Joy is one expression of the life of Jesus growing within us. What exactly is joy? It’s deep, not surface level. It is permanent, not circumstantial. It’s a settled confidence, not a mood. It’s a spiritual strength, not a changing emotion.

And this joy, according to Nehemiah 8:10, is the source of your strength.

Joy is supernatural, not natural. The source of joy is God – not a personality type, not positive thinking patterns. No, joy is the result of God’s Holy Spirit dwelling within you. The closer we remain to Jesus, the more joy grows in our lives. Not by force, not by will, but by connection.

The world searches for joy through outside sources. We look in relationships, and we’re left disappointed. We strive for success, and we’re left stressed. We think joy is found in having money, then we realize we always want more. We look to entertainment and we’re left empty. We think joy is found on vacation, then the vacation ends and it’s back to regular life and where’s the joy in that? None. Joy is not found out here. So where is joy found?

Psalm 16:11 tells us where joy is and it’s very clear. “In your presence, Lord, there is fullness of joy.” And because the Holy Spirit within us is the literal presence of God, we are carrying the SOURCE of JOY. It’s not out here in anything external, created or strived for, it’s right inside of us. It’s God in us! He is our source of joy. This is why it’s possible to have joy wherever we go, whatever we go through, regardless of circumstances – we carry the joy with us. We have the SOURCE – that is the presence of God.

There’s a difference between happiness and joy. Some times are simply not happy times. Some times we hurt, some times we grieve. And yet joy remains. How is that possible? Joy depends on one thing – God within you. And guess what, he’s not leaving! So joy is always present regardless of the season or the circumstance. Happiness depends on what happens. Happiness changes hourly. But joy abides and survives tragedy.

Even on the cross, Jesus was filled with joy. Even in agony, joy was within. Hebrews 12:2, “For the joy set before him he endured the cross.” With eyes set on the joy of fulfilling his purpose and completing his mission of saving YOU, he endured and he remained. He held the perfect power to take himself down from that cross at any moment, yet he remained, and he remained with the joy of knowing God’s goodness through it all.

Jesus shows us how to endure, how to suffer, how to go through the very hardest of times. He doesn’t run. He doesn’t hide. He doesn’t try to change it. He endures it with joy set before him. God was right there with him, therefore he had supernatural joy to stay in the moment and fulfill his purpose.

That’s what the Holy Spirit does in our lives – He helps us look forward knowing this is temporary and eternal promises are ahead. The Holy Spirit reminds us of God’s good plans and his perfect track record of fulfilling them.

Joy is not the absence of sorrow – sometimes sorry and joy are present at the same time. The Holy Spirit teaches us to hold grief in one hand while still holding joy in the other. Here’s the truth, at any given moment, someone is having the absolute best day of their life. At that same moment, someone else is experiencing the absolute worst day of their life. And here we are in the middle of it all. What do we do with that? With the power of the Holy Spirit, we faithfully hold both.

Last weekend at retreat, in the middle of all our fun, all our happiness, all our games, all our laughter, one of our BIG Life girls received the phone call that changed absolutely everything for her. Her husband had just died at home. He was gone and she was states away there with us. Oh the grief that overtook her. The pain that was palpable in the room. We fell to our knees with no words, only breathing out the name of YAHWEH.

And let me tell you from that experience, I see how when life hits that hard, you want to be surrounded by people like that! You want your army of girls who can lay on the floor with you, then help pick you back up. You want your people who can pray with you and walk with you.

Once we had her fully cared for and being escorted by the right girls back home, we were left in a house that had just held so much sorrow. What do you do after that? How do you salvage a weekend retreat when tragedy has hit for one among you? Well my friends, JOY IS STILL THERE. We had ourselves a real life lesson of holding grief in one hand and joy in the other.

What did we do? We lived. We allowed God’s joy to well up from within us and we intentionally chose to create memories. The weekend was not wasted.

That’s the reality we live in. If we’re waiting for perfect moments where everyone and everything is all good, then we spend our whole lives waiting while life passes by. We can hold grief with one hand and joy with the other. Jesus showed us how on the cross.

2 Corinthians 6:10, “Our hearts ache, but we always have joy.” We grieve with hope. We cry with confidence. We hurt without despair. The Holy Spirit gives joy that coexists with tears.

The Spirit gives joy that coexists with tears.

There’s this strange little verse in the Bible that sometimes doesn’t make sense – James 1:2, “When troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.” This isn’t a command to enjoy suffering – this is a reminder that we can rejoice because we KNOW God is accomplishing something through whatever we go through. We can set our eyes on the joy ahead, just as Jesus did. God is doing something good. We can trust that always.

Whatever you may be going through, joy can grow here. Joy grows whenever eternity becomes more real than temporary pain. That’s how the Holy Spirit constantly lifts our eyes upward. There’s so much more than what we see and know here – we can count on that! And when we live in that awareness, joy grows.

The joy of the Holy Spirit is not shallow optimism or denial of hardship. It is the settled delight that comes from knowing God, trusting His character, walking in His presence, and seeing life through the lens of eternity. As you abide in Christ and yield to the Spirit, this joy is not something you force—it becomes something the Spirit steadily grows within you, enabling you to rejoice even when circumstances remain unchanged.

Follow Pamela on Instagram – https://instagram.com/headmamapamela
Or Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/pamela.crim
Find out more about BIG Life – http://biglifehq.com

Galatians 5:22, “But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: LOVE …”

God isn’t asking us to manufacture love. This isn’t about trying harder. God invites us to connect with him and grow in him, and as we abide in him, his love naturally flows through us.

Jesus says “Apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5) This is why some people are incapable of loving well or loving at all – they don’t have the love of Jesus flowing through them. It’s like expecting the limb of the apple tree lying on the ground to keep producing apples. Of course it can’t – it’s disconnected from it’s source of life so no fruit will grow. When we are detached from our source, we are incapable of loving well. We don’t need more effort, we need more connection to our source.

Every detail of God’s word is specific. The order here is important. Love comes first on the list of fruits because every other fruit grows out of love. Think about it:
Joy is love rejoicing.
Peace is love resting.
Patience is love enduring.
Kindness is love serving.
Goodness is love acting.
Faithfulness is love staying.
Gentleness is love responding.
Self-control is love choosing.

Love is the root. The other fruits are expressions of it. So doesn’t it make sense that the enemy goes to work on our ability to love and be loved? If he takes away our love, he takes away every other fruit in our lives. For this reason, love in this world gets twisted. It becomes lust. It becomes self-serving. It becomes pain. Love is like the weapon taken right out of our hands and pointed at us by the enemy of our soul to destroy us.

Loving like Jesus will defeat the enemy, but when that love is turned on us and twisted, the enemy nearly destroys us.

If you watched the news at all yesterday, you likely saw a man and woman dressed in black illegally climb the Empire State Building yesterday. On the very top of the building, towering 1400 feet above New York City, they flew a flag that boldly proclaimed, “WHEN THE POWER OF LOVE BEATS THE LOVE OF POWER, THE WORLD KNOWS PEACE.” So true – but only when we remember this – 1 John 4:8, “GOD IS LOVE.”

Love can get twisted, God cannot. God is strong and steady throughout the history of the universe. He is the same today, tomorrow and forever. His love is pure, and when his pure love flows through us, the world is radically changed.

When God literally lives in us through his Holy Spirit, our nature is changed. We become a vessel of his love and it flows so naturally.

Jesus teaches us that he is the vine and we are the branch. We aren’t created to survive without him. We aren’t created to grow without him. And we’re certainly not created to produce any type of goodness in our lives without him. Jesus says, “ABIDE IN ME.” (John 15:4) This means stay connected. Stop trying to do this on your own. Stop seeking the answer somewhere else. Fruit will grow because we stay connected to the vine of Jesus. Our job is abiding. God’s job is producing fruit.

