The Spirit of Hope

We have chewed up so much stuff concerning the Holy Spirit that I hope we have enough to live on for awhile! I pray that you have been encouraged in your life with Christ and that this has been something that has pointed you closer to Him! That's my goal: to point others to Him.

This is our last day and it seems fitting that on a last day I leave you with the Spirit of Hope.

In all the days when we feel our flesh has gotten the best of us, we have a Spirit of Hope.
During the seasons when our lives deal out difficult and possibly unbearable circumstances, we have a Spirit of Hope. When our kids walk away, we have a Spirit of Hope. When loved ones get sick, we have a Spirit of Hope. When our dreams come true, we have a Spirit of Hope.

And what is this hope? Everything.
Life
Peace
Joy
Fulfillment

This hope is what we hold on to when we don't feel hope. This hope is what we cling to when we're falling off a cliff. This hope is what we hold close as we watch our dreams come true. This hope is what keeps us telling others about the One who gives us this hope.

In all things, rest in the love of Christ in His Spirit and look to the hope He has given us.

And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. Romans 5:5

I pray sweet blessings on you in Christ.

Power

This is the last day (not counting Friday's wrap up) on our study of the Holy Spirit! What an amazing God we have!

I have to tell you what happened just yesterday morning! It has everything to do with listening to the Spirit direct us in the Word.

I have been praying about something for well over six months now and really do have some pretty good confirmation on it. However, I'm not sure when to step out in it so I was praying again yesterday. I had the whole house to myself so I was walking around with my coffee praying and talking with Him about this.

I stepped back into my office and literally prayed, "Lord, I don't want to step up to the Jordan and step in if you're not telling me to." Then I sat down and waited for Him to send me to the Word if He wanted to.

I listened quietly and sensed that I was to go to 2 Kings chapter 2. Who goes to 2 Kings!? Well, when I got there, would you believe it was the story of Elijah and Elisha at the JORDAN and it was about the passing of Elijah's mantle of ministry to Elisha and how the Jordan opened with Elijah touched the water with his cloak!?!?

I just about did back flips through my house. If I was limber and a gymnast I might have done so. Instead I called JT and my best friend and we laughed at how cool God was!

This stuff is real! I couldn't have even told where that story was, much less get the right book and chapter! Amazing.

Humility.
Waiting.
Listening.
Yielding.
Reading.
Hearing.

They all work together for Him to do His thing: reveal Christ and His will in power.

That moment yesterday was one power-packed moment. I was so thrilled, excited, overcome, and full of wonder that there is nothing on this earth that could produce the same thing. Powerful. Our God is powerful and He is more than willing to produce His power in us.

I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms... Ephesians 1:18-20

Pray that your eyes will be opened to:

• hope
• the riches of his inheritance
• and his POWER for us who believe.

This power is above all things. ALL things. This power in Christ through His Spirit is above your fear, doubt, failure, strength, idols, sin, nation, government, complacency. His power is above all of that and we would be wise to find our position at the feet of that power. In such a position we recieve all the riches of Christ! In such a position do we find ourselves able to be lifted up by Christ! There is the power--Christ in us, The Indwelling.

Recieve it. Honor Him. And watch Him do His wonders.

The Spirit and the Word

Only three more days until we end our study on the Holy Spirit. I most certainly did not do Him justice and this wasn't even close to what can be uncovered and discovered about Him. I just pray that maybe there were a few nuggets you took away as choice gold from Him. Thank you for being here. I know you're out there reading and I'm praying for you!

Today we'll be talking about one of my most favorite things: the Word. Just recently, I was with a group of women and personal Bible study/quiet time came up. Many of them confessed that they struggle with consistent Bible reading and prayer time. I've totally been there for sure! There is that feeling that I should be reading and praying, but either I didn't have time, or I didn't feel like it, or both.

Those issues, sadly, are pretty much a norm for many Christ followers. I used to be that way, but I'm not anymore, and lemme tell you, I'm not tooting my horn here, I'm tooting HIS!! There is no way I'd be who I am today if He weren't boss.

In 2000, I sat at the feet of Becky Tirabassi, who (at the time) had met with Christ every day for 16 years. SIXTEEN YEARS! I was amazed. I couldn't meet with Him two days in a row! She said something that changed my life forever,

"Make an appointment with the King and keep it."

