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LIFE THROUGH THE SPIRIT

Updated: Jun 4

Happy summer, this month on the blog I want to take a look at a passage of scripture in Romans chapter 8. The subtitle of this section in the bible is Life Through The Spirit.


I want us to open up our minds to something today. I believe that when many of us read Romans chapter 8 we go to the most obvious of things, don’t lie, don’t be given over to drunkenness, don’t commit adultery, don’t cuss people out on the road LOL. But I believe that most of us reading today could say we have worked our way past many of those things. I want to challenge us in our thinking of the other ways that we may be giving into the flesh and not living our lives through the Spirit of God. I believe that in this day and hour, our Father is challenging His daughters to live above the line. What exceptions have we made for ourselves to excuse behavior in the name of “this is just the way that I am”?


Let’s dive into the scripture,

Romans 8:1-4

8 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.


The word condemnation means to be officially declared unfit for use. So let’s start there, because of what Christ did for us at Calvary we will never be declared “unfit” to be a daughter of God. No matter what we do, or how we fall short, through Jesus we will always have a way back to God. The reason why God’s people, the Israelites, struggled so much to stay in good standing with God was because they were under the law. The law, the 10 commandments, that God gave to Moses to govern the nation of Israel had one problem, it was powerless. While it was good and pleasing to the Lord, the law did not have the power to help God’s people follow it. And neither do we, in our most perfect human strength we do not have the ability to be in right standing with God on our own. We need the savior, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit of God, to come and dwell within us, so that we can live a life that pleases God. I want you to be encouraged by this today, that it’s not you, you are not a failure at this thing called life, and you were never intended to do this alone. We all need the help of the Holy Spirit to live the full life that God has in mind for us.


Romans 8:5-8

5 Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires, but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6 The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. 7 The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. 8 Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.


It all starts in our mind. If you have never read Joyce Meyer’s book “The Battlefield of the Mind” I would highly recommend it to you. One of the first key steps of walking with Christ is to get control over our

minds. I am going to chat about my personal experience with this on the Vlog for this month so make sure to check it out. Let’s keep this simple, we have to do whatever it takes to get our minds right. If we go through our days always thinking about what problems we have, how we don’t like this person or that person, how bad our marriage is right now, how there is never enough money in the bank, how much drama there is going on in our families, on and on and on, we are going to be a stressed out, negative, hot mess! Let’s just keep it real!


So practically what does this look like? Because the reality is that there will always be things in our lives that are not going how we would have hoped they would go. Christians are not exempt from problems, but we know that God uses our problems to grow us and make us stronger. Here is a practical recommendation that I have for you to get your mind right. First, put on some gangster rap music, I’m just kidding! But if that works for you go for it! Seriously, let’s start with some declarations. Get you some note cards, get you a printed piece of paper, tabs for your bible, a note in your phone, whatever works for you, and write down a scripture/declaration for every area of your life. That’s step number 1. If we are going to get out all of the fleshly thoughts from our brains then we have to fill it with something else, and that something else is the word of God. Say them three times a day if you have to, morning, noon, and night. I promise you, your thinking will start to change, you will start to change, and your life will start to change.


Second, I want to briefly mention rhythms, what are some toxic rhythms in your life that may be a hindrance in your mindset? Let’s start changing some habits that are not benefiting you. It could be waking up a half hour earlier every day to pray, getting a 30-minute walk a day, or eating a better diet. Let’s work on setting our minds on what the Spirit desires.


Romans 8:9-11

9 You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. 10 But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. 11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.


If you are saying to yourself right now, I’ve tried and I’ve tried, and I just can’t seem to turn it around. I’m stuck in this same cycle and I just can’t seem to break it, I want to say to you that’s because you are trying to do it in your own strength. Remember Romans 8:1-4 said that we can’t do it on our own in the flesh, we need the Spirit of God to come dwell within us. Take time every day to invite Him in. What does that look like? It could look as simple as this “Holy Spirit, I’m stopping to invite you in, come and make your home with me today”. I promise you, He will come, He will meet with you, He will walk you through one day at a time.


This may seem so elementary, but can I be transparent with you, I had a rough February this year. It was a very full month for our family, we had a lot going on in a lot of different areas, and I felt like I had been hit by a tornado. It happened to me. I had to hit the pause button and remind myself that I wasn’t going to make it on my own. I needed to be more intentional about inviting my helper Holy Spirit to be with me every day. It may seem so obvious, but it’s the game of the enemy. He tries to throw

everything and the kitchen sink at us to get us all twisted up, but when we invite Holy Spirit in, He sorts all that out.


Romans 8:12-17

12 Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. 13 For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.

14 For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. 15 The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.


I love the ending of this section so much because first, it reminds us that we have an obligation to the Spirit as believers. Remember at the beginning of this blog I wrote, what exceptions have we made for ourselves to excuse behavior in the name of “this is just the way that I am”. If we are going to call ourselves Christians, saved by Christ, we have an obligation to pursue life with the Spirit. We can’t allow “the way we are” to be anymore. Every day we must be in hot pursuit to be more like Him, and that only comes from knowing Him more.


Second, He calls us His children. The term “Abba, Father” is used here and that is so important because it represents the intimacy that we have with Him through Christ Jesus. We can go to Him with anything and everything as often as we need to and He will always be there. When we pursue life with the Spirt we are granted the most precious gift of all, we are called co-heirs to the throne of God with Christ, and we share in His sufferings, it’s not easy to die to our flesh, but when we do, we also share in His glory!

I pray this conversation has encouraged you today. I, many times this year, have been corrected by God, reminded to be more like Him, to pursue more of His Spirit, as I grow into the Daughter He has destined me to be.


Love you mucho! – PB


Catch the video blog on Youtube where Pastor Brittany shares about her journey with this topic.

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jaymi21
Jun 14

Love this! We can’t allow “the way we are” to be anymore. Every day we must be in hot pursuit to be more like Him!

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