SPIRIT LIFE GO DEEPER. Spirit-Led Living. Your Guide for. DARE TO RADICALLY LIVE OUT YOUR FAITH through Prayer and Reflection. Volume 1 $9.

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1 LIFE In in the SPIRIT Your Guide for Spirit-Led Living GO DEEPER DARE TO RADICALLY LIVE OUT YOUR FAITH through Prayer and Reflection Volume 1 $9.99 CHARISMAMAG.COM 1

2 LIFE in the SPIRIT Contents and Features: LOVE MERCY FORGIVENESS LIFE.CHARISMAMAG.COM 3 INTRODUCING LIFE IN THE SPIRIT 4-5 BIBLE READING PLAN READ THROUGH THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR 6-17 HOLY SPIRIT GOD SPEAKS LOVE MERCY FORGIVENESS DAYS WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT GREAT CHRISTIAN RESOURCES GO DEEPER Life in the Spirit is a product of Charisma Media copyright Articles and materials are adopted from Charisma Media s print and online magazines. Charisma (charismamag.com), Charisma News (charismanews.com), Ministry Today (ministrytodaymag.com), SpiritLed Woman (spiritledwoman. com), and New Man (newmanmag.com). Cover and interior design by DIGG. Material used may not be reprinted without permission. Unless otherwise noted, Bible Scripture is quoted from the Modern English Version (MEV). copyright 2015 Military Bible Association. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Published and distributed by Passio (mevbible.com).

3 BIBLE READING PLAN ONE YEAR One Year Bible Reading Plan JANUARY FEBRUARY GENESIS 1 EXODUS 26 MATTHEW 1 MATTHEW 21 EXODUS 27 NUMBERS 19 MATTHEW 22 MARK 6 MARCH NUMBERS 20 JUDGES 12 MARK 7 LUKE 6 APRIL MAY JUNE JULY AUGUST JUDGES 13 1 KINGS 9 LUKE 7 LUKE 21 1 KINGS 10 2 CHRONICLES 14 LUKE 22 JOHN 12 2 CHRONICLES 15 JOB 19 JOHN 13 ACTS 10 JOB 20 PSALM 56 ACTS 11 ROMAN 3 PSALM 57 PSALM 134 ROMANS 4 1 CORINTHIANS 11 SEPTEMBER PSALM 135 ISAIAH 10 1 CORINTHIANS 12 EPHESIANS 3 OCTOBER ISAIAH 11 JEREMIAH 23 EPHESIANS 4 TITUS 1 NOVEMBER JEREMIAH 24 EZEKIEL 39 TITUS 2 2 PETER 2 DECEMBER EZEKIEL 40 MALACHI 4 2 PETER 3 REVELATION 22 4 LIFE.CHARISMAMAG.COM

4 Who Is the HOLY SPIRIT? Joyce Meyer I m sure most of us can remember Saturday morning cartoons or comic books filled with superheroes. These defenders of humanity were very strong and always showed up in the nick of time ready to save the day! How exciting! But real life isn t at all like the cartoons, is it? Life is more serious than a comic book. And often it might feel like we have no one to help us in hard times. However, as Christians, we do. We have the extraordinary, supernatural power of the Holy Spirit available to us each and every day of our lives. When we accepted Christ as our Savior, the Holy Spirit came to dwell on the inside of us. You could say that God gave us each a piece of Himself. 6 LIFE.CHARISMAMAG.COM