Huh, really? That works? It did for me. I didn't make it all the time, but it was the launching pad, no, it was the spiritual hands on my shoulders turning my focus, my priorities, to Him all the time, every day. Those words began my journey with Him and has brought me where I am today.

I've had other people say, "Natalie, you know the Word so well!" To which I say, "I don't know enough, and it's only because my face is in it so often." Again, I tell you this because I want you to know that He is the power, not me. He is the amazing thing, not me. I'm normal with weaknesses, failings, issues. If I don't strive after Him every day of my pea-pickin' life, I would not even be close to what I am and I'm not even close to what He is!

What does this have to do with the Word? Everything.

Take...the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. Ephesians 6: 17

The Word is the weapon of the Spirit. The Word, when we feed our own spirit, becomes that which the Spirit uses to do His job of reminding us of everything Jesus said. The Word, in and of itself, unless fallen on fertile soil of a Spirit filled life, is not just the power. The Word of God, used by the Spirit of God in and on a humble Child of God--that's the fullness of it's power.

Many unbelievers have read the Bible and nothing has happened. Many unbelievers have read the Bible and their lives were changed. What is the difference? A person bent toward knowing Truth. A person, even if it's just a tiny bit, interested in the things of God.

I'm going to stop typing my own words for a bit and let Andrew Murray take the stage. He really says it much better than I do.

It is the Spirit that comes from God, the Spirit that brings life, and through the Word assimilates truth and power in us.

In our study of the work of the Holy Spirit, we cannot be too diligent at gaining a firm hold on this truth. It will save us from error. It will keep us from expecting to enjoy the teaching of the Spirit without the Word or to master the teaching of the Word without the Spirit.

In the Holy Trinity, the Word and the Spirit are intertwined-one with the Father. ...The Holy spirit has for all ages embodied the thoughts of God in the written Word, and lives now for this very purpose in our hearts--to reveal the power and the meaning of that Word. If you would be full of the Spirit, be full of the Word. If you would have the divine life of the Spirit within you grow strong in every part of your nature, let the word of Christ dwell in you richly. ...Think not for one moment that the Word can unfold its life in you, except as the Spirit within you accepts and appropriates it in the inner life.

We must go to the Word with a keen awareness of the work of the Spirit. We need to approach the Word as though God has taken a moment to lean down specifically, every time, and tell us something. And even if you don't "feel" it, that doesn't mean you don't keep going back. We go to it humbly, in expectation of what He will do, not in expectation of what we will feel. Let the wonderful feelings that come with truth be the icing on the cake, not the other way around.

I pray that when we approach the Word of God, we picture ourselves handing it right to God's hands and saying, "Do with this what you will in me, Lord."

Take the time. Do the reading, and wait for the Spirit to guide you into all truth.

Praying in the Spirit

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. Romans 8:26

And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. Ephesians 6:18

Looking back at Monday and Wednesday's study on having no confidence in the flesh, we get the idea that there is an opposite Person to put confidence in! Of course, that is an understatement! We must learn to put all our confidence in the Spirit of Christ. It begins and ends in humility, faith, and love. And that practice between us and Christ, is prayer.

Oh man, prayer is all sorts of wonderful things. You know this: songs, quiet, thought, spoken words, tears, a sigh, laughter. We can pray in so many different ways on so many occasions and have a consistent, open conversation with Christ.

So, what does Paul mean when he says "pray in the Spirit?" Well, my Christian background would certainly say it's not praying in tongues, while your Christian background could say it's most certainly is praying in tongues.

However, I believe speaking in tongues, or your "prayer language" (if you have one) is more than that. I believe praying in the Spirit is about learning how to involve ourselves so much in the things of the Lord that our lives become an attitude of prayer. That our minds and hearts are set on waiting for the Lord through the work of His Spirit to even guide us in prayer.

There are many times I am quiet before the Lord. There are other times I have told Him, "I simply cannot put into English what I hear in my heart, but I know you are speaking it for me." I've been unable to verbalize what was being expressed in my spirit. What is so wonderful about that is the promise of Romans 8:26 up there. Go ahead, slide back up and read it.

Prayer cannot be something that gives our flesh the chance to flex it's muscles. Prayer is meant for us to relinquish ourselves to the Father and guide us into His presence. We cannot force God to behave certain ways because we have great, flowery words to pray. We come to Him in faith and humility, wrapped up in His great and amazing love and do two things: Lay our requests before Him and wait in expectation. (I stole that from David)

In the morning, O Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation. Psalm 5:3

We can develop an expectation for what God is going to do. Not what He is going to do for us, but that He is just going to do. He's a promise keeper, and the more we know and rely on the love God has for us, the more we will see when He fulfills a promise. Prayer is not about getting what we want, it's about knowing who He is.

