From the Inside Out - Phillips, Craig and Dean

The other day I was talking to a friend about love and marriage. I thought it was so cute how much she said she loved her husband. She said, "I loved him so much, I wanted to jump inside him." She said her husband came before everything, to the point that he became her god. When he died of an illness, she said that's when she found the Lord. She had nothing else to reach out to, and that's when she reached for Jesus.

What a loving, patient God. When we exhaust everything else, He's still there with arms open wide.

We all know that it's not possible to jump inside another person, but spiritually, it is possible. When invited, the Holy Spirit, (God in three persons) will come make His home inside you. Consuming you "from the inside out." The Spirit transforms us, but it is a process. So don't get discouraged, or question yourself if you fall. Keep looking to Jesus, don't make excuses. Change should be the desire of our hearts.

The bible tells us in 2 Corinthians 5:17, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has gone, and the new has come." So why does the old keep showing itself in our lives? In Romans 8:5, it talks about being controlled by our sinful nature, and having, "[our] minds set on what that flesh desires.  But those who live in accordance with the Spirit, have their minds set on what the Spirit desires." We should not be controlled by the sinful nature, but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you.

Romans 12:2, tells us to, "not conform any longer to the patter of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." This is a willing process to give God full control, consuming you from the inside out. The old nature will keep trying to show up again, but remember we are a work of art... "we are God's workmanship..." (Ephesians 2:10).  To lose our old self, and the new nature of Christ will be portrayed more and more through us.

Even when we fail Him, His mercy remains. And if you should stumble again, and again, His grace is everlasting.

Jesus wants to be the love of our lives. He wants to make His home in us. Won't you invite Him in?

Kim