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Romans 8:11 - Relying on The Holy Spirit.

Romans 8:11 (NLT) The Spirit of God, who 
raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just 
as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he 
will give life to your mortal bodies by this same 
Spirit living within you.  

Romans 8:11 (MSG) It stands to reason, 
doesn't it, that if the alive-and-present God who 
raised Jesus from the dead moves into your life, 
he'll do the same thing in you that he did in 
Jesus, bringing you alive to himself? When God 
lives and breathes in you (and he does, as surely 
as he did in Jesus), you are delivered from 
that dead life. With his Spirit living in you, 
your body will be as alive as Christ's!  

COMMENTARY PEARL

   To grow spiritually you must rely 
constantly on the Holy Spirit. Remember that Christ 
dwells in you through the Holy Spirit. Your body is 
now the dwelling place of the Third Person of 
the Trinity. Do not ask Him to help you as you 
would a servant. Ask Him to come in and do it 
all. 
   It is impossible for you to hold out in 
your Christian life - but He can hold you. Just 
relax and rest in the Lord. Do not fret about 
important decisions - let Him make them for you. Do 
not worry about tomorrow - He is the God of 
tomorrow. Do not worry about the necessities of life - 
He is there to provide. A victorious Christian 
is one who, in spite of worries, is confident 
that God is in control. In reliance on the Holy 
Spirit, you will find that many of your troubles 
will disappear. 
   What struggles should you release to the 
Holy Spirit? [Peace for Each Day by Billy 
Graham] 

COMMENTARY

Music for the Dance
   Let's imagine that you want to learn to 
dance. Being the rational, cerebral person you are, 
you go to a bookstore and buy a book on 
dancing. 
   You take the book home and get to work. 
You do everything it says. The book says sway; 
you sway. The book says shuffle; you shuffle. 
The book says spin; you spin. 
   Finally, you think you've got it, and you 
invite your wife to come in and watch. You hold the 
book open and follow the instructions step by 
step. 
   You continue to read, then dance, read, 
then dance, until the dance is completed. You 
plop exhausted on the couch, look at your wife, 
and proclaim, "I executed it perfectly." 
   "You executed it, all right," she sighs. 
"You killed it." 
   "What?"
   "You forgot the most important part. 
Where is the music?" 
   Music?
   We Christians are prone to follow the 
book while ignoring the music. We master the 
doctrine, outline the chapters, memorize the 
dispensations, debate the rules, and stiffly step down the 
dance floor of life with no music in our hearts. 
We measure each step, calibrate each turn, and 
flop into bed each night exhausted from another 
day of dancing by the book. 
   Dancing with no music is tough stuff.
   Jesus knew that. For that reason, on the 
night before his death he introduced the disciples 
to the song maker of the Trinity, the Holy 
Spirit. (John 16:7-9). 
   Of the three persons of the Godhead, the 
Holy Spirit is the one we understand the least. 
Perhaps the most common mistake made regarding the 
Spirit is perceiving him as a power but not a 
person, a force with no identity. Such is not true. 
   The Holy Spirit is not an "it." He is a 
person. He has knowledge (1 Cor. 2:11). He has a 
will (1 Cor. 12:11). He has a mind (Rom. 8:27). 
He has affections (Rom. 15:30). You can lie to 
him (Acts 5:3-4). You can insult him (Heb. 
10:29). You can grieve him (Eph. 4:30). 
   The Holy Spirit is not an impersonal 
force. He is not Popeye's spinach or the surfer's 
wave. He is God within you to help you. In fact 
John calls him the Helper. 
   Envision a father helping his son learn 
to ride a bicycle, and you will have a partial 
picture of the Holy Spirit. The father stays at the 
son's side. He pushes the bike and steadies it if 
the boy starts to tumble. The Spirit does that 
for us; he stays our step and strengthens our 
stride. Unlike the father, however, he never leaves. 
He is with us to the end of the age. 
   What does the Spirit do?
   He comforts the saved. (John 16:7).
   He convicts the lost. (John 16:8).
   He conveys the truth. (John 16:12).
   Is John saying we don't need the book in 
order to dance? Of course not; he helped write it. 
Emotion without knowledge is as dangerous as 
knowledge without emotion. God seeks a balance. "God 
is spirit, and those who worship him must 
worship in spirit and truth" (John 4:24). 
   What is essential is that you know the 
music is in you. "If Christ is in you, then the 
Spirit gives you life" (Rom. 8:10). You don't need 
a formula to hear it. I don't have a four-step 
plan to help you know it. What I do have is his 
promise that the helper would come to comfort, 
convict, and convey. 
   So think about it; have you ever been 
comforted? Has God ever brought you peace when the 
world brought you pain? Then you heard the music. 
   Have you ever been convicted? Have you 
ever sensed a stab of sorrow for your actions? 
Then you've been touched by the Holy Spirit. 
   Or have you ever understood a new truth? 
Or seen an old principle in a new way? The 
light comes on. Your eyes pop open. "Aha, now I 
understand." Ever happen to you? If so, that was the Holy 
Spirit conveying to you a new truth. 
   What do you know? He's been working in 
your life already. 
   By the way, for those of us who spent 
years trying to do God's job, that is great news. 
It's much easier to raise the sail than row the 
boat. And it's a lot easier getting people to join 
the dance when God is playing the music. 
   That's what makes God, God. From A Gentle 
Thunder [Max Lucado Daily Devotional at 
maxlucado.com] 

LINK FOR FURTHER STUDY 

Romans 8:11 - God Wants to Spend Eternity 
with You. 

http://www.abible.com/devotions/2021/20210409-0934.html 

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