Have you been trying to produce fruit and will yourself into loving better instead of focusing on staying connected to Jesus? That’s exhausting and disappointing isn’t it? Trying to love someone better without a life-giving connection to Jesus will leave you absolutely depleted. You are trying to give what you cannot self-produce. You’re not capable of loving them enough on your own. You’re not the vine they need, Sis.

Sometimes it’s humbling to realize you can’t love them enough to change them. BUT JESUS CAN!

The more you get to know Jesus, the more you will naturally overflow in love. It’s not something you have to work for, it’s something you have to stay connected for. Love is like the electrical energy that flows through an extension cord when plugged in to the outlet. Unplug it and there’s no flow. Unplugged the extension cord has absolutely nothing to give. Plugged in, the energy is continually available.

Honey, you’re not a power generator. You’re not the source. You’re the extension cord. LOVE FLOWS THROUGH YOU, BUT ONLY WHEN YOU’RE CONNECTED TO THE SOURCE! Love doesn’t come from you first – no, first you receive LOVE, then love flows through you.

Jesus tells us that we will be known as his disciples through our love. Not through our memorized scriptures, not through our long wordy prayers, not through our church attendance – nope, through our love. When asked what the most important commandment was, Jesus replied in Matthew 22: 37-40, “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: Love your neighbor as yourself. The entire law is based on these two commandments.”

It all boils down to LOVE. It started in LOVE, “For God so loved the world” and it continues in LOVE, “Now you go love.”

But some people are really hard to love, aren’t they? Do you have some of those people in your life? I do. And some people are so easy to love. It’s easy to give them our best. Which one are we commanded to love? BOTH!

It’s not always easy, but you don’t love under your own power – you love through the power of the Holy Spirit. This isn’t your love you’re giving, this is God’s love. Romans 5:5, “God has given us the Holy spirit to fill our hearts with HIS love.”

You don’t have to produce this love, you simply have to let it flow through you. Sometimes we create a dam within our own hearts and keep his love from flowing. We decide to withhold love thinking it will teach a lesson or it will protect our hearts. Instead all it does is create a blockage within our own selves.

Have you heard of the Dead Sea? The Dead Sea is called dead because nothing will grow in it. Do you know why nothing grows in it? Because it is so filled with nutrients and minerals that it’s become toxic. It has an inlet, but no outlet. So everything just sits within the Dead Sea and evaporates, leaving this dense, hardened water that nothing can live in. That’s really the picture of our hearts when we dam it up with self-protection or restriction. We become toxic to our own selves. You need an outlet.

Let me tell you who is worthy of LOVE today – EVERY SINGLE SOUL YOU COME IN CONTACT WITH! Yes, every one of them – starting with that hard to love person in your own home, perhaps. Ask the Holy Spirit to love them through you today.

Ultimately, here’s the goal – YOU BECOME MORE AND MORE LIKE JESUS. Jesus didn’t hang on the cross and say, “This is for the nice people, but all you mean people get none of my blood.” He didn’t say, “This is for the ones who act right, but all you jackwagons get none of my love.” No, he did it for every single one of us, even in our jackwagon era. As we become more and more like Jesus, we allow that kind of love to flow through us. Love isn’t becoming a nicer version of yourself, it’s Jesus becoming visible through everything you do.

Faith without love becomes cold. Truth without love becomes harsh. Power without love becomes dangerous. Love is the life-changing power of God that flows through us. What the world most needs is precisely what we have in our connection with God!

So here’s how love works in 4 parts:

1. The Father is the source of love (“God is love.”)
2. The Son perfectly reveals that love in His life, death, and resurrection.
3. The Holy Spirit pours that love into believers’ hearts and forms Christ’s character within them.
4. The believer abides in Christ by faith, and love emerges as fruit rather than as self-generated effort.

Follow Pamela on Instagram – https://instagram.com/headmamapamela
Or Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/pamela.crim
Find out more about BIG Life – http://biglifehq.com

Returning to our study on the Fruits of the Spirit, this is part 6. So far we’ve looked at living on the wrong side of the list – what happens when we live WITHOUT the direction of the Holy Spirit and under the influence of the world and our flesh. We see all those things that create destruction and chaos in our lives, but wow, they happen so naturally. We don’t have to try to be selfish, that comes easily. We don’t have to strive to be jealous. Sexual immorality is something that peaks its head up as a temptation early in our teen years and continually pesters us.

Then notice what Galatians 5:21says, “Anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.”

Woah, now that’s scary. Heaven is on the line here? What exactly does this mean?

Every single one of us have struggled with at least one of these things on the wrong side of the list. Does this mean we’re all excluded from eternity with God? Does this mean we’re out?

This is a big deal, so we need to be sure. If Heaven depends on getting it right, let’s get it right! Nothing is worth missing out on Heaven.

Here’s what this DOESN’T mean. This doesn’t mean that as a follower of Jesus we could never commit any of these sins. What this does mean is that as a follower of Jesus we can’t STAY in these sins. God has given us something that calls us out of that old way of life. He has made us new with a new operating system.

Our new operating system as a follower of Jesus is the Holy Spirit. We studied the Holy Spirit in depth in episode #2146.

This is literally God living IN YOU. This is the direct guidance and influence of something greater than you now directing your life. Do you know what this means? This means with a new operating system, you are naturally changing and you’re no longer who you once were.

Girl, YOU’VE CHANGED! You don’t have to keep living the way you used to. You no longer have to struggle with the same things you’ve always struggled with. The Holy Spirit is changing you from within.

Now, you get to be DIFFERENT. Under the direction of the Holy Spirit and it’s inner influence, you live different. This isn’t a New Year’s resolution that you forget about by February. This isn’t an “I’ll try to be better”.

This is the true inner change that we seek. A change of your desires. A change of your will. A change of your operating system.

Does Jesus really change lives? ABSOLUTELY AND THIS IS EXACTLY HOW.

I’ve seen the soul who has struggled with addiction for years absolutely SET FREE when surrendered to Jesus. I’ve seen the hardened heart absolutely HEALED when surrendered to Jesus. I’ve seen the depression and anxiety lift. I’ve seen the change from within. I know it to be true because I’ve experienced it. What nothing else in the world can do, JESUS CAN!

Oh what a little box we put our God in when we think this is too big for him. Girl, absolutely nothing is too far gone for the work of his Holy Spirit. Nothing is beyond his reach. Nothing is too late or too hard.

God is good enough and God is BIG enough to change EVERYTHING inside of you, everything you’ve ever struggled with, everything that has ever bound you up and caused you to struggle. And here’s how he does it: The Fruit of His Spirit.

Fruit.

Fruit naturally grows on the right kind of tree. It’s not forced, it’s natural. If it’s an apple tree, it produces apples. If it’s a cherry tree, it produces cherries. If it’s a pear tree, it produces pears. Not because the tree has tried hard to change or willed itself into production, but because it naturally lives as it was created to live.

And this is the example God chose to use to represent what happens in our lives when his Holy Spirit dwells within us. We just naturally begin producing very specific fruit that comes from our attachment and growth in Him.

Galatians 5: 22-23, “But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”

How does that verse begin? BUT. BUT the Holy Spirit produces something different in our lives. This is an interruption to what has been explained in the verses before. Before we have what our lives naturally become without the Holy Spirit. That was the list of yuck we went through all last week. That was the envy, the drunkenness, the selfishness, the anger, the jealousy, the quarreling, the hostility, the immorality and impurity, and seeking everything but God.

Thank God for his interruption. BUT THE HOLY SPIRIT.

You can live on the wrong side of the list and be ruled by the world and your flesh. However, that’s not the way to Heaven. The way to Heaven is to connect and grow in Jesus – and when you do, the Holy Spirit begins doing his work in you to change you from the inside.

These fruits of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, NATURALLY grow in your life as a result of abiding in Jesus. This isn’t something you set your alarm for and work for. This isn’t something with a goal box you can check. This is something that GROWS within you because of connection. It’s a change that happens naturally that makes you different.

Your focus is connection. The fruit will happen naturally.