5 Depositphotos.com/ rolffimages That means a lot more than we can imagine, because He brought with Him all the power, the peace and the presence of God. He came to live in us and have constant fellowship with us. Jesus told His disciples in John 16:7-8, I am telling you nothing but the truth when I say it is profitable (good, expedient, advantageous) for you that I go away. Because if I do not go away, the Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Advocate, Intercessor, Strengthener, Standby) will not come to you [into close fellowship with you]; but if I go away, I will send Him to you [to be in close fellowship with you] (AMP). What they didn t understand at first was that Jesus was with them, but the Holy Spirit would come to live in them. He is the same Holy Spirit Comforter, Counselor, Helper, Advocate, Intercessor, Strengthener and Standby Who lives in us today! And all of His authority, strength, comfort, creativity and help are available to us as we need it. All we have to do is ask. He s the real-life Superhero Who doesn t just show up in the nick of time, but He is always there! And He is available to help you right now. DO YOU NEED A COMFORTER? In 2 Corinthians 1:3, He is called the God of all comfort. And He cares about everything that we care about. When we are hurting, many times we will look to other people to help us feel better and often, we find they don t have everything we need. But the Holy Spirit, who dwells on the inside of us, knows us better than anyone else, so when we are hurting, He knows exactly how to bring the strength, healing and comfort we need. He will often use other people to comfort us, but we need to learn how to turn to Him first. MAYBE YOU NEED A COUNSELOR How many times have you run to the phone when you needed advice? When you have a problem, who do you tell your troubles to? People can only help you to the degree that God enables them to help you. But, it is amazing what can happen when we ask the Holy Spirit for answers to our problems. Now, I m not saying don t ever ask people for advice. The Bible tells us there is safety in seeking wise counsel. But if we seek the Holy Spirit first, He will guide us, whether by giving us the answer directly or leading us to the right counsel. DO YOU NEED THE HELPER? He wants to help us with every single detail of our lives. I know for years, I felt like it was okay to come to Him with my serious problems while I didn t want to bother Him with small things. But the truth is it doesn t matter whether it s a serious issue, such as conflict in a relationship, or something as simple as fixing your hair in the CHARISMAMAG.COM 7

6 morning. God is bigger than any of our problems and He cares about everything that concerns us. I think the most spiritual prayer we can pray sometimes is simply, Help me, Lord! HOW ABOUT AN ADVCATE OR INTERCESSOR? The Holy Spirit prays for us and through us. The Bible says He not only intercedes on our behalf to the Father, but He also helps us to pray when we don t know how or what to pray (see Romans 8:26). And as our advocate, He is always ready to stand with us or to defend us. No matter what, He is always on our side! PERHAPS YOU COULD DRAW ON THE STRENGTHENER It s the strength of the Holy Spirit that enables us to do whatever we need to do in life. I never start my day without asking Him to strengthen me physically, mentally and every other way. Because no matter how strong, talented or capable we think we are, every single one of us needs God s strength to accomplish His will in our lives. HE WILL ALWAYS BE YOUR STANDBY If you ve ever been on standby status for an airline flight, you know it means you have to wait for an open seat to become available. When that opening comes, you can board the plane. In much the same way, the Holy Spirit waits patiently for us to seek His comfort, counsel and strength. The moment we ask for His help, He is always ready to step in. This life is so unpredictable, who wouldn t want the ability to live victoriously? If you are born again, the Holy Spirit is in you. He wants to enable you to live your life to the fullest. He knows exactly what you need and when you need it, and He is always ready and willing to help. It doesn t bother Him in the least if you ask for His help a thousand times a day. He knows you better than anyone, and if you let Him, He will lead and guide you according to His perfect plan for your life! JOYCE MEYER is a New York Times best-selling author and founder of Joyce Meyer Ministries Inc. She has authored more than 100 books, including Battlefield of the Mind and Get Your Hopes Up! (Hachette). She hosts the Enjoying Everyday Life radio and TV programs, which air on hundreds of stations worldwide. For more information, visit joycemeyer.org. D 8 LIFE.CHARISMAMAG.COM

7 eclarations Nevertheless I tell you the truth: It is expedient for you that I go away. For if I do not go away, the Counselor will not come to you. But if I go, I will send Him to you. John 16:7 Declare these truths about the HOLY SPIRIT You are my Counselor; You teach me everything and remind me of God s Word. John 14:16 You are my Comforter. When this world presses in on me, You comfort me in all my troubles. Teach me how to comfort others as they face troubles of their own. 2 Corinthians 1:3-7 You are my Helper, I will not be afraid. You will never leave me nor forsake me. I can trust You completely. Hebrews 13:5-6 You are my Strength. All of the power I receive comes from you. You help me to fulfill the calling on my life. Acts 1:8; Ephesians 3:16 You are my Advocate and Intercessor. You always defend me and stand with me. When I m not sure how to pray, You pray with me and intercede on my behalf. 1 John 2; Romans 8:26 CHARISMAMAG.COM 9

8 A LOVE THAT HURTS OR DO YOU UNKNOWINGLY REJECT GOD? GOD DOESN T NEED US YET DESPERATELY WANTS US. WHY, THEN, DO WE WHO NEED HIM OFTEN NOT WANT HIM IN RETURN? 26 LIFE.CHARISMAMAG.COM FRANCIS CHAN Depositphotos.com/Flik47

