Your Neighbor Needs What You Have
The Spirit of Christ – Part 1

Scripture Reading: Romans 8:9-14

Key Verse:  Romans 8:9

You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.

I want to return to our foundational story for this entire month.  We know it by the title: The Good Samaritan.  The priest and Levite passed by the hurting man lying beside the road.  The Samaritan stopped and ministered to the needs of this man.  Jesus was making the point that our neighbor is anyone who is hurting and needing assistance!  The priest and Levite failed to have compassion and mercy, thus they hurried past the needy man, not wanting to get involved.

Can you see yourself getting too busy to stop to help a needy person?  Can you relate to the priest and Levite, not wanting or fearing to get involved?  We probably all can to some extent.  The good news is we who have received Jesus have received the Spirit of Jesus.  In our printed key verse we are reminded that anyone who has Christ in them has the Spirit.  The Spirit lives and works in our inner beings making us what we want to be and what God wants us to be!

In the next few days we are going to look at the fact that we have what our neighbor needs.  When we come face to face with a divine appointment, God has already determined that you have been prepared—by His Holy Spirit—to give what is needed!  God’s Spirit lives in you and He is our coach for all of life!

Father, I am so blessed to have Jesus as my Savior.  I am grateful for the Spirit of Christ that prepares me for today’s events.  In Jesus’ name, amen.