WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 1
Ephesians 2:1-6
Ezekiel 37:11-14

Will you live this day
and this week for Jesus?

LIFE IN THE SPIRIT

All the world is dead, spiritually speaking. Only the believer, the truly born again Christian is alive. Before we came to the Saviour, we too were dead. It is only by His saving grace and life-giving power that we have life in us. In case some reader is still unclear about his spiritual state, listen to God’s Word in Ephesians 2:1-5:

“And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience ... But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us…”

The Christian’s life came by the Spirit of God. It was the Spirit who gave us the new birth. Without the Spirit of God, we have no life at all: we would still be dead in sins. Praise God, He reached down to us. He redeemed us from the horror of eternal death into the joy of life in Christ.

The continuing life of a believer is wholly dependent on the Holy Spirit’s indwelling, keeping, cleansing and sanctifying power. Too often we are so puffed up by our own self-importance, so taken up by what we are “doing for God” that we fail to look to God and wait on His Spirit to do a deep work in us. Our spiritual life remains shallow, parched and dry. Our life cannot bless others. This is our greatest loss and sadness.

Our urgent need is for the Spirit’s fresh anointing and filling. Our life in the Spirit is at a low ebb. You may not agree, and that confirms it. We all need His blessing and power. We need to yield to the Spirit His rightful place in our hearts and lives. Self must abdicate; the Spirit must be enthroned within. Nothing less will do!

THOUGHT: Is yours a “life in the Spirit” or a “life of self ”?
PRAYER: Lord, may Jesus be found in me, and seen in me. Amen.