9 LOVE Iwas taught the song Jesus Loves Me as a young child: Jesus loves me, this I know. Even if you didn t grow up in a church, you probably know how it ends: For the Bible tells me so. If you ve spent any time in church, you ve heard expressed, in some form or another, the idea that God loves us. I believed this for years because, as the song puts it, the Bible tells me so. The only problem is that it was a concept I was taught, not something I implicitly knew to be true. For years I got God s love in my head, checked the right answer on the what God is like test, but didn t fully understand it with my heart. I don t think I m the only person who has misunderstood God s love. Most of us, to some degree, have a difficult time understanding, believing, or accepting God s absolute and unlimited love for us. The reasons we don t receive, trust, or see His love vary from one person to the next, but we all miss out because of it. For me, it had much to do with my relationship with my own father. A FATHER S EXAMPLE The concept of being wanted by a father was foreign to me. Growing up, I felt unwanted by my dad. My mother died giving birth to me, so maybe he saw me as the cause of CHARISMAMAG.COM 27

10 (UN) TAINTED LOVE 30 LIFE.CHARISMAMAG.COM GOD ISN T LOOKING FOR PERFORMANCE BUT KARI JOBE Why God isn t looking for performance but for true worship in response to His love Pure and love are not two words that we often put together. Maybe it s because most of the love we experience is anything but pure. As flawed people, we rarely love without somewhat tainted motives. We all have probably loved someone because we wanted something from them, and I m sure we ve all been loved because someone only wanted something out of or from us. We often feel we have to earn someone s love by training ourselves to give them what they want. Unfortunately, this kind of love isn t pure at all, and it doesn t come close to reflecting God s true heart. But we re so used to performing and trying to impress the people we want to love us that we treat God the same way. We go around and around in circles trying to make Him happy without ever stopping to consider that maybe His love is really, truly pure without any selfish or deceptive motive. Maybe God doesn t want anything from us except us. I love the story of Mary and Martha because it perfectly capture s God s pure love. Martha worked so hard to get every little detail right for Jesus. I think that, whether she realized it or not, she was trying to impress Him and earn His love. She thought He cared about how perfect, clean and comfortable His visit to her home would be. She didn t realize that His love was so pure that the only thing He wanted was to spend time with her and her sister. Because Martha thought His love was impure, her response of love back to Him was impure. It was all about performance. Mary, on the other hand, understood His deep, pure love for her. Her loving response of sitting at the feet of Jesus and spending time with Him came from a heart that had grasped His pure love for her. I am a worshiper and a worship leader because I believe worship is an expression of honesty between our hearts and Depositphotos.com/nejron

11 FOR TRUE WORSHIP God s. It s an exchange of pure love. We receive and experience His love for us and cannot help but give it back to Him. I do wonder sometimes, though, if we view our worship the way Martha viewed her housework. Do we ever worship God like we re trying to impress Him? It s easy to fall into the trap of thinking that our worship has to be just right before God will meet with us. But when we worship this way, it can become about formula. It can lead us to idolize our songs and to focus too much on what we re singing and how things sound, all without a real heart connection. Don t get me wrong, I love worship songs, and I definitely have my favorites, but I want to make sure I really mean the things I sing and that my worship is just not a formulaic effort to win His love. In John 4:23, Jesus says, The hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. This verse tells me that God wants our love and our worship toward Him to be pure. I don t know about you, but when I m striving and stressing to impress someone and make them love me, well, that s not really love; it s performance, and it s not exactly what I would call pure. THE LORD WANTS OUR HONESTY AND TRUTH. HE WANTS OUR HEARTS AND SPIRITS TO BE COMPLETELY CONNECTED TO WHAT OUR MOUTHS ARE SAYING TO HIM AND SINGING TO HIM. HE WANTS OUR PURE WORSHIP. The only way for our worship to truly be pure is for us to receive His pure love for us. We must realize that no matter what, He loves us. His love is completely pure. He does not love us because we can give anything to Him or do Him any service. He loves us without an ulterior motive. He simply loves us for us and wants us to know Him and experience that love. We can t earn His love because He s already given it to us! That s absolutely incredible to me and makes me want to worship Him and give Him all of my love. When we focus on how good He is and on everything He has done for us, then we can, like Mary, focus on spending time with Him rather than just doing things for Him. We can hear Him, listen to Him and experience His affection for us. Only then can we respond in worship to the Lord and exalt who He is over every other name and every other circumstance, giving Him our pure love as we receive His. KARI JOBE is a Dove Award-winning artist and was nominated for a Grammy for her album, Where I Find You. She is a worship pastor at Gateway Church in Southlake, Texas. Visit karijobe.com for more information. CHARISMAMAG.COM 31