God didn’t have to design it all that way. He could have designed right living to be a goal we achieve. He could have designed the required change within us to be a 10 level system we work our way through. He could have given it all a grading curve in which only a few pass. BUT HE DIDN’T.

It’s not about our work at all. It’s about the work of the Holy Spirit within us. Our job is to stay connected. Our job is to surrender to the change he starts within us. Our job is to embrace the growth. Our job is to naturally produce what he promises to grow within us.

FRUIT. It’s the evidence of a different operating system.

FRUIT. It’s not achieved by working, but by abiding.

FRUIT – it’s fragile, it’s attractive, it’s nourishing, and it’s natural.

So as we begin this study on each of the Fruits of the Spirit, don’t hear this as another list of things you have to go accomplish. Don’t turn this into another burden you carry or another measuring stick you beat yourself up with. Instead, let every fruit become an invitation.

If I’m lacking peace, I don’t need to try harder—I need to draw closer.

If I’m struggling with patience, I don’t need to grit my teeth—I need to stay connected to the One who grows patience in me.

If I’m battling self-control, I don’t need more willpower—I need more surrender.

The fruit is never the source. Jesus is.

And here’s the beautiful thing: Fruit doesn’t appear overnight. It grows. Slowly. Steadily. Sometimes so gradually you don’t even notice it until one day you realize you don’t react the way you used to. You don’t chase the things you used to chase. You don’t become undone by the things that once controlled you.

Why? Because the Holy Spirit has been faithfully doing His work all along.

Don’t despise the growing season. Don’t quit because you’re not fully mature yet. Healthy things grow, and if you’re connected to Jesus, you will too.

So over these next several days, we’re not studying a checklist. We’re studying the evidence of a life surrendered to God. We’re studying what naturally happens when His Spirit is alive within us.

This is what Jesus came to do – not just forgive your past, but transform your future. Not just rescue you from sin, but restore you into the person you were always created to be.

So stay connected.

Stay surrendered.

Stay growing.

Because the Holy Spirit is still producing fruit in you. And one day, you’ll look back and realize the miracle wasn’t that you tried harder. The miracle is that Jesus changed you.

Follow Pamela on Instagram – https://instagram.com/headmamapamela
Or Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/pamela.crim
Find out more about BIG Life – http://biglifehq.com

(This is an unscripted devotional sharing the story of a 7 year miracle in the making.)

Story of the Prodigal – Luke 15: 11-24

Waited for 4 years – began to run out of hope – tried in desperation to do it my way – to regain control – to force, manipulate

Story of Waiting – John 5: 2-9

38 years, but he still showed up there. He still had someone carry him there that day to await for the healing that still hadn’t come.

God asked me for 30 years. Would I still trust him if it took 30 years for my daughter to come home? Would I choose joy over misery while waiting for 30 years?

The moment I intentionally chose joy even if it took 30 years, I was given the gift of PEACE. Isaiah 26:3, “You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!”

Although God asked me for 30 years, HE DID IT IN SEVEN!!!!!!!

The wedding – the party – the perfect peace!

Here’s what I have learned:

• 1. In the wait, you have a choice – choose faith and joy. Misery does not honor God.
Psalm 42:11, “Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again – my Savior and my God!”

• 2. There’s power in your thoughts. KEEP YOUR THOUGHTS FIXED ON GOD and HIS PROMISES.
Again, Isaiah 26:3, “You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!”

• 3. You can’t always make it better, but you can make it worse – DON’T MAKE IT WORSE.

• 4. Do everything in LOVE. If you can’t do it in love, don’t do it.

• 5. Stop trying to save them from their testimony. Let God do his work in their lives.

• 6. God is faithful beyond measure and his promises will stand through it all.
(God had made promises to the Israelites of a future home of bountiful provision and blessings. A land he would make their own after hundreds of years of slavery in Egypt. Although the Israelites got lost along the way, wandered and wavered, God brought them to the land he promised.

Joshua 21:43-45, “So the Lord gave to Israel all the land he had sworn to give their ancestors, and they took possession of it and settled there. And the Lord gave them rest on every side, just as he had solemnly promised their ancestors. None of their enemies could stand against them, for the Lord helped them conquer all their enemies. NOT A SINGLE ONE OF ALL THE GOOD PROMISES THE LORD HAD GIVEN TO THE FAMILY OF ISRAEL WAS LEFT UNFULFILLED; EVERYTHING HE HAD SPOKE CAME TRUE.”

• 7. Drop your expectations of perfection and trust God’s eternal plan.
Every single thing I “wished” wouldn’t happen actually happened and then God used it all for good.

I wished there wouldn’t be drugs or addiction involved. Then there was. God worked with that.
I wished there wouldn’t be a baby. Then there was. God worked with that.
I wished it wouldn’t get worse before it got better. Then it got worse. God worked with that.

If you’re so busy with expectations of what you think it’s supposed to look like, you may miss the full blessing of God’s best plans.

Proverbs 19:21, “You can make many plans, but the Lord’s purpose will prevail.”

Isaiah 55:8 the Lord says, “My ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.”
JUST TRUST HIM – HIS PLAN – HIS TIMING – HIS WAYS!

You know what I realize now … God wasn’t just working on my daughter, HE WAS WORKING ON ME! I had so much to learn and so far to grow. I can honestly say today I’m better because of the long hard wait. I know how to pray. I know how to trust. I know how to seek. I know how to love. I know how to wait. I know how to live in peace. I know how to choose joy.

If God pulled off a 7 year miracle for my family, he can pull off a 7 year miracle for your family! If I could find peace and joy in the wait, my friend, so can you! If God can receive glory in my story, then he can receive glory in your story.

Follow Pamela on Instagram – https://instagram.com/headmamapamela
Or Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/pamela.crim
Find out more about BIG Life – http://biglifehq.com

This week we’ve studied what our lives looks like without the Holy Spirit. Without God’s influence, without God’s direction over our life, we naturally drift toward dysfunction, selfishness, broken relationships, and sin. Left to ourselves, our sinful nature becomes the driving force behind our decisions, our attitudes, and our actions.

That’s exactly what Paul describes in Galatians 5. He paints an honest picture of what life looks like when the flesh is in control. It’s not a list meant to shame us – it’s a mirror showing us what every one of us is capable of apart from God.

But thank God, we’re not left there.

The good news is that God didn’t simply save us from our sin; He gave us His very presence. When we place our faith in Jesus, the Holy Spirit comes to live within us. We are no longer left to navigate this life in our own strength. We have a Helper, a Guide, a Teacher, and the very power of God at work in us.

So before we can understand the fruit of the Spirit, we have to understand the Spirit Himself. Who is the Holy Spirit? Why did God give Him to us? What is His purpose in our lives? And what does it actually look like to live under His influence every day? The fruit of the Spirit isn’t about trying harder to become a better person. It’s about allowing the Holy Spirit to transform us from the inside out.

I spent many years not understanding who the Holy Spirit is and what it mean to have this influence in my life. Maybe you’re in that place. This doesn’t quite make sense to you. It can be a little confusing, so lets slow down to understand.

Quite simply, the Holy Spirit is God HIMSELF. God reveals himself to us in 3 ways which we call the trinity. The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit – all God. Think of it this way, the Father loved us, the Son saved us, the Spirit changes us. The Holy Spirit is God’s very own presence dwelling within us.

Before Jesus returned to Heaven after his crucifixion, he made an incredible promise. In John 14: 16-17, “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. You will know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you.” In verse 23, Jesus says, “We will come and make our home in each one who loves me.”

Jesus had been walking with his disciples. He had been living with them, teaching them, guiding them. In flesh, he was there with them. Now, before he returns to Heaven, he is promising for everyone who loves him, they will be given ANOTHER who will actually live in you and never leave you. The Greek, word translated “another” means another of the same kind. So we have been given someone exactly like Jesus in nature and purpose to live inside of us. That’s the Holy Spirit!

