"This is a recorded message of the psychic hotline--all lines are busy, so please leave your name and number, and we will get back to you!" .Now I have a question--if these people are really psychic, don't they KNOW your name and number? Get a life! There are frauds in our world grabbing the minds and money of gullible people, assuring them that some "spirit" out there somewhere told them your future. Now I'm sure you're too smart to believe it--but if you have a friend who does, please tell him for me, "Save your money--or give it to the missionaries fighting real spirits in our world today!"
IS there a "spirit world" out there somewhere--for REAL? You'd better believe it--any Christian truly living for the Lord is aware of both an awesome Holy Spirit indwelling him, and an evil spirit who will NEVER indwell him! For the Spirit Who dwells within us is GREATER than any evil force who would harrass and attack us! So let's put on our spiritual armor, and march to the Well triumphantly to find out more about that wonderful SpiritLife God has given us! It's EASTER--HE lives, and SO DO WE!
SpiritLife...Know It!
We are empowered to believe His Word!
The Spirit of God within us draws us to the Father and to the Son, through the Divine Word of God. He is the One who quickens and makes alive the wonderful Words of Life so precious to us. And THAT'S what makes us strong in spirit--the battles and burdens of life demand it--and the Spirit of God within us satisfies that demand as He makes alive God's Word to our hearts. It is He who gives us the power to believe and receive that Word, and when we do, we find the battles and burdens become the very blessings we now recount in testimony to His never-failing Word. His Spirit makes our spirits alive--and we become true testimonies of the living Word within us! We can KNOW the SpiritLife of the Living God through His Word--it's Easter--HE'S ALIVE--and so are WE!
SpiritLife...Grow It!
We are empowered to grow in His ways.
The seed of God's Word, planted within the human heart, and watered by the Spirit, will grow in the ways of the Lord. The fruit of the Spirit will be evident (now maybe on some days, more than others--we are human, you know!) But let's face it--any Christian who truly loves the Lord will have struggles! Yet deep within his spirit, he desires to grow in the graces of the Lord he loves! It WILL happen--but overnight? Hardly, or we would all be such stuffy saints no one would want to live with us! The fruit of the Spirit is a practical, daily work of grace in our hearts. And we're never finished growing. The Master Gardener and Overseer of the Orchard knows it's a struggle. He doesn't fault us--He loves us, and gently urges us to grow a little here, a little there. Slowly we find ourselves showing more of the likeness of Jesus in our lives. For what is the fruit of the Spirit, but the loveliness of the living Jesus, manifested in all His graces--love, joy, peace, and all the rest! It's EASTER--HE LIVES--and so shall WE!
SpiritLife...Show It!
We are empowered to tell our world!
The Spirit of God lives within us to witness to our spirits that we are the sons and daughters of God. But this is not a bless-me club on earth, where we don shining armor, ride spiritual swings, and revolve on mighty merry-go-rounds, having fun in a spiritual playground. No...it's a battlefield! The eternal warrior is meant to be an eternal witness to his world of the victorious living Christ! How do we handle the burdens and the battles of life for a world who watches? Do we lay down our swords in defeat and discouragement? Do we live joyless, dreary lives which detract rather than attract men to the Savior? Oh, sure, we've all got our tough times--but let's stand up, with the full armor of God--let's use the Sword of the Spirit, the Word of God, to tear down the strongholds of the enemy. Our world is yearning for something real - they are tired of the fake and the phony, so don't play games with them. Let them see you fight the battles of life and of evil with vim, vigor, and victory. For it IS ours, in the power of His living Spirit within us. Let's show the world WHO is alive, WHO lives within us, WHO reigns forevermore. For it's Easter--and HE IS ALIVE!!
SpiritLife--what a great way to live! We can know it, grow it, and show it--but let's not BLOW it! I'm Pentecostal--I believe in a living, working Holy Spirit. I praise and worship the Lord in Pentecostal fashion, but if all I have is an emotional experience, I will blow up in an explosive puff or fluff--whatever that is!! I must balance the beautiful presence of the Holy Spirit and His expression in my life with a solid foundation of the Word of God. As someone once said, "If you have all Word, you'll dry up; if you have all Spirit, you'll blow up; if you balance the two, you'll grow up!" I don't want to dry up or blow up--I want to grow up in my spiritual life, and I know you do too! Living in the Spirit is a wonderful way to live--it's Easter, and I want to enjoy that wonder of HIS SpiritLife within me this Holy Week, don't you? 
A Hurting Word...