12 eflections on... LOVE suffers long and is kind; LOVE envies not; LOVE flaunts not itself and is not puffed up, does not behave itself improperly, seeks not its own, is not easily provoked, thinks no evil; rejoices not in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things. LOVE NEVER FAILS 1 Corinthians 13: LIFE.CHARISMAMAG.COM Depositphotos.com/ rudavin

13 How has God shown you His unfailing love? How can you extend that same love to others? My personal reflections from my time with God CHARISMAMAG.COM 37

14 Reflection of the FATHER BILL JOHNSON THE GREATEST REVELATION OF GOD HIMSELF IS IN THE FACE OF HIS SON. John the Baptist was the forerunner of Jesus Christ. He lived before the face of God the ultimate place of favor and responsibility. Others in Scripture had more dramatic experiences with God and did greater exploits, but no prophet ever bore the responsibility that was given to him. 38 LIFE.CHARISMAMAG.COM

15 Depositphotos.com/vjanez John had an unusual grace for recognizing the presence of God, even before he was born. When Mary was pregnant with Jesus, she walked into a room to visit Elizabeth, who was pregnant with John. When Mary s greeting reached Elizabeth s ears, John leaped for joy while still in her womb. Amazing even before he was born, John was able to sense God s presence. And when the essence of Mary s words reached his undefiled heart, he rejoiced! Then Elizabeth, his mother, was filled with the Holy Spirit, enabling her to become a good steward of the gift that God had given her son until the time that he was able to watch over it himself. John s assignment was to walk before the face of God and prepare the way for the face of God to be revealed for all to see. This was the moment that all the prophets before Him had longed to see. WHAT IS GOD LIKE? When we realize that John lived before the face of God and that this face was revealed in Jesus Christ, the question that needs to be asked is, what did this face look like? What was the nature of God that Christ revealed? If I had to pick one word to describe the nature of God revealed in Christ, it is that He is good... always. Though most believers hold this belief as a theological value, they struggle in light of the difficulties all around them. Some will say God is mysteriously good, which is about the same as saying He s good, but not as we think of goodness. This response doesn t help to clear up the confusion over the nature of God. One of the most important features of the gospel message is that the nature of the Father is perfectly seen in Jesus Christ. Jesus was a manifestation of the Father s nature. Whatever is thought to be in conflict between the Father in the Old Testament and the Son in the New Testament is in fact wrong. All inconsistencies in the revelation of the nature of God between the Old and New Testaments are cleared up in Jesus Christ. Jesus demonstrated the Father in everything He did. According to Hebrews 1:3-4, Jesus is perfect theology: And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification CHARISMAMAG.COM 39

16 KEEP NO RECORD OF WRONGS Ireceived a heartrending letter from a couple who had heard me teach on the subject of total forgiveness a few years ago. They told me what their son-in-law had done to their daughter and grandchildren. It was an awful story. Are you saying we must totally forgive our son-in-law? they asked. That was a hard question to answer. But I had to tell them the truth: Yes, they must learn to forgive. My heart went out to them. I can only imagine the pain they have experienced. But total forgiveness is the only way they will ever find freedom and release from the offense. R. T. Kendall THOUGH SEEMINGLY IMPOSSIBLE, YOU CAN FORGIVE COMPLETE- LY AND FINALLY LET GO OF THE PAST I have received many other letters that describe everything from infidelity to incest to rape to lying and slander. It is enough to make me consider very carefully indeed what I preach and write. People experience real pain when they or someone they love is hurt by another person. It is often harder to forgive when the one who has been hurt is someone you love deeply, especially your child. I find it much easier to forgive what people have said or done to me personally than what they say or do to my children. It is not unlike Corrie ten Boom s having to forgive the prison guard who was so cruel to her sister Betsie. Corrie saw this man viciously abuse her sister who died shortly afterward when both of them were in prison for protecting Jews in Holland during World War II. Years later, Corrie was seated on the platform of a church, preparing to speak in a service, when she spotted this very man in the audience. 56 LIFE.CHARISMAMAG.COM

