Let’s demonstrate an even greater love for God

Our hope is not in the new year but in the one who makes all things new. 2 Corinthians 5:17, This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! Romans 8:11a NLT, The Spirit of God who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you! The Holy Spirit is God’s promise of eternal life for those who believe in Jesus, and if the same spirit that raised Jesus from the dead lives in me, well that same kind of power is given to each of us to live a spirit-empowered life.

Imagine a sink faucet. When the water is turned on full blast, it fills the sink and washes away anything in it. Similarly, living a Spirit-empowered life is like keeping the faucet of God’s Spirit fully open, allowing His power to flood and cleanse our hearts and lives. The more we yield to the Spirit, the more the desires of the flesh (our sinful nature) are drowned out. Galatians 5:16-17a TPT says, Let me emphasize this: As you yield to the dynamic life and power of the Holy Spirit, you will abandon the cravings of your self-life.

When your self-life craves the things that offends the Holy Spirit you hinder him from living free within you. When we stifle the faucet, We restrict the flow and power of the Holy Spirit and the “dirt” of our flesh accumulates. But when we release or surrender our sinful nature, our me-first life, we allow the Holy Spirit to cleanse us and empower us to live righteously. Romans 8:6 NLT, So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. Life and Peace in 2025 sounds pretty good! I need some practical steps…

Get Connected-We can’t live a Spirit-empowered life if we are not connected to the Living Water. John 7:37-39a NLT, 37 On the last day, the climax of the festival, Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, “Anyone who is thirsty may come to me! 38 Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’” 39 (When he said “living water,” he was speaking of the Spirit, who would be given to everyone believing in him.) Jesus is our Living Water. We have to be connected to the source. Jesus is the source.

We can’t expect to be connected to the source if we are not spending time in a relationship with Jesus, which means we need to pray. Prayer is more than just a spiritual exercise, it's your connection point.

Get the Manual- We are not going to know how to turn the faucet on if we don’t read the manual, the Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth, the bible. Sometimes we just don’t get it though, why do I need to read the bible, it's so boring, and I don’t understand it, but here is how the Word of God works, it gives you instructions on how to live and the Holy Spirt gives you the power to do it. They work together to help you become the person God is calling you to be. Psalm 119:11 NLT, I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. Today, it is so easy to have The Word at your fingertips, if you don't have the Bible App, download it, start a bible plan, have it read the bible to you when you are in the shower, look at it when your sitting in the car waiting for your kids to get done with practice. And if you need help understanding the Bible more, come to a Bible Study, or a Family Group, having people to help you understand the Manual is important. We are not meant to go through life alone, we are stronger together!

Just Turn it On- Quite honestly without obedience, it doesn’t matter how much you pray or read your bible. Without obedience, praying & reading the bible are just nice things to do. James 1:22 NLT says, But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. Here’s the good part, when you live a Spirit-Empowered life, the Holy Spirit gives you the desire to obey. The desire grows not out of obligation but because you Love the Lord and want to please Him. Obedience is God’s love language. Jesus says in John 14:15 NLT, If you love me, obey my commandments. Obedience isn’t hard when you think about what Jesus did for you, how He had to obey Father God by going to the cross to die for your sins and mine. Philippians 2:8, And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross! Jesus obeyed even up to death so we could live a Holy Spirit-empowered life when you look at it that way, it is not hard to obey what God is asking you. This year, 2025, let’s demonstrate an even greater love for God by obeying Him - in the big things and the small things. Be Blessed my friends & Live Spirit Empowered!