The Holy Spirit makes God’s presence permanent in everyone who believes in him. As real as Jesus walked this earth as God in human form, God now lives within us in Spirit form.

The Holy Spirit empowers us to live like Jesus. So this isn’t about trying harder and harder, this is about allowing God to live through us.

In the Old Testament, God’s Spirit dwelt in the tabernacle and later in the temple. Occasionally his Spirit would come upon specific people for specific purposes. Through the cleansing power of Jesus to make us holy and righteous, God Spirit is now available to each of us and we become his temple. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 6:19, “Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God.”

For real, God now lives within us! My mind can’t comprehend that, but by faith I choose to believe it. Do you?

Let’s look at 3 things the Holy Spirit does: He teaches us, empowers us and transforms us.

The Holy Spirit teaches us. When you read the Bible and actually understand it, that’s the work of the Holy Spirit. When you listen to this podcast or a sermon and it hits just right, that’s the work of the Holy Spirit. When you’re living your regular life and you remember what God said about it, that’s the work of the Holy Spirit. What a lot of people describe as a “gut feeling” is actually the prompting of the Holy Spirit!

The Holy Spirit empowers us. Acts 1:8, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you.” Have you ever been stronger than you ever thought you could be? Girl, that was the Holy Spirit. Have you ever had the power to do things you never thought you could do? That’s the power from the Holy Spirit. We’re so quick to think we’re weak and incapable, but as a believer, remember who is living within you. God himself is inside of you! His power is in you! So yes, you do have the strength for this through the Holy Spirit. Yes, you are good enough. Yes, you are capable. Remember what’s in you!

And ultimately what the Holy Spirit does within us is he transforms us. That’s where the Fruit of the Spirit comes in in Galatians 5. WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT, we are changed naturally. This change isn’t something we have to force and will, it’s a change that grows in us and makes us more like Jesus. That’s the goal of the Holy Spirit, to make us more and more like Jesus.

As we move to the right side of our list and begin to see what it looks like to live under the influence of the Holy Spirit, rather than without him, think of it like this:

If you are under the influence of alcohol, you think different, you talk different, you walk different, you have different emotions, and you make different decisions. Why? Because you’re under the influence of that alcohol so you operate different.

Now, think of the influence of the Holy Spirit in your life. It changes everything.

You think different under the influence of the Holy Spirit. The way you see things changes. The way you see people changes. Your thought process is changed.

You talk different under the influence of the Holy Spirit. You don’t even want to be in the conversations you were once in.

You walk different with different emotions, making different decisions. Under the influence of the Holy Spirit, your desires are literally changed. Your heart begins to align with God’s heart and you begin to pursue the things he created you for.

And what happens when there’s a different life within us – FRUIT! Fruit is evidence of life.

An apple tree doesn’t struggle to tape apples to its branches to look more like an apple tree. An apple tree just naturally produces apples. When the Holy Spirit lives within us, we don’t have to struggle and strive, we just surrender and then we naturally produce the Fruit of the Spirit.

This is what makes us more and more like Jesus.

Follow Pamela on Instagram – https://instagram.com/headmamapamela
Or Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/pamela.crim
Find out more about BIG Life – http://biglifehq.com

Today, we’re wrapping it up – the yuck list of what our lives can become when we are not under the influence of the Holy Spirit and following his guidance. So far in Galatians 5: 19-21 we’ve seen the sexual sins we so easily fall into, then the attitudes and behaviors that damage our relationship with God and others. It’s been a real yuck fest hanging out on the wrong side under the wrong influence. What we’ve learned so far is that’s not what we want, nor is that who we want to be.

Now finally in verse 21, we have our final things to add to the column on the left labeled ‘Without the Holy Spirit’ – “Drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these.”

Before you push away and think the Holy Spirit would never allow you to have fun, that’s not what this is about. This isn’t about making your life boring. This is truly about taking away every imitation of happiness the enemy has tried to entangle you in. God offers us immense joy and overflowing happiness, then Satan swoops in and tries to twist that into a pursuit of things that simply aren’t good for you.

Do you realize when God calls something a sin it’s because it’s not good for you. He created you with a specific design, and as your creator he knows what is harmful to your design, so he warns you, “Hey, my child, don’t do this … it’s not good for you.” It’s like the warning label on a hair dryer that says don’t put this in water … Why fight that? We have warning labels on us, why are we fighting it?

Understand what is specifically being said—drunkenness and wild parties. The sin is not drinking. The problem is not a party. Jesus was once at a wedding celebration where the wine ran out, so His first public miracle was turning water into wine for the wedding feast (John 2). The sin is intoxication that masters the person. The problem is the party that celebrates the loss of self-control, encourages excess, and creates an atmosphere where people cast off moral restraint. The concern here is not with joy or celebration; the concern is with a culture of indulgence where people surrender themselves to their desires rather than submit themselves to the Spirit.

The problem is the party that is built around excess. The Greek word kōmoi used in this scripture refers to revelries—wild, drunken celebrations where restraint is abandoned and sinful behavior is encouraged. This is not a condemnation on gatherings, celebrations, or even the enjoying good things. This is about the kind of partying where intoxication and reckless behavior become the purpose of the event.

You know that, “We’re gonna get drunk tonight! Get lit! Let loose!” … yeah that is NOT from the Holy Spirit.

It’s hard for me to talk about these things because I have to be honest with you – I have absolutely no experience with it. At 50 years old, I’ve never been drunk a single time in my life. I’ve never been to the club or a bar. I’ve never gotten tipsy and let loose. So no, I really don’t know what that is like.

But let me tell you what I’m qualified to talk about – I’m absolutely certain you can have fun and be 100% sober. There’s not a gathering I don’t have fun at. There’s not a celebration where I can’t laugh and enjoy. You can throw a party and it not become wild and wreckless. You can dance, you can sing, you can celebrate, and you can be the life of the party without a single regret.

Think about how Jesus must have been when he walked this Earth. The gospels are full of accounts of Jesus being invited to weddings, invited to celebrations and gatherings, continually invited to come over for dinner. Children loved to be around Jesus. You know what this tells me – this tells me Jesus wasn’t boring. He wasn’t a stick in the mud. He wasn’t a downer. He was LITERALLY the life of the party in every sense of the word.

Now we carry his spirit within us as his followers. He lives within us. We are empowered to be the life of the party with what he has put within us through our connection with him – and we’ve gotten it all twisted thinking in order for us to be fun and have fun we have to get drunk? That’s just straight from Hell right there.

Tomorrow is opening day of my 111th BIG Life Retreat. It’s a girls weekend on the lake where we will tie together all of our floaties and float in the sunshine on the lake. We’ll be playing music and singing. There will be dancing. There will be uncontrollable laughter. There will be random last minute competitions of floating obstacle courses, relays of nonsense, and cheering team mates like we’re winning real gold medals. It will be a full on celebration of happiness. And there won’t be a drop of alcohol. None.

When I first started hosting retreats, a whole lot of people didn’t come because they thought it would be impossible to have fun at a gathering without something to loosen them up. How could a girls weekend be a good time without the good stuff? Now, we know THE GOOD STUFF isn’t found in a bottle. The GOOD STUFF is found in God showing us how to celebrate life with pure joy and no regrets.

Drunkenness and wild parties intentionally lower restraint with a celebration of impulsiveness, excess and indulgence. That’s the problem.

A drunken person often pulls others into the same behavior. It becomes a chain effect. One person gets stupid, then the next person gets stupid. And with a bunch of stupid people not thinking right, sin becomes normalized. That’s not under the direction of the Holy Spirit. God says, “That’s not good for my creation.” So, we come with a warning label just like the hair dryer that’s not to be put in water – we’re vessels for the Holy Spirit and we are not to be drunk going to wild parties. It’s simply not good for us.

This isn’t a matter of having all our fun taken away from us. Actually quite the opposite – this is a matter of not being fooled by the enemy and living in such a deeper level of fun offered by God. A fun with no regrets. A fun with full awareness. A fun that represents the joy of the Lord.

