Church (part 2)

Church (Part 2)

By: Leah F.

Flashback to Last Devotion:

I was looking at my emails/subscriptions and this website showed up in my inbox: http://stevesimms.wordpress.com/2013/10/29/c-h-u-r-c-h-a-poetic-acrostic/

In it, there was an acrostic poem that looked like this:

C-Christ followers

H-hanging out together

U-under the influence of the Spirit

R-responding directly to His                        

promptings

C-celebrating the glory of

H-his only presence!

For a couple months, I'm going to grow through 1-2 letters at a time, going into each of these descriptions into detail.

Today we go on with:

H-Hanging out together

I-under the influence of the Spirit

---

Now, I know the maker of this poem needed a word starting with "h" but I don't like the term "hanging." I prefer the word "praising." We're praising together under the influence of the Spirit.

Praising includes things like praying, singing, reading the Bible, telling others about Jesus, etc. the Bible gives the impression that anything directed to God is praising him. That means there is an unlimited about of ways to praise our Heavenly Father. It's not just singing and praying, but so much more! Think, if you just promised God to that you will study for a test and you do; that's praising him! If you practice piano, and then thank God for your talent he gave you; you're praising him! And, since there is an unlimited amount of ways, the list goes on and on!

Since the day of Pentecost, the Spirit lives in the heart of each true Christian. It's what people would call your "conscience." Roman's 8:26 says, "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" This verse shines a new light on the importance of the Holy Sprit. Sometimes the Spirit is undermined, being looked at as the least important part of the trinity. But God is all the same, and the Sprit plays an equal role in our lives. This verse says that the Spirit helps us pray, helps us in our weakness, and intercedes for us. God doesn't see our sins, but he sees the perfection in Jesus and the Spirit. Galatians 5:25 says, "Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit." This verse comes after the list of the fruits of the Spirit, which are; love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The Spirit influences these attitudes, and God is praised when you use them. Then going back to the verse, since we live with the Spirit, we should do as the Spirit does; "keeping in step."