Minds

During our daily activities or when the day's planned activities are at an end, what fills our minds? Is it "Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit." — Romans 8:5 NLT 

Permanent Assurance

Results of many goals and experiences in life can be altered. The work Jesus did on the cross was a one-time event in the spiritual realm, which resulted in a gift that can never be changed. When one learns of this gift, he has the opportunity to ignore it or later walk away from the promise. But, the obedient believer has a permanent seal, guaranteeing union with Jehovah God one day, forever. “But don't be so concerned about perishable things like food. Spend your energy seeking the eternal life that the Son of Man can give you. For God the Father has given me the seal of his approval." John 6:27 (NLT)

Fruitful

Christians are often challenged to "be fruitful." The following thought is usually, what kind of fruit can I, or do I, produce? Paul also reproduces this teaching in Galatians 5:16-26 by contrasting the works of the flesh and the works produced by the indwelling Holy Spirit. Reality is that all people produce some kind of "fruit" by our words and actions. Some fruit is honorable to God, some is not. It is encouraging that those who have the indwelling Holy Spirit produce fruit which is made good by God's further actions. “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16 By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them." Matt. 7:15-20 and "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law." Gal. 5:22-23

Value

Humans very often consider their value and worth linked to the physical world, its demands and activities. In the grand scheme of things, our earthy lives are not as important as the life to come. However, our actions while in human form determine where we will spend eternity. Physical struggles and pains are troublesome, but not as important as our next state of life. When a person makes the decision to accept Christ's gift and spend eternity with Him, the Holy Spirit comes to live within the person and guide him through the period of time until the earthly life ends and eternity begins.  "But if Christ is in you, the body is indeed dead on account of sin, but the Spirit is life on account of righteousness." — Romans 8:10 Berean Literal Bible

Experience

Frederick Buechner said, "It is not the objective proof of God's existence that we want but the experience of God's presence. That is the miracle we are really after, and that is also, I think, the miracle that we really get." Much like the relationship with our earthly parents, we are comforted when we understand our parents are close by and are interested in our activities. This is the basis of care and discipline; it is difficult to accept discipline from someone we think does not care for us. We accept God cares for us when we can perceive His presence. For Christians His presence is within us, the indwelling Holy Spirit. The Bible tells us how much He cares for us, and it speaks to us anytime we are ready to listen, for the Holy Spirit will reveal those teachings as we are able to accept them. One goal of the Holy Spirit is to mold us for the next location of our existence, heaven.

Never alone

Our physical existence may involve times when we feel alone, by ourselves, lacking personal confidence. This is a feeling the Christian never needs to experience because the Holy Spirit lives within us; we only need to allow Him to help guide us toward godly objectives. When we are distressed and reach out to God, we always have someone to go with us and help us. “And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God's own will.” Romans 8:27 (NLT)

Safety

Most people, men, women, and children want to feel “safe.” The challenge for self or others can be understanding from what exactly we want safety. The answer may be a combination of physical, verbal, emotional, or spiritual dangers. When one feels safe, they usually describe this as security or comfort. Comfort can be described as having someone to walk with you through whatever struggles you encounter; the Holy Spirit does this for those who accept Jesus as Savior. “I'm not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one.” John 17:15 (NLT)

Son of Man

Stanton said, "that Christ by this phrase represented Himself as the head, the type, the ideal of the race." others have siad, "on of man is an expression in the sayings of Jesus in Christian writings, including the Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles and the Book of Revelation." The meaning of the expression is controversial. Interpretation of the use of "the Son of man" in the New Testament has remained challenging and after 150 years of debate no consensus on the issue has emerged among scholars. The expression "the Son of man" occurs 81 times in the Greek text of the four Canonical gospels, and is used only in the sayings of Jesus.The occurrences of Son of man in the Synoptic gospels are generally categorized into three groups: (i) those that refer to his "coming" (as an exaltation); (ii) those that refer to "suffering" and (iii) those that refer to "now at work" i.e. referring to the earthly life. What of the Son of Man when Jesus departed? He is described as 'at' or near' in Rom. 8:34; as 'appointed' or 'set' in Eph. 1:20; 'sitting' in Col. 3:1; 'sat down' in Heb. 1:3. But, in Acts 7:56 at Stephen's stoning, He was observed as 'standing,' intensely interested in the ongoing events. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are intensely interested when humans suffer for upholding their desires. 

Mind control

Sometims it is difficult to control our minds. We are exposed to so many things that are not healthy for our spiritual lives. It is wise to stay away from areas which might increase the opportujity for evil observatons to occur, but it is likely we cannot sanitize our whole life. Our goal should be to replace these observa tons with godly thoughts and ask the Holy Spirit to help us be more holy; in this way we can combat mind control by evil. "The mind controlled by the sinful nature is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace." — Romans 8:6 (NIV)

Breath

During our physical lives, many people help train and guide us along the pathway. Mom and Dad are usually the first to do so. Later we may have others who provide leadership or are mentors. Generally someone is a large help for helping us becomew teh pwerson we are. A similar pathway exists in the spiritual realm. Someone may introduce us to Christ or helps us wade through those times of questioning. All the while, the Holy Spirit is prompting and prodding us to make a life changing decision. After the decision to follow Christ, the indwelling Spirit works to sanctify us, to make us into the person Christ wants us to be, to help us discover what life is really meant to be. "The Spirit of God has made me; the breath of the Almighty gives me life." JOB 33:4  (NIV)

Responsible

Many times people would like to chose that for which they are responsible. John Churtom Collins said, "We are no more responsible for the evil thoughts that pass through our minds than a scarecrow for the birds which fly over the seedplot he has to guard. The sole responsibility in each case is to prevent them from settling." Those thoughts and plans which settle are certainly our responsibility, as well as the actions that follow. If we fill our minds with God's word, the Holy Spirit is better able to mold our actions and future thoughts. "This is the covenant I will establish with the people of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people." Heb. 8:10 (NIV

Veil

The writings given to Moses were certainly timeless truth, however, only when a person put aside preconceived conclusions and was completely focused on God could they gain some level of undertanding. To those whom Paul addressed, the pathway was unclear and might be described as a veil, clouding clear visibility and thus understanding. Once Jesus was revealed and His sacrifice allowed the Holy Spirit to indwell people, God's intentions became clear for all believers. "Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. 16 But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate[a] the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. " — 2 Corinthians 3:15-18 (NIV)

Man

 Genesis tells us that God made man in His own image. There have been many opinins about what this really means. Some have offered other words sucy as "form," or "likeness." Certainly, Adam was a living being, much different from the other animals created because he had a spirit and soul. But how was Adam in Genesis an image of God? As believers in God, one must wait until the arrival of Jesus Christ for this answer. Jesus would say "I and teh Father are one." (Jn. 10:30) or "Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father." (Jn. 14:9). God has always been concerned about His creation and where their spirits will spend eternity. "The Scriptures tell us, "The first man, Adam, became a living person." But the last Adam — that is, Christ — is a life-giving Spirit. — 1 Corinthians 15:45 NLT

Foundation

One of the things that humans crave is acceptance by others. People in a group will participate in actions they would never do without encouragement from peers. Both genders will adorn themselves seeking the approval of others. Physical attraction must be considered as second to spiritual foundation. "And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, 22 and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee." — 2 Cor. 1:21-22 ASV