This week, I’ve given the girls I mentor a challenge – a challenge to be the Ambassador of Fun wherever they are.

Fun is a ministry. Really think about that. Fun shows the goodness of God and draws others into him. Misery doesn’t do that. Boring doesn’t do that. But fun sure does.

Fun is a breath of fresh air for the soul who questions how much longer they can carry their burden. Fun invites them to see the good in life again.

Fun is warfare against darkness, pushing back what the enemy has tried to use to overwhelm.

And we can literally minister to others through our holy fun. Walk into every room asking, “How can I leave this place lighter than I found it?” My friend, THAT IS MINISTRY!

Do you think I’m a fun person? Do you think I know how to enjoy life? Do you think I know how to throw a party others really want to come to? I can promise you there’s something better than alcohol and stupidity … there’s the Holy Spirit and genuine fun!

After the past 4 days of studying the list on the wrong side, maybe you’re breathing lighter because your specific sin hasn’t been listed. That’s why I love it’s all wrapped up with a “and other sins like these.” Yip, it’s covered. Anything not under the guidance of the Holy Spirit is not producing goodness in our lives. It is hurting us or hurting others. It’s not God’s best for us.

There’s a song called “Search Me” by Kristian Stanfill that has given me the words to pray. Each morning during my time with God on my knees, I pray these song lyrics:
Search me, Lord, and know me
Purify my life
Find in me anything
That doesn’t bow to You as King
I’m not ok to stay the same
From now until life’s through
Jesus, make me more like You
Do whatever You have to do

That’s what it’s about – Allow the Holy Spirit to search you and know you. Allow him to find anything within you that doesn’t bow to him as King. Decide right now you’re not okay with just staying the same. You want more – let the Holy Spirit set you free to experience the fullness of life Jesus came to offer you!

Follow Pamela on Instagram – https://instagram.com/headmamapamela
Or Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/pamela.crim
Find out more about BIG Life – http://biglifehq.com

Open up your Bibles to Galatians 5 and we’re going to add a few more to the list of yuck – Yes, the left side of the list under the label “Without the Holy Spirit”. We’re looking at what we do and who we naturally become the Holy Spirit isn’t given room in our lives and we’re directed by the world and our flesh. This list is like a blarring alarm, “WARNING, THIS ISN’T WHAT GOD WANTS FOR YOU”. If you find yourself doing these things continually, you can now know why. If someone you love is doing these things, you can know why. Wrong director. Wrong influence. Wrong side of the list.

Looking at Galatians 5: 19-21, in part 1 we studied “sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures and idolatry”. In Part 2 we studied “sorcery, hostility, quarreling and jealousy”. Well, that’s been fun, hasn’t it? Let’s address the next 5 today with what happens when our lives aren’t following the direction of the Holy Spirit, “Outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division”. These are 5 attitudes and behaviors that damage our relationship with God and with other people.

1. Outbursts of Anger
This is a desire to control situations or people when things don’t go our way. We lash out, we say things to hurt others, we lose control of our emotions and our mouth. This is not under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. God never leads us to just blow up. It’s never his desire for us to lose our temper.

Scripture says, “In your anger do not sin.” It’s okay to be angry sometimes. There are things that should make us angry. But there’s righteous anger and outbursts of anger. There’s anger that leads to healthy change, and there’s anger that just hurts people. Check your anger sis.

God didn’t design you to be continually angry and disgruntled about something. Some of us walk around continually angry about life and we wonder why we struggle to have good relationships and feelings of happiness. Girl, you’ve got a grouchy bug in you.

2. Selfish Ambition
This is a self-seeking attitude that says, “What’s in it for me?” Do you have a unique way of making everything all about you? Yeah, that’s selfish-ambition, and guess what, that’s not from the Holy Spirit.

When we pursue our own success, happiness or advantage at the expense of everyone else, this not only makes us look like a real crap person, but it grieves God. Selfish was NOT the example of Jesus. Never once do we see Jesus in all of his righteousness, in all of his glory, in all of his power making everything about him at the expense of others. When really, it really was all about him. He was and is the answer to everything, but he sits down with the sinner, he draws near to the pain, he stretches out a hand to the hurt.

If we’re going to be like Jesus, all our selfish ambition has to be stripped away. If we’re going to be like Jesus, we will willingly bend down and wash feet even if we are the greatest in the room.

So really, what is the Holy Spirit calling you to do in the group you’re in … he’s calling you to make it about them and not about you.

3. Dissension
This might be a new word for you. What does this mean? Dissension is a critical spirit that constantly looks for flaws and faults in others. Rather than building up, it tears down, creating conflict, tension, and division.

Have you ever heard someone use the expression, “Well, I’ll be the devil’s advocate”, then they stream a bunch of negative punches and critiques. Hey let me tell you something, the devil doesn’t need an advocate! Why would we advocate for the one who is against us? Why would you ever speak up for him sharing his opinions?

The child growing up under dissension feels never good enough. The wife living in dissension feels continually defeated. You know that if you’ve lived in it. Now the question is, are you creating it in your home? Are you constantly correcting, belittling, nagging and critiquing? Is it just never good enough for you, always needing improvement.

The dish washer just can’t be loaded right by anyone else. Their driving is never okay. The way they fold laundry drives you insane. And oh my gosh, why do they do what the do the way they do it? Girl, stop that! That is dissension. That’s looking for the flaw. That’s creating fault. And it’s coming from a heart that is more focused on finding faults than extending grace. If you’re searching for weaknesses and tearing down rather than building up, that’s simply NOT from the Holy Spirit. That’s the other side of the list.

– Game around the table – imitate someone else – if they were to imitate you at the table, in the car, at the office, would you like what you heard and saw?

– Friends – Monica’s mother – that’s dissension

Being the fault finder is not our calling!

4. Division
Instead of bringing people together, sometimes we thrive in dividing people and putting them against one another. We create an “us against them” script. We retell the story so more gather on your side. But opps, take a look where that is on the lists, that’s the wrong side. This isn’t what the Holy Spirit guides us to. This is what the world does. This is what our flesh desires.

Some families do this against eachother. There’s mom’s side versus dad’s side, and you have to choose one. Hey let me tell you what that creates – a whole bunch of losers. No one wins in that game. You’re just divided.

5. Envy
This is like jealousy, but even more so than you wanting what someone else has, you don’t want them to have it either. Envy comes from a deep insecurity and unhappiness with self. The Holy Spirit wants you to have a holy confidence in precisely who you are and where you stand with God because when you don’t you project that doubt onto others.

If you can’t celebrate someone else, there’s a problem. If you are in a constant mental comparison with someone else, there’s a problem. If you’re secretly wanting someone else to fail, there’s a problem. And let me tell you, that’s such a foothold to the enemy of your soul. He’ll eat you up with envy and he’ll turn you into someone you never wanted to be.

You can’t be grateful when you’re envious. You can’t be happy when you’re envious. So you’re left weak, disappointed, and sad. That’s NOT the direction of the Holy Spirit.

Outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy.

With each of these is an invitation to examine ourselves. Is this showing up anywhere in our lives? Where does it come from – NOT from the Holy Spirit. Where does it lead – NOT to God’s good plans for you. What can you do about it? Recognize it – take responsibility for it – ask forgiveness for it – and seek God for special strength to change it.

Follow Pamela on Instagram – https://instagram.com/headmamapamela
Or Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/pamela.crim
Find out more about BIG Life – http://biglifehq.com

When you live under the influence of the Holy Spirit, beautiful things naturally grow in your life. However, when you lack the things that grow in our lives under the direction of the Holy Spirit it’s because you’re NOT under the direction of the Holy Spirit. You’re not connected to Jesus. You’re connected to the world and you’re under the influence of your flesh.

Yesterday we began creating 2 columns on our piece of paper. Grab that paper today as we continually refer to it.

The left column is labeled “Without the Holy Spirit”. The scripture is Galatians 5: 19-21. The right column is labeled “With the Holy Spirit. The scripture is Galatians 5: 22-23.

