The Benefits of the Spirit

It seems like the summer has just flown by. One minute Destin was graduating in May and the next, we are back at the daily grind of getting kids up and ready for school and doing extracurricular activities after school. Summer breaks are always good but they don't seem to last quite long enough. 

As this year started the focus of our school was the Spirit. Specifically, the fruit of the Spirit.  It is a list that most of us can recite pretty easily: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). They are an easy list to memorize but often a struggle to always carry out. Alone, the might be impossible, but that is why we understand them to be the fruit "of" or "that comes from" the Spirit. Those who walk by flesh and want to live in those ways will always struggle. Because the Spirit and the flesh are at odds with one another. 

But those who "walk by the Spirit" will turn away from the things of the flesh. They, each day, crucify their passions and desires and live in the path of God. If you look in Romans 8, Paul shares all sorts of benefits of the Spirit. By the way, in this chapter He is called "Spirit of Life," Spirit of Christ," "Spirit of God," and simply "Spirit." What does it say about this Spirit? 

1. The Spirit Helped Set Us Free (8:2)

2. The Spirit has a Path to Follow (8:4)

3. The Spirit Brings Life and Peace When the Mind is Set on It (8:5, 6)

4. The Spirit Dwells in You & Without the Spirit We Don't Belong to Him (8:9)

5. The Spirit Will Raise Us from the Dead (8:11)

6. The Spirit Leads Us and Proves Us to be Sons of God, thus heirs (8:14, 19)

7. The Spirit Helps Us in our Weakness and in our Prayers (8:26-27)

When Jesus left this earth He saw to it that we were not left alone. God is still with us just in a different way than before. We have His Spirit. He certainly guided the Words of Scripture and nothing the Spirit does would contradict His own words. However, there is much more to the workings of the Spirit and instead of it bringing fear (the Holy Ghost was how I heard it referred to as a kid which is a little more scary), it should bring us comfort knowing that God is still among His people through His Spirit. 

Ben