This month I am sharing an article rather than writing one because it expresses many things I’ve been thinking lately… Hope is is as helpful to you as it has been to me

You can find the original post here.

The Dramatic Difference Between “The Good Christian Life” and Spirit-Filled Transformation by Scott Wilson

There’s a difference between living a “good Christian life” and allowing the Spirit of God to transform you from the inside out. The difference is not a small difference, but a drastic one.

As Galatians 5:22 suggests, this is difference between a life full of the fruits of the spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, etc.) and a life full of the fruits of the flesh (greed, resentment, bitterness, arguing and competition).

Here are five pieces of evidence that the Holy Spirit has control of your life.

1. The Spirit will make you passionate about worship and prayer.

I’m not passionate about praying and worshipping because I am a quiet introvert who loves to meditate and reflect on nothingness. Not even close!

I’m passionate about prayer because I know I’m having a real conversation with a real God, who loves me and hears me, and the more I allow the Spirit to rule my life, the more satisfying that experience becomes.

This week, while I was praying, God told me to send a verse to a friend of mine, to remind her God hears her prayers. She wrote me later to tell me how she had really been struggling with this—wondering if God was hearing her. Sometimes she wondered if God even loved her.

When I sent her the verse, she thought: “How did you know?” But the truth is I didn’t know.

God knew. And when we pray, worship and draw close to Him, His Spirit begins to lead through us.

2. The Spirit will make us hungry for the word of God.

The Bible is living and active. It’s a supernatural book, and it really does speak to you—like the verse that seemed like such a perfect fit for my friend, it seemed as if God was speaking right to her. He was!

When the Spirit is alive and active in you, you will feel compelled by God’s Word.

Falling in love with the Scripture isn’t about a passion or hunger for reading or even just learning. It’s about knowing God. John 1 describes Jesus as the living Word.

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth … . No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known. (John 1:14, 18 NIV)

As you read the Bible, words jump off the page and you know God is speaking to you directly from that passage. 

3. The Spirit gives us a deeper love for one another.

If you say you are a believer in Jesus, filled with his Spirit, then we should be able to see it in your relationships. If you belong to him, you will love others with a deep and sincere love.

“Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.” (1 John 4:7, 8 NIV)

Do you wake up thinking about what others should do for you? That’s fleshly thinking. When the Spirit is motivating your thoughts, you will wake up wondering: How can I serve? How can I help? What gift do I have to offer?

When we all get that kind of attitude, God will bring a revival like we’ve never seen before.

4. The Spirit makes us a fearless and compassionate witness for Jesus.

Yesterday, I was at the car lot, and while I thought I would only be there for a few hours, I ended up being there for nearly four hours. While I was in the process of buying the car, the financial guy asked me, “Hey, I see you are a pastor … can I ask you how you hear from God?”

We talked for a long time, and finally I felt like I was supposed to pray for him, so I did. When I finished, he looked up, took a deep breath and had tears coming out of his eyes.

I don’t say any of this to brag, but only to demonstrate how when you are willing to surrender to the leading of the Spirit in your life, sharing your faith becomes common practice.

I didn’t have to do anything specific or spectacular. But the moment was supernatural.

How many of you want that—you want to receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit so you can have the power to be a witness in the world?

5. The Spirit makes us selfless and generous people who are eager to give.

Generosity really comes out of our trust in God. If we trust that God really is El Shaddai, the all-sufficient provider of all I need, I can submit to His rule and reign and love people around me knowing that he is going to take care of the rest.

“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow … .” (Matthew 6:33, 34 NIV)

When we are fully submitted to the Spirit of God, we give generously, not only in tithe, but to those around us who are in need.

Whatever it takes…
We will touch God, even breathe God…
We will be family loving deeply…
We will follow Christ serving recklessly…
Our vision at Country Hills Church encourages us to live out our faith as individuals and as a church family by:

Being in a dependent relationship with God where we breathe God – He is the very air we breathe giving us life, and He is so tangible and real to us that it’s like we can touch Him.
Being a loving and relational church family that is engaged in loving one another and loving others who are not yet following Jesus or connected to our church family.
Serving others with reckless abandon, being known for how we bless, love, and serve others as Jesus did.