Before we get to the right side, we must see the left side.

Galatians 5: 19-21, When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: (Yesterday we talked about the first 4 on the list)
• Sexual immorality
• Impurity
• Lustful pleasures
• Idolatry

Today, let’s move on down the list. Remember, this is what happens in our lives when we are NOT led by the Holy Spirit. When we receive our guidance from the world, when we are under the influence of our flesh, these are the things we begin to battle and fall into.

• Sorcery

Are we talking about some hocus pocus? Magic? Spells? Witchcraft. Yes … but more than that actually. The Greek word translated into sorcery is ‘pharakeia’. This is actually where we get the word pharmacy. Sorcery is an attempt to gain power, knowledge or experiences apart from God.

Drugs to alter your mind, to numb you, to achieve a euphoric feeling, or to reach a higher level of creativity … NOT FROM THE HOLY SPIRIT.

I assure you of this, the Holy Spirit has the power to raise your thinking. The Holy Spirit has the power to heal you. The Holy Spirit is far greater than any drug the world can produce.

1 Peter 5:8, “Be alert and of sober mind.” Why? Because “your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” I’ve seen people I love absolutely consumed by sorcery. Again, not witchcraft, but using drugs to alter their mind. I’ve seen addiction take over their lives. I’ve seen it literally take their lives. The roaring lion found a way in and he indeed devoured.

So God warns us, don’t even open that door. Don’t play around with it. This is dangerous. If it’s not from the Holy Spirit, you don’t want it. Don’t live on the left side of the list, it’s the wrong side.

1 Corinthians 6:12 is like a step into our mind that tries to argue for the things we want on the wrong side of the list. “You say ‘I am allowed to do anything’ – but not everything is good for you. And even though ‘I am allowed to do anything’, I must not become a slave to anything.”

The truth is, some of us have become slaves to the drugs we have come to depend on. It may have started off innocent, but it has grown to an addiction and now you need it. You need it to relax. You need it to focus. You need it to be creative. You need it to have fun. You need it to sleep. You can argue that you’re allowed to, but God’s word asks “IS THIS GOOD FOR YOU? ARE YOU A SLAVE TO THIS?”

Would you be willing to ask the Holy Spirit if you’re taking anything to feel good or better or happier that has taken his place? Here’s what I am NOT saying – I’m not saying medication is bad. I’m not saying there’s not a place for medical intervention, there absolutely is. But what I am saying is for some, it’s become sorcery. It’s the potion you depend on that is spiritually problematic.

Pray about this. Ask yourself why. Why are you seeking this altered state? Is this drawing you towards God or away from him? Has this replaced your dependence on God? If you’re not willing to ask these questions, then there might be a reason.

I’m not your Holy Spirit. I’m not here to provide conviction. I share God’s word and the meaning behind it that applies to our lives today. And here’s what I know, every single thing on the left side of the list under the heading of “WITHOUT THE HOLY SPIRIT” is not what we want in our lives.

Next on the yuck list, we go into a series of sins that damage relationships. Let me tell you, God cares about how we treat each other. He has called us above everything else to love him and love others and sometimes that gets messy.

Here are the things that get in the way of loving others:

• Hostility
• Quarreling
• Jealousy

Yuck, yuck, and more yuck. But honestly, there are a whole lot of us living on this side without the guidance of the Holy Spirit in our relationships. We feel the way we feel, act the way we act, and excuse it all. Stop excusing it. If it’s on the wrong side, then it’s wrong for us and we must seek the Holy Spirit to change.

Your flesh will always lead you to hostility. Hostility is a heart issue where you have decided certain people are your enemy. You are hostile towards them. Maybe even without them knowing it, you’ve set up a position of you against them. There’s bitterness, unforgiveness and resentment. You’re cold and harsh towards them because YOU have put them in the enemy category.

Think about that – is there anyone you have just decided you’re against? Anyone you’re harsh towards? Anyone you just don’t like so they get the worst of you? Yeah, that’s not from the Holy Spirit. Even more than that being bad for the other person, my friend, that’s really bad for you.

That’s not who God created you to be. That’s not his best for your heart. You can surrender that hostility to God and ask him to heal your heart issue – or you can choose not to. That’s up to you. I bet I know what the Holy Spirit is prompting you to do. It’s your choice to listen or not, and your choice will determine just how free your heart is.

Quarreling is the behavior that flows from hostility. It’s the outward expression of an inward twisting. Some people seem energized by disagreement. They have to win every discussion. That’s not by God’s design, nor is it under the influence of the Holy Spirit. Which side of the list is it on? The left side – the wrong side.

When you turn every conversation into a debate, start arguments online, create tension wherever you are, and become more interested in winning than understanding, you are QUARRELING.

God cares about how you treat others. Knock that crap off. Proverbs 21:23, “Watch your tongue and keep your mouth shut, and you will stay out of trouble.” Sometimes we partner with the devil with our tongue. He comes to kill, steal and destroy, and we’re killing spirits, stealing hope and destroying hearts with our quarreling.

Yuck. Yuck. Yuck.

But we don’t have to keep doing that. At absolutely any point we can seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit and receive a completely different influence in our lives. We can change. We can be filled with a different source and create radically different results.

Finally today on the yuck list is jealousy. Jealousy hides behind comparison. It’s wanting what someone else has. It’s a feeling of resentment over another person’s blessings, gifts, opportunities, relationships or recognition.

Jealousy is rooting in thinking God is limited and what he has given someone else will shortchange you – and you couldn’t be more wrong. My blessings do not steal from your blessings. Your gifts do not threaten my gifts. But the one who would love to destroy our relationship with one another wants to stir up an unnecessary competition between the two of us to compete for it. It’s simply NOT a competition.

I wonder what the world of social media has done to our overall jealousy. We simply weren’t created to see all these things. We weren’t created to hold all of this awareness and details on the lives of others. I’ve noticed a radical shift in my contentment since completely eliminating social media in December. I’m no longer in some unspoken competition against everyone else. I don’t have to have what they have because I don’t know what they have. I don’t have to try to look how they look because unless I spend real life time with you, I don’t know how you look. And if I’m spending real life time with you, there are a million things more important about that time than how either of us look.

The enemy has done a real work on our hearts and minds through the jealousy created in social media. He turned it into a competition of likes, shares, comments and follows. And we’ve played right into it. Here we sit on the wrong side of the list, wondering why we feel so empty inside.

The Holy Spirit has something so much better for us. On the other side is a list of real offerings we can live in every day under his influence. These things are not found in the world. They are not found in our flesh. They are not found in social media.

They are the fruits of the spirit. They are love, joy, peace patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. With these growing in our lives, we treat each other totally different.

May the Holy Spirit open our eyes to any of the ploys of the enemy to be on the wrong side, living in the wrong feelings, dabbling with the wrong things, where he gets our hearts and minds all twisted. May the influence of the Holy Spirit cause you to jump ship and get on the right side of living, starting today!

Follow Pamela on Instagram – https://instagram.com/headmamapamela
Or Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/pamela.crim
Find out more about BIG Life – http://biglifehq.com

There is something directing your life. You’re not doing this on your own. You’re either under the influence of the world and the flesh, or you’re under the influence of the Holy Spirit. One of these guides your thoughts, your attitude, your perspective and your actions – and your life looks radically different depending on your influencing factors. Look around my friend – if you aren’t pleased with what’s growing in your life, it may be a result of what you’re attached to – because whatever you’re attached to is drastically influencing every area of your life.

Paul writes in Galatians and tells us of what is naturally produced in our lives when we’re attached to Jesus. Growing in Jesus means God’s Holy Spirit is influencing you. Under the influence of the Holy Spirit, you are different than you would be on your own. Different things grow in your life. You are given a different perspective with different priorities. And the beautiful thing is, it happens so naturally. This isn’t something you will or force, it just grows.

