The Right Spirit

2TI 1:7 NIV

For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.

In a  broken, sinful world we find ourselves, there are lots of forces at work. The quest for power, possessions and position have driven men to seek out strange gods and powers, and this has in turn led men into captivity and bondage. I have heard of women seeking the gift of children from people/places where you can't find good ones. I have seen men seek gifts from sources that do not give anything away freely; something must be sacrificed to get these 'free' gifts.

But there's a God, the creator of the entire earth, the Lord of everything visible and invisible, tangible and intangible. He owns all things and He gives all things to all men as He sees fit. He makes promises only He can keep, and whatever He says He can do, He can be trusted to keep his word. He's the only God I have seen who gives you something without merit or connection, as seen in the gift of a whole life for the sins of the whole world. If God could surrender his own Son to die for a world that didn't know him and didn't even care who He was, then what won't He give us if we are his children and have accepted his Spirit into our lives?

It is this Spirit of God that is the focus of this extract. Because He is of God and God himself, He reproduces his nature in the vessel He possesses. How can fear rule in the same place where the owner of heaven and earth sits? How can storms overcome a ship which has the Lord of all the earth as its captain? How can a man with the Spirit of God lack discipline and self-control? As we examine our lives today, let us check our vessels and be sure we have the right contents. A man who claims to have God should have obvious traits and character qualities which are consistent with what you claim to carry. The man who also does not have God would display an obvious absence of God in his life because you cannot give what you don't have. Check your contents and your life's output? Is it consistent with a life ruled by the Spirit of God, or is it the devil and self still in control? Whoever rules the life controls the output and determines its eventual effect and destination. If you want to make heaven, give the Spirit of God control. He will determine the right output that will bring glory to God and will make impact in the world. His time of favour is here.