17 Depositphotos.com/Dubova She struggled in her heart. She prayed in desperation for God to fill her heart with the love of Jesus. He did, but forgiveness became even more of a challenge when, after the service, this guard rather glibly said, in so many words, how good God is to forgive all of us. She wondered how sorry he was. It is often easier, then, it seems to me, to forgive what is done to us personally than what is done to those we love. But it is still very hard to forgive those who have hurt us directly, especially when they do not feel the slightest twinge of conscience. If our offender would put on at least some symbolic show of repentance, it would be much easier for us to forgive them. LOVE DOESN T KEEP SCORE Love is a choice. It is an act of the will. The great love chapter of the Bible, 1 Corinthians 13, is a perfect demonstration of the cause and effect of total forgiveness. The apex of this wonderful passage is the phrase found in verse 5: Love keeps no record of wrongs (NIV). The Greek word that is translated as no record is logizomai, which means to not reckon or impute. Keeping a record of wrongs is also an act of the will a choice not to love and it is the more natural, easy choice. A key to letting go of the record of wrongs and achieving total forgiveness lies in the control of the CHARISMAMAG.COM 57

18 HOLY SPIRIT JENNIFER LECLAIRE Jesus realized that, without the Holy Spirit, His followers including us would not be able to fulfill God s call on their lives. So He sent the Holy Spirit to be our Helper, Teacher, Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor, Strengthener, Standby, Revealer of truth and the One who empowers us. He does so much for us! Developing a relationship with the Holy Spirit is crucial for those who desire to discover and fulfill God s will for their lives. Yet the truth is that many Christians are on fire for God and love Jesus with all their hearts, minds souls and strength, but they remain less familiar with the Holy Spirit. Some long to fellowship with the Spirit of God and hear His still, small voice but don t know how or don t believe they can. The following is a 14-day devotional guide to start you on a journey to knowing the Holy Spirit more intimately. Each devotional contains prophetic words the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart day to day as I spent time with Him. I pray that they also speak to your heart, stir your faith and cause you to press in to hear the Spirit of God for yourself. 64 LIFE.CHARISMAMAG.COM

19 14-DAYS with the HOLY SPIRIT DAY 1 DETERMINE TO FOLLOW YOUR DESIRES Determine to follow your desires, for I have placed those desires in your heart as you have delighted yourself in Father. As you continue to seek first the kingdom and Our righteousness, I will direct your steps on a lighted path that will take you where We both want you to go. Apart from Christ you can do nothing, but you are not apart from Christ. You are in Christ, and He is in you. If you determine to reach His high calling for you and lean and depend on Me to guide you, nothing shall by any means stop you. SCRIPTURE: Psalm 37:4 Delight yourself in the LORD, and He will give you the desires of your heart. Matthew 6:33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be given to you. Depositphotos.com/ suemack, shotsstudio and shirophoto Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. PRAYER: Thank You for Your faithfulness to the dreams You have put in my heart. Give me a determined heart that will not turn to the right or to the left. Help me to stay focused on Your perfect will for me this day and every day. 14-Days devotional adapted from Mornings with the Holy Spirit by Jennifer LeClaire. Available where books are sold or visit charismahouse.com. CHARISMAMAG.COM 65

20 LIFE in the SPIRIT DAY 2 I LOVE TO HEAR YOU PRAY Ilove to hear your voice in prayer every morning when you awake. It s one of My favorite parts of the day. When you awake and begin declaring your love for Us, it moves Our heart. When you inquire of Me, it is My pleasure to answer. When you speak to My heart, it is My joy to speak back to yours. I hear your voice even when the hectic pace of life makes it difficult for you to hear Mine. So keep lifting your voice to Father in prayer. Keep telling Me about your struggles, fears, dreams and victories. I m listening. SCRIPTURE: Psalm 63:1 O God, You are my God; early will I seek You; my soul thirsts for You, my flesh faints for You, in a dry and thirsty land with no water. Psalm 27:4 One thing I have asked from the LORD, that will I seek after for me to dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to see the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in His temple. Psalm 34:15 The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry. PRAYER: Remind me to begin each day praising Your name and lifting up my petitions to Father s throne and help me, because I do not know how to pray as I ought. I trust in You to help me touch Father s heart in prayer. 66 LIFE.CHARISMAMAG.COM

21 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly beyond all that we ask or imagine, according to the power that works in us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. Ephesians 3:20 Modern English Version (MEV) LIFE in the SPIRIT life.charismamag.com