How you do that is up to you. Journal, dance, whisper, talk out loud, what ever you do, learn to pray. Learn to pray in the Spirit. Learn to bow in your spirit to the wonderful promise that He will pray with you and for you. Wait for Him to reveal Christ to you in what ever way He wants, even if our little brains are straining to figure that out.

For whatever reason, God designed that our prays would be the conduit of His power through His Spirit. Our prayer in Him and with Him can release what is in heaven. Our prayer can remove the enemy from our lives. Our prayer, in faith of the Holy Spirit, can change our spiritual DNA.

Relinquish your strength in prayer. Be weak so that He can be strong and fill you with words and prayer and thought that you never thought possible. Let Him fill you so that you become a powerful pray-er for Him, with Him, and because of Him. Carve out time in your day to be still before Him. Strive to make it the first-fruits of your time (morning), if you can.

Prayer is a life-long commitment, let's have the One who invented it teach us well.

No Confidence in the Flesh

Here's Part 2 of No Confidence in the Flesh. Just thought it was time for another video!!


No Confidence in the Flesh from Natalie Witcher on Vimeo.

No Confidence in the Flesh

Oh boy, this is a HUGE subject so I will trust in the Spirit to say all He needs to say to us. I realize I say this all the time, but go get Andrew Murray's book, The Indwelling Spirit for even more teaching on this here topic. You will be blessed!


The flesh. What is it? How do we deny it? How do we operate in the Spirit and not in our selves? Let me take this two ways: 1. Flesh that causes us to sin, and 2. Flesh that we use to try to do the work of the Spirit. Today we'll talk about #1 and Wednesday we'll cover #2. Will that work?


Good, because I don't want to hog your blog reading. :)


There are two ways at looking at having no confidence in the flesh in regard to sin: 1. We can't count on it to stop wanting sin, and 2. We can't count on it to be able to stand up against sin either.

Let me expound a bit. Our flesh is, what the Bible calls, our sin-nature. It's what is pretty much in direct opposition to the things of God. It is what Paul so eloquently talked about in Romans 7.

I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.

That's what we're talking about in regard to the sin-nature. It is what we are born with, what was placed on us through the sin of Adam way back in the beginning of things. Fair? Nope, but if you've lived long enough, you know life ain't fair and we've got to figure out what to do.

So, we can all agree we have a bend toward sin. There are things about it we love and things we hate. There is a satisfaction to it, and yet we all know it leaves us empty and void. There is a seduction about it that when fulfilled leaves us dirty and frightened. We know the consequences of our habitual, chosen sins.

What about those sins that sort of seem to "pop" up. For instance, you slam your hand in the door of your car and a darling little four letter word flies out of your pretty little redeemed lipsticked mouth. Well, that was not some sort of premeditated sin, it was just a response to a situation.

Whether it be a sin, a deep habitual sin maybe of gossip, bitterness, slander, unforgiveness, over-eating (which is really related to something deeper), complaining, cheating, stealing, oh the list is endless; or it's those slip-of-the-tongue kind of sin, truth of the matter is...it's all sin. It's all from the sin-nature.

Oh man! Not fun.

But, (and there is always a "but" in Christ)

But, we don't have to be ruled by our flesh.

Let me give you an example. I'm Irish. I like to joke about it, but I can sometimes be a short-tempered person. Usually not at people, but at things like a door not closing all the way, or if I drop the same pen four times in a row, I can really get twisted. Not pretty. I'm really not easily angered by people, it's just I can get bent out of shape over stupid stuff. So, I've just chalked it up as personality, my Irish nature, and moved on. I moved on in habitual sin.

I've had worse, believe me, but the point is, I did not have the guts or the belief in me to think that the Holy Spirit could actually do something about it. And to be honest, I didn't want Him to because it felt good at the moment. So, when I went to tell Him all about it He reminded me that He have given me a new nature.

Riiiight.

We have to start believing the Word. When it says that we are a new creation in Christ the old has gone the new has come, we have options:

1. We can be free to behave differently.
2. We can actually live without being bound to those old sin habits.
3. We can be free to stop feeling guilty.
4. We can look forward to being more and more like Christ.
5. We can be free in the Spirit to pray more.
6. We can start believing that we are who He says we are, not what our sin says we are!

