Mar 15

Having a relationship with God depends completely on having the Holy Spirit within us. There simply is no other way for a sinful human being to relate to a holy God without his own Holy Spirit enabling us to do so. How, then, do we get this Holy Spirit? Through Christ.

There is no other way. Jesus said of himself that he was the way (John 14:6). THE way. And it is only through being in Christ that we obtain the Holy Spirit who enables us to relate to the depths of God's heart and mind.

"He who unites himself with the Lord is one with him in spirit"(1 Cor. 6:17).

"And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ" (Romans 8:9).

These two verses combine to show us that it is all one. We cannot come to know God's depths unless we have the Spirit of God within us, and only Jesus can give us that Spirit.

We have been united with Christ and his Spirit; therefore, we are as Christ is with the Father -- and Jesus said that he and the Father are one. So are we one with the Father in Christ: one in spirit, and that spirit is the Holy Spirit of God, in Christ and in us because we are in Christ.

Jesus talked a lot about being one with the Father in the prayer he offered up to the Father on his last night on earth before he was killed on the cross. If he thought the subject that important, so should we. We must be concerned about being one with the Father.

Scripture for today: John 17:20-23
Thought for today: I am one with the Father in Jesus Christ.
Prayer for today: I praise you, Father, that you have made me one with you in Jesus Christ.

MAR 15