Do You Live For The Spirit?

[Edward]

All throughout scriptures, we are admonished to "live for the Spirit and not for the flesh"...

What does this mean to you? Do you live for the Spirit? Describe how...

Romans 8:5
5 For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit./

Galatians 5:25
25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit./

 

[Willie T]

Maybe about 75 to 80 % of the time.
I'd like to tell you it is much more..... but I just can't lie like that.

 

[Edward]

Maybe about 75 to 80 % of the time.
I'd like to tell you it is much more..... but I just can't lie like that.

Oh I hear ya' brother. Me too. What does living for the spirit mean to you?

 

[Willie T]

Oh I hear ya' brother. Me too. What does living for the spirit mean to you?

I think it means that on those occasions where I realize I am facing a choice, I pick God's way, even if I'd (in the natural) rather not.

 

[jeff77]

I think it means that on those occasions where I realize I am facing a choice, I pick God's way, even if I'd (in the natural) rather not.

That's the way I think about too.

 

[Gary]

Living in the Spirit is possessing the willingness to say no.

 

[Kathi]

You mean the Holy Spirit?

 

[Edward]

You mean the Holy Spirit?

Hey, I asked you first, lol. Yes, I mean the Holy Spirit. Is there another? Yes we have a personal spirit, but it's a given that our spirit does not lead us or teach us, or empower us.

Here's how I see it, right or wrong. Before we're saved, the Holy Spirit is there nudging us, drawing us towards God. When we're saved, the Holy Spirit steps it up a notch for us. He fills us, guides us, empowers us to overcome temptation like Willie T & Gary said. They are right.

The Holy Spirit also teaches us. This is not a conscious thing that happens, like speaking to us (but He could!) Scripture says the the Holy Spirit bears witness with our spirit, and this is what I think that's talking about. He teaches our spirit directly, Spirit to spirit, and we're not even conscious of it. Personally, I think that much of this takes place at night when we sleep. When we're sleeping, our conscious mind is (mostly) shut down and there are no thoughts or distractions or questions or anything. We're told to search the scriptures daily, and I think that after we read, that night the Spirit cometh and bears witness and teaches us reveals to us, the truth in what we have read or experienced.

Scripture also says that the Holy Spirit prays for us. Because we largely do not know what we should pray for anyway. The Spirit can also come upon us at certain times for an anointing to perform a specific task for God. This happened to me once, but I digress.

I think living for the Spirit is largely, yielding to the Spirit. Being constantly aware of and looking for His presence, especially at decision making time, when temptation comes our way. We back off for a moment and turn introspective, not to ourselves, but looking for divine guidance, focusing upon God and perhaps asking (even heart to heart)...what should I do Lord? and waiting for an answer. It may not come audibly, but will come.

Exercising the reality of the Spirits presence daily, moment by moment. Using your spiritual senses for this. (We have way more than 5 senses). The Lord wants us to look to Him for everything. This is what living in the Spirit or for the Spirit means to me. Turning to the Spirit for guidance instead of our intellect, instincts or feelings.

 

[Kathi]

Hey, I asked you first, lol. Yes, I mean the Holy Spirit. Is there another? Yes we have a personal spirit, but it's a given that our spirit does not lead us or teach us, or empower us.

Here's how I see it, right or wrong. Before we're saved, the Holy Spirit is there nudging us, drawing us towards God. When we're saved, the Holy Spirit steps it up a notch for us. He fills us, guides us, empowers us to overcome temptation like Willie T & Gary said. They are right.

The Holy Spirit also teaches us. This is not a conscious thing that happens, like speaking to us (but He could!) Scripture says the the Holy Spirit bears witness with our spirit, and this is what I think that's talking about. He teaches our spirit directly, Spirit to spirit, and we're not even conscious of it. Personally, I think that much of this takes place at night when we sleep. When we're sleeping, our conscious mind is (mostly) shut down and there are no thoughts or distractions or questions or anything. We're told to search the scriptures daily, and I think that after we read, that night the Spirit cometh and bears witness and teaches us reveals to us, the truth in what we have read or experienced.