I can keep going!......

7. We have the freedom to walk away from that which tempts us.
8. We can be ruled by the Spirit and not ourselves.
9. We can live out His dreams for us.
10. We won't go to hell, but live forever with Him!!

When He says we have a new nature, we're the ones who don't believe it. Does that mean our old self, our flesh, our sin-nature is gone forever? No! It just means it is dead to us by the power of Christ! It means that we do not have to be ruled by our flesh. It does not hold the power unless we give it the power!

For is you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. Romans 8:13, 14

Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. Romans 8:5

We have options. We have the choice to walk in faith that by the Spirit of Christ our old nature is put to death!

But, (here it comes) HOW do we do that?

Oh mercy, it's in recognizing in faith and in humility that the Spirit will do His job. We, in turn, set boundaries, watch what we say, watch what we do, and most of all, live in a deep, conscious faith that the Spirit is putting those things to death.

Do not try to do His work...oh wait, I get ahead of myself. More on confidence in the flesh on Wednesday.

Single Spirit-Mindedness

We are thinkers. We are feelers. We are both of those things and we rejoice in that which God created us to be. I love being a thinker. I love the sensations of feelings. Joy, laughter, reading, pondering, tears. What a beautiful mosaic of art created by God.

But, just as a picture may not always reflect the true nature of that which is portrayed, so we must recognize that what we feel does not always reflect the true nature of the Spirit. At times what we feel and express most certainly does reflect what Christ has done in us and for us, but we must be careful to judge what he promises based on what we feel about that promise.

Why is she saying this again? you wonder...because I need to hear it.

I used to be really bad about thinking that God wasn't doing His job or what He promised simply based on what was going on around me. I have learned that regardless of my situation, God is still God and His Holy Spirit is still revealing Christ to me and guiding me into all truth. Does that mean I believe God never works in situations? Shoot, I'd be a fool to say something so foolish. I'm simply saying our focus is not to be on what is around us, but Who is in us.

Single Spirit-Mindedness. Singular thought. Laser focus. Cognitive recognition of the Spirit of Jesus always working. Let me back up and paint you a picture. Well, God painted it first, but I'm going to use it.

Genesis 1. We are really backing up!

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep and the Spirit of God was hovering over the water.

That word "hovering" is more like energizing, trembling, shaking. In other words, the Holy Spirit was there bringing energy to the creation. The low sub-woofer of creation bringing deep energizing life to it. Constant. Holding it together.

He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. Colossians 1:17

This is Jesus in us. He who is before all things and holds us together. His Holy Spirit in us is the life-giving energy in spirit that keeps us attentive to the things of God while being able to fold laundry, wash dishes, feed children, balance a checkbook, kiss boo-boos, kiss husbands, go to work, drive to school, drink coffee and even shower, at some point in the day.

If we can learn the art of single spirit-mindedness and keep our spirit's tuned and turned to the truth of the work of the Spirit of Christ in us, we will find that we are fulfilling Paul's command of never-ceasing to pray. We can hear the low, sub-woofer energy of the Spirit all the time. Deep down we can sense His presence and hear His voice beyond the cry of the newborn, or the fights of the brothers, or the chatter of the gossip, or the noise of the traffic, or the shame, guilt, and pain. We can know the Spirit of the Lord and we can always center ourselves to Him.

Be mindful of He who is in you. Pull yourself back to that humbled position in the throne room. Picture yourself there even when you are at your busiest. Remember, it is not He who stops His power and His work. It is we who fail to humble ourselves and recognize it and honor it. Never stop learning how to humble yourself more and more. Make your single Spirit-mindedness a priority, and He will shape your life into more than you dreamed.

You'll look up....and you're different. It is indeed a mystery: Christ in us.

Deep Thoughts

The degree I am yielded to the Spirit is the degree I will be filled with the Spirit.

Well? What do you think? Is that a fair sentence? I think so, lemme 'splain.

I know that the first argument in my heart against that statement is this: I have the fullness of the Spirit and all of the Spirit lives in me, how can I be filled any more than I already am? It says right here is Colossians 2:9 and 10, "For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ..." I have all the Spirit.

True, and praise God!

But, I can have a millions dollars, but if I bury it, it cannot do it's job.

I can hold a nuclear bomb in my hand, but if I don't detonate it, it cannot do it's job. (okay, that might not be the best picture, but you get the idea...power!)

