WE CAN CHANGE THE WORLD!

SCRIPTURE

Romans 8:9-11 (NRSV)
The Spirit dwells in you

But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you.

DEVOTION

Today’s Bible passage is something that I have been giving a lot of thought to lately! All week we have been talking about the power of the Holy Spirit. In each of the verses we have read, Spirit comes to empower, enable, and equip us to share the GOOD NEWS that God loves the world so much that God gave Jesus to die on the cross to save us from our sin and gift us with eternal life!

When people put all of their hope in Jesus, they are gifted with the presence of the Holy Spirit in their hearts. I don’t know about you, but this blows my mind! We know that God is Alpha and Omega. We know that God is Almighty, All-Powerful, All-Knowing and All-Supreme.

Yet, when we become Christians, God sends forth the Holy Spirit to dwell in our hearts. Spirit operates in so many ways offering wisdom, comfort, instruction, counsel, boldness, conviction, power, intercession and ultimately--abundant life!

It absolutely amazes me that God sends God’s Self into our hearts in order to give us the power that we need to live holy and righteous lives that bear witness to the GOOD NEWS that Jesus saves and He saves to the utmost!

Isn't it grand that we are not left alone to try to be “good Christians” all by ourselves? God’s Holy Spirit gives us all of the Gospel (aka, good news) that we need in order to fulfill the sum of the Law which is to love God with all our hearts, minds, souls, and strength and love our neighbors as ourselves.

But, can I tell the Truth and shame the devil? Sometimes, even with the Holy Spirit living inside of us, we allow our flesh to cause us to miss the mark, don't we?

When this happens, Spirit convicts us, and then encourages us, to fall into the Amazing Grace that is our love relationship with God, through Jesus Christ. As we confess our sin, with truly repentant hearts, God is faithful and just to forgive our sin and cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).

I love Proverbs 24:16 which reminds us that although a righteous person may fall down multiple times, s/he always gets back up with the help of God!

Aren’t you happy-glad that God has done such marvelous things for us? God created us--and sustains us--and our Earth. Jesus died on the cross for our sins reconciling our relationship with God, forgiving our sin, and gifting us with eternal life. And the Holy Spirit equips, empowers, and enables us to share the GOOD NEWS until Jesus comes again to the Earth!

Oh Hallelujah! What wonderful GOOD NEWS!

Today’s scripture reading reminds us that when we put all of our hope in Jesus, the same spirit that raised Jesus from the dead, takes up residence inside of us. As a result, we are pulsing with miracle working resurrection power!

Nothing—inside of the will of God--shall be impossible for us, my friends! With the Holy Spirit working inside of us we are well able to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, house the homeless, visit the sick and imprisoned, care for the widows and orphans, be peace-makers, do justice, love mercy, walk humbly before God and faithfully proclaim the GOOD NEWS message thereby making disciples of all people!

If you have been living beneath your high calling as a possessor of the Holy Spirit, it is time to come up a little higher my friend! The very spirit of GOD ALMIGHTY is alive and at work within you!

No longer do you need to cower, afraid to share your good news testimony with others. No longer do you need to anxiously worry that your words won’t make a difference. No longer do you have to stand aside and watch as your family, friends, co-workers, and neighbors try to make it without Jesus in their lives!

No! No! No!

You CAN make a difference! The same Spirit that resurrected Jesus from the dead is at work in you! God is ready to use your hands, feet, mouth, heart, and brain to work miracles in the lives of the people around you! Together, with the help and the love of God, we can change the world!

Are you ready to get to work?

God, thank you for the power and presence of Holy Spirit at work inside of me! Please help me to hear and heed Spirit so that I might be helpful to Your Kingdom building work. I am amazed that the same Spirit that resurrected Jesus, is now working inside of me! I know that with your help, I am well able to share the GOOD NEWS message with everyone I meet. Please forgive me of my sin and fill me afresh with the Holy Spirit so that I can participate in changing the world with Your Love, one heart at a time! In Jesus’ Name, Amen.



ANNOUNCEMENTS

Congratulations to the people who have recently put all of their hope in Jesus! We celebrate your re-birth-day and promise to hold you in our prayers!

If you would like to put all of your hope in Jesus today, please visit my blog entitled, “Putting All Your Hope In Jesus” located at
http://aintathatgoodnews.blogspot.com/2009/04/putting-all-your-hope-in-jesus.html

If you have additional questions about how to become a friend and follower of Jesus, please see the devotion entitled, "Come to Jesus"
http://aintathatgoodnews.blogspot.com/2009/03/come-to-jesus.html

Pastor Yolanda is now publishing another blog entitled, “A Spoken WORD” in celebration of Holy Hip Hop, Gospel/Christian Rap and Spoken Word. Please check it out @ http://aspokenword.blogspot.com/

You are invited to follow Pastor Yolanda on Twitter www.twitter.com/PastorYolanda

Good News has now added a Prayer Ministry. http://www.kindlejoy.com/groups/goodnews

You are invited to leave comments or questions regarding today’s devotional. These comments are public.

EACH ONE--REACH ONE! To share GOOD NEWS with a friend please click the "Share With Friends" button to the right!

Thanks for reading and please come again. Pastor Yolanda extends a very special welcome to all of our friends reading outside of the United States of America! We are honored that you are sharing with us today.

From Pastor Yolanda's blog http://aintathatgoodnews.blogspot.com