"But if God himself has taken up residence in your life, you can hardly be
thinking more of yourself than of him. Anyone, of course, who has not welcomed
this invisible but clearly present God, the Spirit of Christ, won't know what
we're talking about. But for you who welcome him, in whom he dwells-even though
you still experience all the limitations of sin-you yourself experience life on
God's terms. It stands to reason, doesn't it, that if the alive-and-present God
who raised Jesus from the dead moves into your life, he'll do the same thing in
you that he did in Jesus, bringing you alive to himself? When God lives and
breathes in you (and he does, as surely as he did in Jesus), you are delivered
from that dead life. With his Spirit living in you, your body will be as alive
as Christ's!" (Rom 8:11, MSG)
Something awesome happens when we allow God's Spirit to reside in us. We begin
to think more about Him and less about ourselves. Before I experienced God's
Holy Spirit, I had some trustworthy friends; however, most of the time I was
left on my own demise in decision making. More often than not, I made stupid
choices. I was thinking way more about myself than about God and others, and
that's why my decisions were so pitiful.
When I welcomed God's Holy Spirit in my life, however, I was no longer alone,
and He certainly guided me to do, "what is good and right". I became truly
alive, as my Heavenly Father became my reality. As long as I listened to Him, I
had nothing to worry about. After all, God's Spirit was residing in me.
It's true that at times I ignored Him, which only resulted in me having the need
to repent of my stubbornness. I realized that His directions held way more
validity than my own decisions. With Him at the helm, I never had any regrets.
Only the Holy Spirit can give life, real life. Not only resurrection life, but a
life that makes sense and has purpose. No matter what happens to us, we have a
guaranteed destiny: "I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and
better life than they ever dreamed of." (John 10:10b, MSG)
The Holy Spirit prompts, guides, admonishes and warns. He becomes our real
friend who will never, ever abandon us. He is there to lead us to victory.
Hurray!
Dr. Ivan Matijasic could have avoided a lot of trouble if he had only focused on
himself instead of others; but that wasn't his way. His goal in life was to help
others, no matter how high the cost. In October 1943, he was arrested by the
Nazis in his hometown of Pazin for providing medical assistance to Yugoslavian
partisans. Eventually he ended up at the Saulga subcamp, where he became the
prisoner-doctor.
At one time, 200 critically-ill prisoners from Uberlingen arrived in the camp.
Although he had limited provisions, he did his best to save most of them. He
certainly was well liked, for his focus was on others and not on himself. After
the war he was appointed senior doctor of the Saulgau hospital. At least now he
wouldn't be arrested for helping others!
What's our take on life? Fake living or real living? Making ourselves smile or
making others smile? Think about it!
The Illustrator: This daily newsletter is dedicated to encouraging
everyone to look towards Jesus as the source of all the solutions to our
problems. It contains a daily inspirational story, a Bible verse and encouraging
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The Nugget: Published three times a week, this newsletter features inspirational devotionals and mini-sermons dedicated to drawing mankind closer to each other and to Christ.