I can have water in my home, but if I don't turn the faucet, it cannot do it's job.

I can have the Spirit of the Living God in me, but if I don't yield to Him, He cannot do what He lives to do: transform me into Christ's image.

The power of the Holy Spirit is not the light switch, He is the Light. We are the light switch. His power never changes! The power of the Blood of Christ never stops flowing! We are the ones who yield to the power of Christ by turning ourselves off to ourselves and on to Him. In our hearts, minds, and deepest place that we cannot even vocalize about, we must turn to Jesus. Speaking of Him, let's take a look-see at His take on the Spirit.

In Luke 4, the first verse says, "Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil." Huh, Jesus, the man, was "full of the Holy Spirit." Does that mean that at other times he wasn't?

Hard-lay!

I believe that Luke is making a point about Christ's attitude and focus. He himself was humbled to God and did nothing without the Father's leading, even into battle. Christ was so yielded to God's will and power of the Spirit, that at the times where He would have been weak in His flesh, we was able to be completely strong in the Spirit.

Just after that, Luke says in verse 14, "Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit..."

The Spirit is not given to us to hold our hand and show us what things to avoid and lean over and whisper to us sweet nothings like an imp who encourages us through the forest. God, may we never see you that way!

The Spirit is in us to be the life in us. He is in us so that we can be filled with Him to defeat the devil schemes. He is in us so that His power can pour forth and we become a mighty minister of the gospel! Does He help with everyday stuff? You bet! But, if we limit Him to just helping us through what house to buy or an attitude adjustment, we have underestimated His power available to us and in us.

The lower we go in our spirit, the great He becomes. The more we actively make Him elevated in our lives, the more He is able to raise us up in victory and power. He isn't a force that is acted upon us, He is the power of life in us. And we must learn to bow to that power in order for Him to flow freely through us like a conduit.

I challenge you this week to make a deep, willing effort to make yourself yielded to the Spirit. We may not understand all of what that means, but the promise is that He will guide us into all truth. He will teach us the deep things of God, but He will only do it to a willing heart, humbled to the reality of His dwelling within it.

Take time, as often as you can, to stop, rest, and bow to the incredible truth of the Spirit in you. Ask Him to make Jesus greater in you as you get out of the way. Repent of trying to run Him and trying to be Jesus by your own power (again, more on that). Learn to yield, listen, and obey.

You will not be disappointed.

Fundamentals!

Good day to you! It's Friday, and I am still so excited about this study! We are just getting started!

Before we go on in actually looking at the person of the Spirit, I want us to get one fundamental truth inside of us: if you have accepted Christ as your Lord, made Him boss of your heart and soul, confessed your sin to Him, accepted His forgiveness, and understand the He is the Son of God, born of a virgin, who was sinless, and who died on a cross and was resurrected from death...if you have confessed and believe all of this, you have the Spirit of Christ in you. (see Acts 2:38)

Some of you might be saying, "Yeah, yeah, I know. I cut my baby spiritual teeth on this." But, have you ever considered that maybe you are challenged that? Do you ever struggle with, "Man, are you really in there?"

Let's just be clear. He is.

In the Old Testament Ezekiel, God gave a prophetic promise to His people.

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. Ezekiel 36:26, 27

Look through to find the word"you"? There are five, I believe, and they are all the subject upon which the promise is acted. Now, look back and read over how many times you read the words "I" and "my"? He is the subject who is doing all the work. He is the one making the promise. And He never breaks a promise.

To the New Testament. Check out what Jesus said about Him.

When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of Truth, who goes out from the father...

Again, this is from God.

Some more? M'kay. This is a verse we will return to, you can count on it!

And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession--to the praise of His glory. Ephesians 1:13,14

Oo, and there's that reason again for His coming to us -- glory.

Listen, I've lived long enough to know that there is a great temptation to believe that my mistakes and behaviors might keep the Holy Spirit away. But, there is no away. I have been sealed by Him. I have been marked by Him, branded, if you will. Covered in the blood and fill with the Spirit.

What happens from this point on is the reason for this entire study. Too often, I believe, followers of Christ stop at the promise of the Spirit. We know He is in us, but what in the world do we do? What does it look like to live with the Spirit as Galatians says in 5:25?

I wanted to back up just for a minute and make sure we are on the same page. Go back to Acts 2:38 and back to the top of this post. If you have become a confessed follower of Christ, you have His Spirit in you. If you have not confessed those things and believe in Christ and made Him your Savior, you do not have His Spirit, and honestly, much of this, or all of this study will not make much sense.

