"He Who Raised Christ... Dwells in You."

"I ask for the desire to pray and meditate on behalf of my congregation.  My we learn patience, tolerance, compassion, empathy, and gentleness.  May we abstain from anger, anxiety, compulsive behaviour, discouragement, and shame.  May we know and follow Jesus more closely, seeking justice, loving kindness and walking humbly."


Romans 8:6-11
⁶To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit^* is life and peace. ⁷For this reason the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law—indeed it cannot, ⁸and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
9 But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit,^* since the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. ¹⁰But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit^* is life because of righteousness. ¹¹If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ^* from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through^* his Spirit that dwells in you.


1) "...life and peace;" "...you are in the spirit;" "...the Spirit of God dwells in you;" "...Christ is in you;" "...the spirit is life;" "...raised Christ from the dead;" "... life to your mortal bodies;" "...his Spirit that dwells in you;" "...set the mind on the spirit;" "...to set the mind on the spirit is life and peace;" "...you are in the spirit;" "...the Spirit of God dwells in you;"


2) awareness of the constant assertions that "the spirit of God dwells in you."  This is a base assumption of Paul's.  And that Spirit means life and peace.  It is easier said than done to "set the mind on the spirit."  It is so easy to get distracted by anger, anxiety, compulsive behaviour, discouragement, shame... But I do know from my own experience, life is easier when I trust God's presence, trust that the spirit of God dwells in all that is happening around me, especially when things are going in ways that are contrary to how I would have them.  As I reread the first verse: "To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace,"  I feel a sense of, "Yeah... duh... have you figured that out yet?"  Setting the mind on the spirit is no just a daily practice, but sometimes hour by hour and moment by moment, constantly another course correction to come back to center, come back to the core. 


3) What is the invitation in all this?  To keep returning to the heart.  To keep reminding myself, ourselves, to set the mind on the Spirit, to trust that it is there, and trust that by so doing, we will find life and peace. 


"Holy One, help us to trust in your indwelling, and to know you life and peace."


Breathprayer: "He who raised Christ... dwells in you."