“Holy Spirit you are welcome here…come flood this place and fill the atmosphere…your Glory God is what our hearts long for, to be overcome by your presence, Lord” Holy Spirit, Jesus Culture*

We sang this song at church last Sunday and I have been singing it ever since.  It really has me thinking…Is the Holy Spirit welcome in my body?  I know It is there, I am saved, but how do I welcome (or unwelcome) His Spirit inside me?

“Or do you not know 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 your own…” 1 Corinthians 6:19

I’ve always known that my body is a temple so I should treat it as such, but the other day when I read 1 Corinthians 6:19, it struck a different chord within me. This verse, coupled with the lyrics to “Holy Spirit” constantly in my head and on my heart, led me to believe I needed to dig deeper on this…so here we go. 🙂

If Jesus is Lord and Leader of our lives, when we accepted Him, he gave us not only the gift of eternal life, but the gift of the Holy Spirit to reside in us as we live out our earthly lives.  This Spirit – God’s Spirit – assists in convicting us of our sins and changing us from the inside out to become more like Christ.  When we choose to surrender our lives to Him, he chisels away at who we used to be; He saves us from who we used to be and His Spirit grows within us to change us into the likeness of Him.  The Holy Spirit cleans up our messes -because we are all just messes, especially without Jesus Christ!  John 15:5b says, “For apart from me you can do nothing.”  So that must mean that with Him we can do everything, right?!  According to Philippians 4:13 we sure can (I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength“)!!

I think what struck me differently about my body being a temple is that in the past, I associated the verse more with what goes into or on my body, and not what I am doing with my body or what is coming out of my body- specifically my mouth.  Are my words and actions reflective of the Holy Spirit living inside of me?  Galatians 5:22 and 23 says that the Holy Spirit produces peace, love, joy, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control (um yes please!?).  Is my tone of voice and my body language producing these fruits??  I can check mark several that I have been struggling with and while it’s disappointing and frustrating, His grace is there to catch me when I fall–full of forgiveness that allows me to move forward, to learn as needed and to not look back.  There is no condemnation or shame in Christ!

So…we have God’s spirit inside of us as believers.  WOW.  How awesome is that!?  Inside of me is the capability to be peace, love, joy, etc…, no matter my circumstances; but I don’t always choose to do it Jesus’ way.  How often I give into my own selfish, pride-filled desires, thinking I have the right to.  What does that do to His Spirit inside of me??  I’d say it pushes it aside or squashes it.  So I push my God, the One who made me, the One who saved me, aside so I can have my way.  It may feel good at the time, it may feel right at the time, but eventually His precious Spirit inside of me wells up and lets me know it wasn’t the right thing to do (thank you Jesus for this conviction!).  It’s not always easy but it’s needed in order to grow and to change, and without it we wouldn’t always know where we need Jesus.

God’s Spirit takes up residence inside of our bodies at salvation; sanctification is the process when we choose to let Him thrive, let His fruits grow and take over who we are and what we do.  So today, let’s make that choice and welcome His spirit to rise up and fill our hearts, souls and minds.  Everyday (every moment!!), let’s say yes to Him and let His Spirit influence us to do what He wants us to do and live how He wants us to live.  We cannot be like Christ without allowing Him to flourish over our flesh and worldly desires.

Oh Holy Spirit you are welcome here! Flood us today!

*Click here to listen to “Holy Spirit” 🙂