The God Who Indwells Us

~ For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” ~ Romans 8:14-15 ~

I Dared to Call Him Father is the title of a book and the fascinating true story of Bilquis Sheikh, a prominent Muslim woman. Her unusual journey to a personal relationship with God turned her world upside down-and put her life in danger.  You see, Bilquis Sheikh was a Muslim until she came face to face with Jesus Christ and experienced what Christians throughout history have come to experience; the indwelling of the God’s  Holy Spirit. Those people, who from all walks of life, from all around the world, those who have come in contact with the risen savior Jesus Christ and who have turned from their sins and have truly surrendered their lives to Him, have received the gift of the Holy Spirit of God. When this happens we become His children, He becomes our God and it becomes as natural as can be for us to call Him father.

To Muslims this is blasphemy and to other religions it is incomprehensible. Indeed, Christianity is alone in the claim that the spirit of the living God comes to dwell within His creation. But the consider what the bible says:

“…..He (Jesus) came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.” ~ Ephesians 2:17-22 ~

You see, the bible says that the whole world is under a curse because of our sin.  Because of our sins we are enemies of God in our natural state. We have transgressed the holy laws of God and He has turned us over to our wickedness. In essence, he is giving us what we want, and that is to live our lives the way we want to apart from Him.

But when we turn to Christ we turn to the Living God. He has paid the price for our sins on the cross and He  adopts us as His children and sets us free from the bondage of those sins.  He becomes our father and we become His children.

1 John 3:1-3 says: “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.”

I remember when He filled me with His Holy Spirit and I finally knew that I was His and He was mine!! It felt so natural to call Him father! To talk to Him and pour out my heart to Him. Sin was no longer my master; He was. What a wonderful feeling to know that the God of all creation heard and answered little old Michael Buckley’s prayer and blessed me with His spirit and eternal life!

Friends, if He will do it for me then He will do it for you also. He stands at the door and knocks and waits for you to turn to Him so that He may come and indwell you. He waits as an adoptive loving parent to be your father and for you to be His child. Turn to Christ dear ones, You will never regret it!

“Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba”, Father.” ~ Galatians 4:6 ~