Scripture also says that the Holy Spirit prays for us. Because we largely do not know what we should pray for anyway. The Spirit can also come upon us at certain times for an anointing to perform a specific task for God. This happened to me once, but I digress.

I think living for the Spirit is largely, yielding to the Spirit. Being constantly aware of and looking for His presence, especially at decision making time, when temptation comes our way. We back off for a moment and turn introspective, not to ourselves, but looking for divine guidance, focusing upon God and perhaps asking (even heart to heart)...what should I do Lord? and waiting for an answer. It may not come audibly, but will come.

Exercising the reality of the Spirits presence daily, moment by moment. Using your spiritual senses for this. (We have way more than 5 senses). The Lord wants us to look to Him for everything. This is what living in the Spirit or for the Spirit means to me. Turning to the Spirit for guidance instead of our intellect, instincts or feelings.

I always walk and listen to the Holy Spirit.It is a third person in the trinity.He guides and directs me.He is my counselor.

 

[Rollo Tamasi]

I always walk and listen to the Holy Spirit.It is a third person in the trinity.He guides and directs me.He is my counselor.

Yes Kathi, when we walk with God, we are walking with the Holy Spirit.
The more we do this, the closer we are to God.
This is working out our salvation.
This is sanctification.

Even the Apostle Paul admits it is a struggle.
It is our life struggle.

But the day is coming when we no longer struggle, he takes us home.

Amen.

 

[Kathi]

Yes Kathi, when we walk with God, we are walking with the Holy Spirit.
The more we do this, the closer we are to God.
This is working out our salvation.
This is sanctification.

Even the Apostle Paul admits it is a struggle.
It is our life struggle.

But the day is coming when we no longer struggle, he takes us home.

Amen.

Amen to that.

 

[KevinK]

I believe I do. I got into an argument once with a friend when we were both young and starting out. He said I was stupid for spending money for karate classes (a monstrous $30/month). He spent most of his time figuring ways to make a lot of money (which he finally achieved). I answered that any amount of money is of fleeting value, as you can't take it with you, and that martial arts training is at least something spiritual, and lasts forever (even back then, I knew the Biblical admonition to lay up treasures in Heaven, which I agreed with).

In fact, my original reasons for taking up martial arts were mostly spiritual in nature. Rather than money and material things, I had a thing for spiritual practices of almost any kind, ancient temples, old writings. My friend (who oddly enough was Japanese from Japan, a very spiritual country though not Christian) calmly explained how there's no such thing as a spirit "world", an afterlife, or God, and that things like honor could be purchased with money. Also how my sensei cared only about money themselves, no matter how righteous they acted on the outside.

I controlled my utter shock that anyone could say such things, especially a good friend (which he nonetheless was and still is). I saw no point in even trying to educate someone at this stage, and circumvented any spiritual discussion with him until just about a year ago, coinciding more-or-less with my own "rebirth". He's at least more willing to entertain discussion of the spiritual dimension. He makes pretty good money, more than he can spend. He is also violently allergic to physical cash of any kind, in any denomination or nationality. Even touching money is like a burning flame. There's a disease like this; you can look it up on the Internet. Weird, huh?

 

[Edward]

calmly explained how there's no such thing as a spirit "world", an afterlife, or God, and that things like honor could be purchased with money.

At first I thought that honor could be purchased was wrong, that it was something that one holds in their heart, but thinking about it, I realize he's right. Our 535 congressman's honor has been bought up and secreted away in Washington...

From what I understand, the physics world has now proven that we live in a digital simulation, it is but a shadow of a larger reality that we can not see. That it has at least 10 dimensions. They proved it by cutting particles in half, and then the half in half again and so on. If our dimension was infinite, one could keep doing this, but when we get down to particles the size of -10 to the 43rd(?)...then the particles cease to have locality. So the conclusion is that the other shadow reality that we can not see is in fact more real than our own natural reality. They may or may not know it, but they're talking about the spiritual dimension. Of this, I am certain, because God IS real.

 

[Willie T]

If a man's honor was purchased, then that man no longer possesses any honor. He traded it away for gold. All he has left are empty words, with no true meaning. (A quick glance toward Washington will show that.)

Just as with respect. You cannot buy respect... only fear.