HOW HAVE YOU BEEN CHANGED BY THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD?

BIBLE PASSAGE:
Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, 
the Spirit who calls out, "Abba, Father." 
(Galatians 4:6)

MEDITATION:
Whenever we are “all in” with surrendering our lives to the Will of the Lord,
we receive some obvious signs to confirm our commitment is sincere.
For one thing, we are no longer slaves 
to the past sins that had their grip on us.
Formerly, when you did not know God, 
you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods. (Galatians 4:8)

Does that mean the temptations go away?
Of course not, they will always be lingering in the shadows of our minds.
We can feel overwhelmed at times because we cannot seem 
to distance ourselves from the things that want to drag us away 
from a close relationship with the Lord, and enslave us once again.

Paul warned the Galatian Christians (and us)
about the dangers of allowing past to control us once again.
But now that you know God (or rather are known by God) how is it that you 
are turning back to those weak and miserable principles? Do you wish 
to be enslaved by them all over again? (Galatians 4:9)

It doesn’t seem like Paul is saying, “What are you thinking?”, 
but rather, “Where is your heart?”
He challenges them to be honest 
and determine who is in control of their desires.
Are they being controlled by the sinful things of the past, 
or have they allowed the Spirit of Jesus to change their mindset?

This brings us to another confirmation of our surrender to the Lord.
When we are saved, God sends the Spirit of Jesus to us.
But look at where He sends His Spirit; 
the Spirit (one part of the Trinity) is sent “into our hearts”.

That means that He doesn’t just reside in our heads as information,
but He resides in our hearts which results in a change from the inside 
and becomes visible on the outside (others can detect a change in us).
We have new aspirations, new attitudes, new concerns for others, 
new desires to be a part of God’s earthly ministry, etc.

Our love is no longer constrained by selfishness, self-centeredness, 
and a desire for everything to be ‘our way, or the highway’.
We discover that we can truly ‘love the sinner, but not their sins’.
It is a phrase that most Christians have heard often, 
but when we are ‘sold out’ to the Lord, we realize that it is true, 
because the Spirit of Jesus lives within us.

Lastly, we see that the Spirit calls out to God for us.
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 through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the 
mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in 
accordance with the will of God. (Romans 8:26-27)

Why does He “search our hearts”?
More than likely it is because He wants to filter out our selfish desires, 
and petition our Heavenly Father with only the things that are worthy, 
and within His Will.
He also ‘fills in the blanks’ whenever we have unselfish and heartfelt 
concerns for others (or ourselves), but we struggle with finding 
the right words to fully express the depth and intensity of our feelings.

ACTION:
How many times have you ‘written off’ someone due to their actions?
It may be a way of life, or some incident that impacted you personally.
When you are “all in” with your relationship with the Lord, 
you find out that there are times when God is speaking directly to you 
as a result of the actions of others.

It doesn’t mean God orchestrates their actions, 
but it does mean that He might be using the actions of someone else 
as an opportunity to get your attention.
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love 
him, who have been called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28)
When the Spirit of Jesus is active ‘in your heart’, 
rather than lashing out at someone else, you will instead ask, 
“Father God, what are you trying to teach me?”

Pray,
“Heavenly Father, forgive me if I am allowing past sins to continue 
enslaving me and preventing me from having a close relationship 
with You. Help me to lock those things away and to allow the Spirit 
of Jesus to flourish in my heart so that I will develop His mindset as 
a replacement for mine. I look forward to becoming more of the 
person You want me to be, as I lay aside my selfishness and embrace 
the new focus and attitude provided by Your Spirit.”

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