The truth is, I am terrified to write this blog. I’m scared that I won’t get my point across in the correct way. I’m scared someone may be offended by my cry to call them higher. And I’m scared that this won’t actually make any since and I’m just speaking in circles. But God has called me to write this, so I will be obedient. I will trust that the Holy Spirit inside of me will give me the correct words to say. And because I have a relationship with Christ, it is a natural reaction for me to share the gospel with everyone. Because, “It is the epitome of hate to not sacrifice your very life to spread the Good News among every person you know and every people group on the planet.” -David Platt
I’ve recently finished reading the books “Follow Me” by David Platt and “She’s Still There” by Chrystal Evans Hurst and they provided me with copious amounts of knowledge and insight on the Holy Spirit. A couple of my teammates and I have also really dove into what it REALLY means to be living like you have the Holy Spirit inside of you.
My teammate Taylor White once shared a story about a conversation she had with her older sister with me. Taylor was much younger and getting ready to go on a date and was extremely nervous. Her older sister made this simple, simple statement, “Taylor, first and foremost he is your brother in Christ. Like ew, he’s your brother…” and all of Taylor’s worries were wiped away. For some reason this really struck something with me. And then one day when I was reading 1 Corinthians I was reminded of it. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 says, “Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.” And almost immediately I was wide eyed and whispering the words, “ohhhhh noooo…” My mind was racing with the thought of, “you mean that THE HOLY SPIRIT was with ME when I did THAT…” I was on the verge of an anxiety attack breathing and sweating very heavily.
When I became a Christian, Jesus put the source of His life in the center of my life (i.e. The Holy Spirit). If it makes it easier to picture, just imagine The Holy Spirit with an actual body sitting right next to you as you do everything every single day of your life. At first, this realization made me feel shame. But it quickly changed into a feeling of being filled with life. “You mean, THE HOLY SPIRIT of GOD is always with ME?!?!” God always has His hand of protection over me and I am always able to talk to Him just like a friend. And I can consult Him in any and everything about my life. Also, how can you not love and give give grace like Jesus did if His Holy Spirit is literally inside of you? Jesus forgave me of my sins so I also must me able to forgive people of their sins since you know, Jesus is apart of me… #grace
“When you come to Jesus, His Spirit fills your spirit. His love becomes your love. His joy becomes your joy. His mind becomes your mind. His desires become your desires. His will becomes your will. His purpose becomes your purpose. His power becomes your power. The Christian life thus becomes nothing less than the outliving of the indwelling Christ.”
-David Platt
Now onto the next phase of realizing The Holy Spirit lives inside of me…
If we are true believers and have The Holy Spirit living inside of us, than we are disciples and it should be second nature for us to then make disciples of Jesus Christ. No one should have to convince us to preach the gospel or manipulate us into moving to the bush of Africa if it means that an unreached people group will get to receive and feel the love that only Jesus Christ can provide. If we truly follow the Bible, then we should always be “fishing for men.”
You don’t need to wait for the tingly feeling to go down your spine or have a message written in the sky to lead you to tell people about Christ. Having The Holy Spirit live inside of us means we are officially capable of sharing the gospel with each and every person we meet. Some of you may protest, “But I need to be led by The Holy Spirit in everything I do!” But, “At the same time, we need to remember that the Holy Spirit lives in us for the explicit purpose of spreading the gospel through us” (David Platt). When we gave our lives to Christ we literally gave Him full control of our bodies, souls, future, e.t.c.. for Him to use us the best way He sees fit. It’s no longer about what we want, but what He knows will bring kingdom down here on earth.
This also opened up a whole new meaning for me of my body being a temple. “Eating well and maintaining a healthy level of physical activity in your life are forms of self-respect. Your choice to take care of your temple shows that you have an appreciation of how very precious you are” (Chrystal Evans Hurst). Our bodies are designed to be filled by The Holy Spirit so why would we not take better care of them? Fueling our bodies with unhealthy things is disrespectful because that is actually what we are giving to The Holy Spirit. We would be telling Jesus that we don’t believe He is worthy of good and fruitful things and that we don’t care to take care of Him. When we fully believe and acknowledge that The Holy Spirit is living inside of us, how can we possibly do anything harmful to ourselves and our bodies? How can we knowingly sin knowing that The Holy Spirit is with us and we are forcing Him to take part in it with us? Our bodies and souls deserve to be treated well because The Holy Spirit deserves to be treated well.
“When it comes to your heart, your mind, your soul, and your body, be a ruthless gatekeeper who protects against things that will take from your life and be a welcoming hostess for things that will give you life.” -Chrystal Evans Hurst
Whether it be stepping out in faith to share the gospel with a stranger, moving to Africa, realizing that my body actually needs fruits and veggies instead of pizza and coke, or treating each and every person like my brother or sister in Christ and loving them with the love that only Jesus can provide- I am honored. I am honored that my body here on earth has the opportunity to live a life of purpose, created by God and led by the Holy Spirit, because when Jesus died on the cross for me He said it was worth it.
Love,
Banana
