My cousin sent me a video today of her fourteen month old riding a little bumper car they got him for Christmas. It has a seat for him to sit in and two joystick controls that allow the bumper car to move forward. He can go straight, left or right. Normally though, he goes around and around and around. That was what he was doing in the video.
When he first started riding it, he loved to sit on the floor of the bumper car to ride. He would pull the joy stick levers instead of pushing them; but still, he usually ended up going around and around and around.
In the video she sent me today he was actually sitting on the seat. He was all leaned back with his arms crossed over his tummy. He had one foot planted on the floor. The hilarious part was that with the other foot…he was pushing the joystick lever. Yes, he was going around and around and around.
Then she sent me another video this afternoon. He had tipped his little bumper car over. He was thoughtful enough to try and flip it back over so he could get back on it. He got it jammed and wedged against something and he could not get it turned back over. You could see his frustration in trying to get it done. At that point, he could not move forward with riding his little bumper car until someone else helped him turn it back over and set it upright again.
Isn’t that a picture of our walk with the Holy Spirit? When we first come to Christ and we receive the Holy Spirit, things are new and we might not know exactly how it works. We don’t quite have our mindset shaped by the Holy Spirit at this point. We get started in our new life and we start pushing instead of pulling, using more effort than we need to use. Sometimes we get turned upside down. We are using human effort.
Then once we figure out how to get in the seat properly and start doing the things that we should do, we are still sometimes not doing it right; because we are not really listening to the guidance of the Holy Spirit. We only have one foot on the floor and our hands are not controlling the ride. Then when we get into a mess, a situation that we can’t seem to get out of, we get frustrated and we don’t know what to do. We can’t move forward until the Holy Spirit works in our life, sets us upright again, and shows us what it is like to live in the Spirit.
Before the Apostle Paul gets to Romans 8, where he talked about living in the Spirit, he ended Romans 7 powerfully. In verses 24 and 25, he made the statement that he needed to be set free from the power of sin over his human body. Then he exclaimed that it was God that had set him free because of Christ’s sacrifice. Even so, with his mind he desired to serve the Law, but he leaned toward sin because of the weakness of his mortal body.
But in Romans 8:1, Paul spoke to the Roman believers about living in the Spirit after coming to Christ. He reminded them that once they come to Christ they are not condemned, but still they should not walk in the flesh. They should walk with the Spirit. He told them the Spirit would help them lead a life shaped by their faith. In other words, the Spirit would guide them in the way they should go.
He then shared with them that as God gifted them with the Spirit of Christ, which is new life, the Spirit would guide their lives. They would no longer have to worry about sin and death having authority over them. As long as they walked in the power of the Spirit, they would not be guided by the power of sin.
What challenge does this passage pose for those that are following Christ? The Scripture tells us, there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus and who deliberately attempt to walk in the Spirit. I believe the challenge could be that even after we come to Christ and receive freedom from condemnation, we sometimes hold onto those feelings of condemnation for past sins, which could possibly keep us from walking forward faithfully in our new life.
How can we apply this to our lives? Even though the Scripture tells us, there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, that does not mean that we have the freedom to live as we want in the world. To apply these scriptures to our lives we should seek every day to follow the leading of the Spirit and walk in the way that He leads us.
What does this mean to my faith? My faith is strengthened as I see the effects of walking with the Spirit on my life. I do not have to seek to be righteous and live up to some impossible standard. I just have to seek to walk with and pay attention to where the Spirit guides me, and then follow that path.
Lord, I am thankful for the Holy Spirit that You have given me to help me live my life for You. I pray that each day I will learn more and more to walk closer in step with You. Lead me and guide me to rest in You completely and to always acknowledge that I am not walking in the Spirit to gain freedom, but I am living in the Spirit to see what the freedom I already have looks like.
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“8 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.” Romans 8:1-2 (KJV)
Scripture Reference:
Cross-Reference Scripture(s):
“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.” John 5:24 (KJV)
“4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.” Romans 8:4,14 (KJV)
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I feel that since God has given me the gift of this platform, I must always tell you about my Jesus.
What is your relationship to the all-knowing God of the universe? Do you know Jesus? Do you know the peace that can come only from an intimate relationship with Him? You can know Him. Jesus Christ, God’s Son, born into human flesh, sinless, crucified and giving His life freely, buried, arisen on the third day, will come into your life and change the outcome of your eternity. You just have to be willing to believe and accept His truth.
Here is a web page that will give you more information about Jesus Christ and hope He can change your eternity: Start Your NewLife With Christ.
In addition, here is an excellent page that can give you additional information on peace with God: PeaceWithGod.net.
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