The Bible tells us that we are taught by the Spirit in spiritual truths expressed in spiritual words and they are spiritually discerned (I Corinthians 2:13, 14).

I want to give you an opportunity right now to make His Spirit in you a reality. All you have to do is what has been done for thousands of years: Repent and believe in the name of Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. After that, get yourself baptized so as to make this marriage a done deal. Baptism is the first step to a long a gratifying obedient walk in Jesus. Something wonderful happens in that water and you don't want to miss it.

Now, if you are new to Christ and your relationship with Him, let me know! I want to be praying for you! If you've been around for awhile in Christ and believe you will benefit from this study, I want to know! The study of the Spirit can never be exhausted!

Next week, we're jumping in to so many things. I pray you come back and that you will lean on Jesus to teach you. I'm just a voice.You trust in Him to lead and guide you because He promised He would.

Here's a quote I leave you with from Andrew Murray. This is another thought launching pad for us. Ingest it and I'll see you next week!

It is only in relationship with Jesus, in faithful fellowship and obedience to Him, that a Spirit-filled life can be maintained.

The Glory of it All

The Lord declares to you that the LORD himself with establish a house for you... 2Samuel 7:11

And now, Lord God, keep forever the promise you have made concerning your servant and his house. Do as you promised so that your name will be great forever. - David, 2 Samuel 7:25b-26

In the early stages of the Temple, David was thrilled at the thought that he could build God a dwelling place. He was humbled that such a task could quite possibly be his. He could think of no greater thing than to supply God with a permanent dwelling. His heart was pure. His motives had no hint of self-worship. He understood the task at hand was great and awesome. Still, that which we find so respectful, so amazing in one man, was not enough.

That was not the plan of God. Yes, God would have a dwelling place, but it would come on His terms, by His plan, His hands, His design, and through a different person, David's son, Solomon. Not only that, but God turns around and promises David that He would not only give the task to Solomon, but would establish David's throne, David's house, forever.

God took away one, but establishes another.

He does the same for us. God stripes us, removes us from the possibility of trying to establish God's dwelling place on our own terms. We have the right motives, our hearts are pure, and we truly want to honor God with our lives, but we are inadequate, unable, and quite unfit for the task.

So, what does God do? He offers us an alternative: He will build in us a dwelling place on His terms, by His plan, His hands, His design and through a different person, His own Son, Jesus through the power of the Spirit, for His glory.

Our prayer should echo David's, "And now, Lord God, keep forever the promise you have made concerning your servant and his (our) house. Do as you promised so that your name will be great forever."

Take a look at our poll from a few weeks ago at I AM (not):

We know what God's primary objective is, don't we? We know it, but so often fall short of doing what He has destined us to do. And why do we fall short? Because we are trying to do the job of the Spirit.

He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. John 16:14

Through the Spirit we are enabled to know what is of Christ, in Christ, and purposed through Christ and in that, and only that, are we able to truly glorify Jesus. The Spirit so indwells in us (to the extent we allow him...more on that later) that He reveals to us Christ in His glory.

It is not as a thought or a feeling that this is always expressed. In fact, the Spirit speaks spiritual truths in spiritual words as He teaches us. This is not something easily accepted or understood. We are told to believe in the work of the Spirit, watch for it, manifest it, but do we really consider that our minds might not be able to conceive it? That is quite true: "...no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him, but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit." (1 Corinthians 2:9, 10).

And so, what do we seek? Truth? Feeling? Understanding? No, we do not seek these first. We seek first the Kingdom. And where is the Kingdom? Where ever God is---within us. We seek then, the Indwelling Spirit of Christ in whom all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are found, so that we may know Him better and might be for the praise of his glory! (Matthew 6:33; Colossians 2:3; Ephesians 1:12, 17)

We have been given the Indwelling Spirit of Christ not as a tool to be used to make us feel better, although He does that, or as a tour guide to our life who leads us down the halls of history, although He leads and guides us. Nor is He a fleeting ghost who plays hard to get, although He dwells in the deep places where we seek Him in silence and faith.

He is not these. He is the power of the resurrected Christ that was used when God raised Him from the dead. He is the voice of Christ who whispers the mystery of heaven so that we will tell of Him to the nations. He is One who points our face to the face of Christ and says, "This is the way, walk in it." He is the Counselor, the Revealer, the Teacher, the Glorifier. And He is waiting for us to humbly remove ourselves from our seat in the inner place of the Temple in our hearts so that His glory can come down.

