Day Two Romans 8:9-17 A Life Controlled by the Spirit
Pray: Invite God into your time and ask Him to speak to you, then read the passage.
9But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.)10And Christ lives within you, so even though your body will die because of sin, the Spirit gives you life because you have been made right with God.11The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you. 12Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do.13For if you live by its dictates, you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live.14For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. 15So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children.Now we call him, “Abba, Father.”16For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children.17And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering. – Romans 8:9-17 (NLT)
Discover: Use the Discover section of your Recalibrate journal to write down your answers to the following observation and interpretation questions.
- List out the many benefits for those who have the Spirit.
- What kind of power do we have over sin (verses 11-13)?
- Who is a child of God and what do they receive (verses 14-17)?
Respond: Use the Respond section of your Recalibrate journal to answer the following application prompts.
- What does this passage teach me about God?
- How does this aspect of His character change my view of self and others?
- What should I do in response and when?
For Further Reading
The Baffling Paradox of the Christian Life – the ability to sin and not to sin
For Families with Kids at Home:
Wouldn’t it be cool to have Jesus walk with us wherever we go? Jesus, however, tells us there is someone even better to have with us: the Holy Spirit! As a human, Jesus could only ever be with a few people at a time. But the Holy Spirit is the presence of God with each of us, all the time! The Holy Spirit encourages us, guides us, helps us to know the right thing and then do it, makes us brave, and so much more! Take time today to explain who the Holy Spirit is to your kids and the power He has to offer. As Paul says in verse 11, the same life-giving Holy Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead is available to each of us!
*If you don't have a Recalibrate journal, you can use any journal available to you to write down your responses.
**TPCC does not necessarily endorse all For Further Reading/Learning sources. They are simply meant to be a helpful tool.