We’re given a list of 9 fruits that grow in our lives as a result of the direction of the Holy Spirit and it’s inner influence: Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, Self-Control. These are the fruits of the Holy Spirit, meaning what grows from connection. And really think about the real life circumstances and struggles you woke up to today – what you need to face this is right here within the list of things that grow from within you when you’re connected to Jesus. Your answer … CONNECT TO JESUS!

You don’t have to force this. You don’t have to pretend to be someone you’re not. The Holy Spirit will work within you to produce precisely what is needed and it will come from inside you, naturally producing in your life.

Now maybe you’ve heard of the Fruits of the Spirit before. Maybe you even have them memorized and can ramble them off. Maybe this is brand new to you. Awesome. This is for you. Exactly where you are, in this season of life, with what you’re facing. Love for you. Joy for you. Peace for you. Patience for you. Kindness for you. Goodness for you. Faithfulness for you. Gentleness for you. Self-Control for you.

I bet you can identify someone in your life who needs this too, huh? Someone who is lacking joy. Someone lacking peace. Someone living without kindness or faithfulness or self-control. What is happening in their life?

Maybe that was you at one time. Or maybe that is a current struggle. Why is that?

Scripture is actually quite clear. We don’t have to guess and wonder. When you lack the things that grow in our lives under the direction of the Holy Spirit it’s because you’re NOT under the direction of the Holy Spirit. You’re not connected to Jesus. You’re connected to the world and you’re under the influence of your flesh.

We don’t have to hate the person who is without kindness and goodness, we have to see it for what it is. This is a hurting soul who either has never connected to Jesus or has become disconnected. We must love them enough to point them back to Jesus and back to his life-giving connection. Back to the direction of the Holy Spirit. It’s not our responsibility to change them. That’s the job of God’s Holy Spirit. YOU ARE NOT THEIR HOLY SPIRIT.

Before we jump into the Fruits of the Spirit and this list of beauty that naturally begins to grow in our lives through connection with Jesus, we have to know about the other side of the list.

You see there are two very clear lists. A list of what your life looks like WITHOUT the direction of the Holy Spirit and WITH the direction of the Holy Spirit. If you were to take a piece of paper and draw a line down the center, you would have two columns. On the left you could label that column “Without the Holy Spirit”. On the right you could label that column “With the Holy Spirit”. The column on the left is described in Galatians 5: 19-21. The column on the right is described in Galatians 5: 22-23.

Let’s begin with making the list in the left column. Galatians 5: 19-21, When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear:
• Sexual immorality
• Impurity
• Lustful pleasures
• Idolatry
• Sorcery
• Hostility
• Quarreling
• Jealousy
• Outbursts of Anger
• Selfish Ambition
• Dissension
• Division
• Envy
• Drunkenness
• Wild Parties
• Other Sins Like These

Well that was yucky, wasn’t it? Yip, that’s what our lives become without the influence of God’s Holy Spirit. This is what we naturally get ourselves into.

Our nature is sinful and leads us into some absolutely yucky things in our lives. Look around … there it is. We can see it in our own life or in the life of someone we love. Why has this happened, why do they act that way, why do they continue to do these things … because as verse 19 says, they have “followed the desires of their sinful nature and the results are very clear.”

You’ve been asking why. That’s why, my friend. This is a matter of influence. The wrong influence creates the wrong results. The wrong direction grows the wrong fruit. For anyone with the wrong fruit growing in their lives, this is a matter of the wrong influence coming through the wrong connection. Maybe not a bad person, a bad connection.

Have you ever traveled internationally and tried to plug your electrical device into a foreign outlet? It doesn’t fit. If you force it, you’ll blow something up. You could burn the whole building down! Some of us have lives burning down around us because we’ve plugged into the wrong thing. We’re connecting to things we simply weren’t created to be connected to.

Over the next few weeks we’re going to do a deep dive on the divinely beautiful things that grow in our lives when we’re connected to Jesus and abiding in him. We’re going to grow in this process. It’s going to be so good for us to see the works of the Holy Spirit that happen so naturally in our connection. But first, we’re going to look at the column on the left. The yuck. The consequences. This is where you life will be without Jesus. Very clearly, this is what happens.

Verse 19 in the NLT says “When you follow the desires of your sinful nature …” NIV says, “These are the acts of the flesh …” MSG puts it like this, “It’s obvious what type of life develops out of trying to get your own way all the time …”

There it is – when we try to do this on our own, when we do what we want, follow our own feelings, focused on self, letting our flesh lead the way, these are the messes we create for ourselves and others. Maybe you’re in one of those messes right now, either self-created or created by someone else. You’re living in that left hand column all while the Holy Spirit is inviting you to jump to the other side of the page and get on the right side.

Is that possible? Absolutely! That change can begin today.

Looking at our column on the left listed in verses 19-21, there are a few words we may not fully understand. So, let’s not skim over them, let’s understand.

The first 3 are all sexual sins: Sexual immorality, Impurity, Lustful pleasures. These are things we all fall into without the direction of God’s Holy Spirit within us. It’s natural. We get all twisted up. We seek love in the wrong places and boy do we find it in all the wrong ways. There, we get stuck in tangled webs and suck others into that web of destruction.

The next word on the left side are may be a little more unclear: Idolatry. It’s easy to assume that’s not us, nor is it anyone we love … but often it is.

Idolatry is putting anything or anyone above God. Anything that gets God’s place becomes our idol. Anything we value more, anything we trust more, anything we seek first. Our spouses can become our idol. Our jobs can become our idol. Our image, our money, our hobbies can become our idols.

And guess what – that happens so naturally in this world. Without the direct influence of the Holy Spirit, we are making stars our guide, we’re allowing horoscopes make our decisions, and putting flawed humans on pedestals thinking they hold our answers.

Jesus is calling us back. Back to connection with him.

Our lives naturally change when we connect with him.

Recognize what is growing in your life – if it’s on the left side realize you’re on the wrong side, connecting to the wrong thing that is threatening to burn your whole life down. Your answer, CONNECT WITH JESUS. Let the Holy Spirit become your guide and influence.

Follow Pamela on Instagram – https://instagram.com/headmamapamela
Or Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/pamela.crim
Find out more about BIG Life – http://biglifehq.com

Luke 13:10-13: “On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, ‘Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.’ Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God.”

Ya’ll this woman had been crippled for 18 years and with the touch of Jesus, she was immediately healed. WooooHoooo, that’s my Jesus right there. Boom!

Now where is our focus on this story? The miracle right? We focus on the miracle.

But I want you to focus on something else. I’ll read the scripture again, let’s not focus on the miracle, let’s focus on what LED to the miracle. If you need a miracle in your life, learn from this woman’s miracle and see exactly what brought her to it.

“On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God.”

The miracle did not begin when Jesus touched her. The miracle story began when she got out of bed that morning and made her way to the synagogue. Before there was a healing, there was a decision. Before there was a breakthrough, there was obedience. Before there was a miracle, there was a woman who showed up.

Here’s what we’ve been missing in this miraculous story of healing. This poor, crippled, bent over woman, GOT UP AND WENT that day. She showed up. In order for her to be at the synagogue where Jesus was teaching, she first had to get up and go there.

The miracle didn’t begin with healing; it began with showing up.

Notice something remarkable. The woman did not come to the synagogue because she knew she would be healed that day. She came because that’s where God was being worshiped. She showed up without a promise of a miracle. She showed up without evidence that today would be different. She showed up because faithfulness does what it knows to do even when feelings say otherwise.

I bet she didn’t feel like getting up that day. I bet she was aching and hurting. I bet she was even embarrassed by her condition. BUT SHE GOT UP ANY WAY.

That’s exactly what we need to do. We can’t sit around doing nothing. You have a responsibility in your story. Your responsibility is to get up and position yourself. Do what you can with what you have right now. Stop focusing on what you can’t do, and girl, do what you can do.

This woman got up and went even when she didn’t feel like it. Even when it was HARD FOR HER. Even when it had been hard for her for 18 years!

