We read in John 14 thru 16 the great promises made to the disciples and to us concerning the power of the Holy Spirt and the great work that would be done through us who are true followers and believers in Jesus Christ.  Has the grace and love of Christ filled your heart ?   Do you know how powerful the Holy Spirit is in transforming our hearts and minds thru faithful obedience to His loving will and to His loving ways ?  Do you spend time in daily prayer and in the study of How God wants us to live our lives ?

Jesus teaches us that when we become true believers and have accepted Him into our lives that He will send the Holy Spirit to be with us forever on into everlasting life. 

John 14:15-17  “ If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.  v16  And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, to be with you forever.  v17  Even  the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him.  You know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. “  

John 14:26  “ The Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things and bring to remembrance all things that I have said to you.” 

John 16:13-15  “ When the Spirit of truth has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak;  and He will tell you of things to come, He will glorify Me, for He will take what is Mine and declare it to you.  All things that the Father has are Mine.  Therefore, I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.” 

It is the work of the Holy Spirit who transforms our hearts and minds into becoming a new person with a change in our thoughts, attitudes and behaviors.  We become what we think about the most and the Apostle Paul says it well in Romans 12:2  “ And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good, and acceptable and the perfect will of God”  NKJV    I will use two more translations to help understand what transforming your mind means.

NLT  “ Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.  Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”

NIV   “ Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.  Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – His good, pleasing and perfect will.”

God has given us the power of the Holy Spirit to not just feel something but to empower us to become better witnesses to the unbelieving world.   2 Timothy 1:7  “ For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”

The Holy Spirit strengthens our faith and enables us to achieve a greater spiritual growth through prayer and reading of scripture.   If you aren’t spending time with Christ in prayer and allowing His words of truth to speak to you through the power of His word, then you are choosing to live apart from Him in your life. 

The Apostle Paul tells us how to train our hearts and minds in what to think about in order to transform our lives into a better way of living as found in Philippians 4:8   “  Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.  v9  What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me(Apostle Paul) – practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you”  

Are you doing or thinking about these things on a daily basis ?  Keeping your mind focused not on earthly things but the things of God as true followers of Christ ?   Romans 8:5  “ For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.  v6  For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.”

Colossians 1:9  “ May you be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding.  v10  So as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.” 

As is true with anything in our lives,  if we don’t take the time to learn, study or have a willingness to gain knowledge we don’t grow.   If we aren’t seeking knowledge in areas of our lives that would help us improve ourselves, we remain ignorant.   God’s greatest desire is to have you in a relationship with Him so that He can work within you to become more Christlike in your thoughts, attitudes and behaviors.  

I will tell you my friends that for over 53 years I never spend much time in prayer and reading scripture to truly know God.  Oh, I knew about Him but never truly made the effort to know Him   Just like so many,  I believed in the lies and deception of what Satan had to offer in this world.   Pursuing the desires, and passions of this world - money, possessions, status, and pleasures.  Of course, all those years I never viewed it that way nor gave it any thought whatsoever. 

When you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior the Holy Spirit will fill your heart with a love, peace and joy beyond your wildest imagination.  There are many who go to church get that one hour of worship and then spend no time the remainder of the week thinking about God.  My friends,  you are not a true follower of Christ if you are not living daily in the presence of God to allow Him to work within you through prayer and scripture.

Will leave you with these verses to ponder and think about this week as found in Colossians 3:1,2  “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.  v2  Set you minds on things that are above, Not on things that are on earth. (see Matt. 16:23)

Start today – Don’t delay and change your life - Let the power of God’s words speak to you and be filled with a peace and joy beyond measure.  

Clicking blog at the top of the page are for past blog posts.  Find additional inspiration and encouragement found in the books “Finding Calm in the Storm of Everyday Living” or “Heart and Soul” either going to Amazon directly or hitting the home page of the store and scrolling down to books.