Living by the Spirit

The Holy Spirit is a hard concept to get a hold of in the faith. We often talk about wanting to be led by the Spirit and want our decisions to be Spirit guided. Even this morning I prayed about this. I read that the Spirit did not come because we obeyed some law of God, but because we believed. But often we Christians think that if we "do more good" then the Spirit will be more active in our lives. The reality is that the Spirit is active in the lives of those who believe in Jesus Christ and trust His promises. So if you want to be Spirit led, you need to believe, or have more faith. More faith equals more of the Spirit (not that you get more but you are more aware, more in-tune and more able to follow).

If you want to experience more of the Holy Spirit working in your life, you must work at having more faith. Trusting more. Believing the promises more. Stepping out more, absolutely sure that God can and will provide for the paths that He has laid out for you.

But if you really want to know how much of the Spirit you have, ask yourself these questions:

• How much Love do I show toward others? Toward the unlovely?
• How much Joy is present in my life? Even when things aren't going so well?
• Are you always anxious or most often at Peace? Can you find peace in difficulty?
• Am I a Patient person? Am I more patient than I was 5 years ago?
• Am I Kind to others? To those I don't know or who are not kind to me?
• Would others say that there is Goodness in me?
• Am I Faithful? Faithful to my spouse? Faithful to my church? To God?
• When I get angry am I Gentle? Is that a trait that others can see even in difficult times?
• Am I able to Control my life and desires? Or do I follow ever whim of my heart? Can I control my self? Do I need to have another drag, drink, peek?

If you are asking God for more His Spirit these are the benchmarks you use. Not more gifts of the Spirit. Not more miracles. But more of the basics. Keep a record. Work to improve these areas, with the Spirit's help. And you'll find you've got more of Him and less of you. And that's a good thing.