Longing of the Soul

~~~ Romans 8:1-11 ~~~ Psalm 24 ~~~ Luke 13:1-9 ~~~

In reflecting on the words of Paul's letter to the Romans

 it was important to give you much of the text.

Allow his words to be addressed to you personally.

The concern of the spirit for you is life and peace.

Paul speaks harsh words to you who live only in the flesh.

He goes so far as to say if you are in the flesh you cannot please God.

Wow! Is it possible to have an inner balance

between the flesh and the spirit?

For those who live according to the flesh

are concerned with the things of the flesh,

but those who live according to the spirit

with the things of the spirit. 

The concern of the flesh is death,

but the concern of the spirit is life and peace.

For the concern of the flesh is hostility toward God;

it does not submit to the law of God, nor can it;

and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

But you are not in the flesh;

on the contrary, you are in the spirit,

if only the Spirit of God dwells in you.

Whoever does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.

But if Christ is in you,

although the body is dead because of sin,

the spirit is alive because of righteousness.

If the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you,

the one who raised Christ from the dead

will give life to your mortal bodies also,

through his Spirit that dwells in you.

The body may be dead but the Spirit of the one

 who raised Jesus from the dead dwells within you.

With this Spirit within, your mortal body 

will also be granted life.

Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.

It is the spirit planted within you that makes

 you yearn to see the face of the Lord.

The ache within your soul is this longing to see God.

The gardener love his fig tree...

He was willing to wait...to give the tree more time to be fruitful.

God is willing to wait for you to do whatever 

it takes to renounce the flesh.

God is willing to wait for you to realize 

the indwelling of the spirit.

It is through this holy spirit that we come

 to know and love Jesus at a deeper level.

The things of the flesh bring passing pleasures;

the spirit brings abundance fruitfulness to your soul.

Blessed to recognize it is the Spirit for which we yearn.

~~~Peace~~~