Life of Renewal

Our whole life in Christ is about renew, renewal and renewing. It never stops and is always progressive moving towards a perfection that only the Holy Spirit can bring about within us. Moving us from one degree of glory to another as we are renewed in every

area of our being. It was the psalmist, Psalm 50:10, who cried, “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew in me a steadfast spirit.” A spirit that is secure, firm, fixed, supported, strong, established. The Amplified bible says it this way “and renew a right, persevering and steadfast spirit within me.”

How we long for and desire a spirit that holds fast to truth and cannot be shaken, a spirit within, totally yielded to the Holy Spirit creating in us a pure heart and a determination not to falter or buckle under worldly pressure. And of course, we do falter, we do struggle but our assurance rests in Jesus who promises that in Christ we shall be renewed. A process that requires a yielding, a laying down of our life for His.

We know that the bible speaks of man as being made of body, soul and spirit in 1 Thessalonians 5:3. So much is written today on renewing or strengthening our bodies, all so important, but we must not neglect the mind (the soul) or the spirit. I am going to focus on the spirit, the inner invisible part of man that we don’t really know quite how to describe. Sometimes so easily considered to be the mind but not. Our spirit communes with God the Holy Spirit and establishes that place of fellowship with our God. Sometimes our spirit is aware of the Lord’s presence, His voice, His check long before our mind has caught up. That beautiful place where suddenly we feel a sense of joy, expectation, understanding without fully comprehending what it is all about. Our spirit discerning and making the soul aware of what God is doing. As the psalmist said, “create in me a steadfast spirit.”

Paul says it this way, “And be constantly renewed in the spirit of your mind, (having a fresh mental and spiritual attitude.)” Essentially, we are spirit beings and when we are born again it is our spirit that is made alive in Christ. Our body does not change, our mind doesn’t suddenly change, although it begins to understand as our brand-new spirit discerns and begins to influence our thinking and our being. That is why Paul, in Romans 12:2, encourages us not to stay as we are but to allow our mind to be renewed.” Not to be conformed to the pattern of this world but to be transformed by the renewing of our mind.” The spirit man is alive to the Holy Spirit’s influence, it is no longer dead in sin, antagonistic towards the things of God but instead open, hungry and thirsty for more of God. Wanting deeper revelation, hungry for understanding and intimacy with the God who made us. Our spirit yearns for communion, relationship with God who is Spirit, and this amazing fellowship with the Creator renews us from the inside out. Even the unregenerate spirit of man senses the need for his Maker and knows that something is missing.

This is why so many people fill their life with desires to have or to be something they are not, to be recognized, to be important. That desperate search for fulfillment can lead down dark and destructive paths, excessive drinking, drugs, sex and so on. A friend of mine wrote this song shortly after having been filled with the Holy Spirit; "There is a void in my life There is a void in my life that needs to be filled. A cry in my heart that cannot be stilled. And that void in my life, that cry in my heart has to be filled with someone, someone greater than me." And so it went on with the last verse speaking about Jesus. He is that someone. He is the Key, through His love I have been set free. The Holy Spirit is ministering, calling, wooing the lost to come to Christ. Touching deep into man, Spirit to spirit. What a precious gift we have in Christ, the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of Jesus Christ who tenderizes our spirit as He marinades us in truth, draws us into His presence where he refreshes and renews. And so it is in Jude, the little book found in your bible just before Revelation, thought to be written by the Apostle Jude, the brother of James and possibly the brother of Jesus Christ, addressed to faithful Christians encouraging them to contend for the faith, that we find these words.

Jude 1:20

“But you Beloved, dear friends, building (edifying)yourselves up on your most Holy Faith , and praying in the Holy Spirit keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you eternal life.”

A continuous, never ceasing activity as the spirit of man seeks to be strengthened, to be made steadfast so that no talk in the world can shake or cause doubt. Praying, praying in your angelic language (tongues), praising God from deep within and worshiping Him. King David prayed in Psalm 103 :1 “Praise the Lord oh my soul; all my innermost being praise His Holy name.” Intimacy with the Lord our God through fellowship in the Holy Spirit. This will strengthen you, cause you to progress and rise higher and higher until you spirit is refreshed, renewed, revived.

Never underestimate the worth of praying in tongues. Pray and pray, the more you pray in tongues the more easily it flows and an inner refreshing is taking place. Don’t neglect this awesome gift. It is the one gift that is for you, to renew your strength, empower you and feed your spirit as you pray in the perfect will of God. We can study, we can attend courses, we can attend church, bible study, all of which are good and worth doing but they can never replace our time sitting at the feet of Jesus. Basking in His presence being refueled and renewed as He ministers to us. He gives us hope and confidence to step out as the one He created us to be, no longer bound by sin, the past, the present but free to live as He ordained. As the Lord renews us, transforms us, this change within enables us to look into and gaze upon the face of our Lord. May we always, every day, every moment of every day lean on Him and yield our wills to embrace His. He will renew us in every area of our being until such time we go to be with Him.

My prayer for you:

May the Lord out of His glorious riches strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, that you may be rooted and established in love. A love beyond understanding, and may you be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Overflowing, overwhelmed with Him

AMEN.