells in you." (Romans 8:9-11; I Corinthians 3:16; I Corinthians 6:19)
Did you see it -- He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwells in you! How rejuvenating -- that the same Spirit of the Lord God who moved upon the waters in the beginning desires to commune with you and I. There is also a distinction. Note that if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, we do not belong to Him. This should be abundantly clear. Thus, in order to be saved, we must have the Spirit of Christ dwelling within.
How do we become saved?
Peter, standing with the eleven made it abundantly clear. Indeed, the people asked Peter, "What must we do to be saved?" As we read in Acts 2:36-47, the people were pricked in their hearts, when Peter said, "This same Jesus whom ye have crucified is both Lord and Christ!" (Acts 2:36) Peter then informs the people that if they want to be saved, they must "repent" and be water baptized "in the name of the Lord Jesus for the remission of sins and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." (Acts 2:38)
This marks the beginning of the new testament church. Herein, the first 3,000 souls were saved, and we can be too -- if we follow the instructions given on the day of Pentecost. As an aside, when we are baptized into Christ, He clothes us in His righteousness. And His Spirit -- the Holy Ghost -- dwells within, now leading us and guiding us into all truth.
Yes, this same Jesus whom we all have crucified at one point or another willingly shed His holy precious blood on the cross so that you and me might have abundant life in Him. Don't let the day pass without asking Jesus to be King of kings and Lord of lords in your heart -- for this is the day that the Lord hath made for you to come to a place wherein you can commune with Him.
"Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled faces beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." (II Corinthians 3:17-18)
Yes, Jesus -- Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the ending. He is still on His throne, inviting you into His fold. Make a decision for Jesus today.
Stand in the offering plate.
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