Are you ready to remove yourself? Are you ready to discover this Spirit more deeply, more intimately so that you may know Him better? It was Paul's prayer to the Ephesians. May it be ours as well:

...keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give us the Spirit of wisdom and revelation so that we may know Him better. (Ephesians 1:17)

Begin today asking God to reveal Christ in you through His Spirit. Not through your understanding of the Spirit, but through the inner power of the Spirit. Wait for it. He will glorify Himself, and you will be amazed at who you become in Him.

The Indwelling -- Introduction

Welcome! I'm so glad you came to this new study. I am so excited, humbled, and feeling somewhat out of my league to be teaching on this topic. However, God is way bigger than I am and he will be the one doing the teaching anyway!

The Indwelling

The Holy Spirit.

The Spirit of Christ.

The Holy Ghost.

The Third Person of the Triad.

This is Who we will be (for lack of a better word) studying over the next few weeks.

Who is He?What does He do? How do we live by Him? In Him? Is He a partner, partaker, or is He power?

Why do we feel like we don't feel Him all the time?

Questions. Answers. Mysteries. Revelations.

These are what I hope to uncover for us. As usual, I have a mentor, a guide that will help us in our study, and I so encourage you to get this book as soon as you can.

It's The Indwelling Spirit by Andrew Murray. Yes, yes, it's good ol' Andrew again, but I can't help it, he's my favorite.

Let's begin.

Do you ever feel like you know Jesus, but wish you knew Him better? Do you ever wonder why you don't feel Christ all the time? Are you ever frustrated with yourself because you feel like you'll never understand Him or never know all that Bible stuff?

Do you ever wonder if the Spirit is really in you? Maybe that doesn't bother you as much as wondering if He's really doing all that people say He does.

Do you have a sense of powerlessness? A lack of knowledge? Weakness?

Or, do you know the Spirit, but sense there is more? More to know, more to uncover, more to understand?

I can answer yes to every one of those questions. I've wrestled with each one and rejoiced in the moments I feel like I "got" it. But is that the goal? "Getting it"?

I must break it to us, the only "getting" we should be after is getting more of Him so that He is glorified!

There it is. The word we will have weaving all through this study. We'll come back to it over and over---glory. That word is the red thread of truth found from Genesis to Revelation and is God's primary goal for Himself: His glory.

I fear that for most of my life, and even now, I do not fully live in a place where I allow Him to have the most glory all the time. I dare say I don't even know how to do it. I fail so miserably at it. Even Romans 3:23 backs me up, "...for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God."

I can't do it. You can't do it. It is only Himself who can bring Him the most glory and He has given us Himself to see it come to pass. And so what does that mean for us? Do we stop trying to glorify Christ? Do we see our attempts at worship and adoration as merely false attempts, unable to really do Him justice?

Maybe. Possibly. Most likely.

What! Stop glorifying Christ! Have you lost your mind, Natalie! You crazy!

Hmm, that's not what I said. I asked if we stop trying, attempting, striving. If we fall short of it then how are we ever to do it?

By His Spirit.

And thus, the can of worms is open.

Oh, I am heavy with this. Heavy with what I will learn, what we will learn and be changed by.

Here, just to give you a peek, here are some of the topics:

The Deposit Given

The Priority

Christ Filled

Single mindedness

No Confidence in the Flesh

The Spirit and The Word

Yielding to the Spirit

Praying in the Spirit

Freedom from Sin

Just to name a few. I'm not exactly sure how long this study will be. Possible 3 weeks (3 days a week--M, W, F)) maybe four. Please leave a comment with some of your questions. Hopefully, we'll get to them in our study.

For now, I leave you with this:

But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. John 14:25

The Indwelling

Does the thought of the Spirit of the Living God in YOU ever dumbfound you? Do you wonder you if "get it"? Do you ever wonder if you have enough of Him or not doing something right? Has He been a mystery? A Thrill?

Come with me as we uncover some of the wonders of the Spirit of God in our study called The Indwelling

Introduction

The Glory of it All

Fundamentals

Yeilding

Deep Thoughts

Single Spirit-Mindedness

No Confidence in the Flesh

Praying in the Spirit

The Spirit and the Word

Power

The Spirit of Hope