Romans 8:9-10

Faith opens doors.  Faith in Jesus opens the door to reconciliation with his father God.  As Christians, we know this and we have experienced that reconciliation.  We have experienced the joy of knowing that our relationship with God is righteous.  It is no longer I against the world; it is now God and I against the world.  Faith also opens the door to our heart, soul or life.  Faith in Christ gives the Holy Spirit permission to enter our life and live with us.  When the Holy Spirit enters our life, we leave the realm of flesh and are reborn in the realm of spirit.  If we do not have the Holy Spirit living within us, then we do not belong to Christ.  The Holy Spirit is the gift of God; the Holy Spirit is God’s gift of Himself.

The Holy Spirit living within us changes everything.  Because of sin, all of our bodies are subject to death, but the Holy Spirit is the bringer of life.  Our bodies still die, but who we are, our spirits will live forever.  The Holy Spirit, who resurrected our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead, will also give our mortal bodies life because he lives within us.  It is this promise, and our faith in it that allows Christians to stand beside a grave and experience sadness and joy at the same time.  We experience the sadness and loss of mortal death, at the same time we rejoice in the hope and the promise of eternal life.

The Holy Spirit does not tattoo “occupied “on our forehead, but we do not need an outward sign to prove his inner presence.  The scriptures tell us that his spirit bears witness with our spirit.  I do not know how to describe that, perhaps it is different for each person.  I do know that I experience his presence when I pray, in time of need and quiet. Our faith that believed in Christ, believes his Holy Spirit lives within us.