Eighteen years is a long time. Eighteen years of disappointment. Eighteen years of pain. Eighteen years of waking up with the same problem. Yet somehow she refused to let a long season become a permanent mindset. Her condition lasted eighteen years, but she refused to let hopelessness last eighteen years too.

Ahhhhh, sister will you bring your 18 year struggle to an encounter with Jesus? Or will you give up thinking your miracle will never come? Have you bought into the lie that it will always be this way? One encounter with Jesus could radically change your life but you must position yourself for the encounter.

Jesus performs the miracle, but the woman positioned herself for an encounter.

There are some things only God can do. Healing is God’s job. Deliverance is God’s job. Miracles are God’s job. But positioning ourselves for an encounter with Him is our job. We cannot create a miracle, but we can create the opportunity to meet with the Miracle Worker.

But may I take you even deeper? Can I take you deeper this morning?

There’s one more thing we may be missing in this story. How did this crippled woman make herself get up and go even when she didn’t feel like it? How do you make yourself do what you know you need to do when you plain ol’ don’t feel like it?

What you don’t see in this story is what made this woman get up and show up for her encounter with Jesus was she had been THINKING. Yes, she had been thinking.

Her thoughts didn’t heal her. Jesus healed her. But her thoughts influenced her actions. Her actions placed her where Jesus was. And there, in the presence of Jesus, everything changed.

WHAT YOU THINK DOES MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

Your thoughts are the seeds, your actions put those seeds in the ground, and your results are the harvest. You get a harvest because you grew some plants and those plants first began as seed. Your results today are because of your actions. Your actions first began as thoughts.

Your thoughts today will grow something … will you be pleased with that harvest?

What if this woman would have THOUGHT she was too sick or tired to go see Jesus that day? Ahhh, she would have missed her miracle.

I wonder how many times she had been to this place before? How many times had she gone bent over, then walked back home bent over? How many times had she struggled though her day and came to the end of the day no better, with no change? Likely a lot. Likely 18 years. If she would have been thinking “well, what’s the point of even going there today, it’s never done anything for me” what would have happened? NOTHING would have happened because she wouldn’t have even been in the position to encounter Jesus.

Does it feel like nothing is happening in your life? Nothing has ever changed and therefore nothing will ever change? That must have been how this woman felt too. But she had been thinking. She had been thinking, “I’m gonna get up and go even if I don’t feel like it. I’m gonna see what I can do. I’m gonna go even if people look at me. I’m gonna walk in there all crippled like even if people talk about me. I’m gonna get myself there. I’m gonna get up.”

The woman could not straighten herself up, but she could get herself there.

And it was her THINKING that led to her ACTION. It was her ACTION that led to her ENCOUNTER. It was her encounter that led to her MIRACLE.

We all want the miracle. God please save my marriage. God please change my child. God please heal my body. God please bring that job. God please just hand deliver it all to me as I sit right here on my couch because I really don’t feel like getting up. God, you’re gonna have to bring it to me because I gave up on showing up.

What good place have you stopped going to? What prayer have you stopped praying? What act of obedience have you postponed because eighteen years feels too long?

The woman could not heal herself. But she could get up. She could take a step. She could show up. And that was enough for Jesus to meet her there. Maybe your next miracle isn’t waiting on God’s ability … Maybe it’s waiting on your willingness to get up and go.

Woman, STRAIGHTEN UP. You can’t get the miracle without the encounter. You can’t get the encounter without the action. And you’ll never take the action without first THINKING.

What are you thinking today?

Do your thoughts align with your doubts or your faith? Are you focused on what you CAN do or what you can’t do?

Straighten up. You’ve felt sorry for yourself too long. You’ve been letting people run over you too long. You’ve been wallowing in this too long. You’ve been worried about this too long. Straighten up. In the words of Jesus, “woman you are set free.”

Start thinking like it. Start talking like it. Start acting like it.

Your thoughts lead to an action. Your action leads to an encounter. And that encounter brings you to your miracle.

Follow Pamela on Instagram – https://instagram.com/headmamapamela
Or Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/pamela.crim
Find out more about BIG Life – http://biglifehq.com

God isn’t looking for the strongest, the smartest, the most experienced, or the most qualified. None of the things we place such importance on are on God’s list of expectations of us.

God asks for something specific from us … believe. Simply believe he will do what he says he will do. Believe he can do it through you and he can do it for you.

We are so quick to dismiss ourselves. We’re so accustom to playing little and sitting it out. Experience has shown us if we will just sit and wait, someone else might step up and do it for us.

But really, is that what God created you for? Did he create you to be the girl who never does anything hard? Did he create you to be the girl who watches others do what you should be doing? I think not!

Your Creator expects you to believe his power is enough to overcome every single inadequacy you may have. Your Creator expects you to show up like you’re chosen, and count on divine providence to make things happen as you go. This whole laying low, hiding in dark corners, and playing little nonsense has got to stop.

Your muscles are atrophying because you’re not using them. And let me tell you something, your faith is a muscle. The more you use it, the stronger it gets. But lack of use causes it to wither and deteriorate.

If you haven’t been showing up in the middle of circumstances that are beyond your own ability and putting yourself out there in the face of potential failure, then you’ve started to believe you never could. Your focus has become set on all you can’t do, rather than what GOD COULD DO through you.

What could God do through you? Oh girl, you have no idea! But don’t you want to know!

I totally want to know what God could do through an ordinary girl like me. I want to know what my life could become with a disciplined surrender to his promptings.

Notice I said “disciplined surrender” to his promptings.

I’ve discovered this journey of being led by the Holy Spirit is a daily act of discipline. It means I get up when I don’t want to get up. It means I show up no matter what. It means I believe there’s something greater guiding me than my feelings in the moment. It means I start small and humble and refuse to give up in the struggle, because eventually God will grow it to something greater.

But he doesn’t grow great things out of our nothing. He doesn’t show up and use magic in our lives.

Is that what you’ve been counting on? Magic. God, just make it happen. Do something big, while I do nothing.

Nope.

God uses seeds.

Your disciplined surrender every day is a seed. If you don’t plant it by showing up when you don’t feel like showing up, then guess what … you forfeit the blessing of seeing what God could have done with your little.

You dismiss yourself from growth. So, God will grow someone else. God will use someone else’s seed of disciplined surrender to create what you’ve been dreaming of, and you’ll sit there and watch it happen wondering why it couldn’t be you.

Well, honey, maybe it couldn’t be you because you weren’t willing to believe to the point of action.

Yes, that’s what we’re talking about today. Belief in God that makes us move. Believing so much that we can’t sit in inaction. Believing God is doing something so good, no one could make you sleep the day away. Believing God is guiding you so powerfully, that nothing could hold you back from taking the next step.

Would God really choose someone like you for that? YES – You’re perfect for this!

In the Old Testament, the Lord chose Gideon as his mighty warrior to rescue his people. But there was one little problem, Gideon was a very unlikely candidate for a warrior position. No one else would have chosen Gideon, but God did. And you need to know why. You need to know why God chose someone totally unlikely for great things, because you’ve been focusing on how unlikely you are while God has been trying to tell you YOU ARE CHOSEN.

Judges 6: 11-16 “The angel of the Lord came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites. When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, “The Lord is with you,mighty warrior.”

“Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our ancestors told us about when they said, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up out of Egypt?’ But now the Lord has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian.”

The Lord turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?”

“Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.”

The Lord answered, “I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites, leaving none alive.”

 

Why would God choose the least person out of a family in the weakest clan to rise up as a warrior? Oh honey, don’t you remember what Jesus said in 2 Corinthians 12:9 “My power is made perfect in your weakness.”

Gideon being a total unlikely warrior was God’s divine opportunity to show his power.

So, Sister, all the reasons why you can’t … all the reasons why you’re not good enough … all the reasons why you dismiss yourself … those are the exact reasons God has chosen you. YOU ARE THE ONE HE WANTS because his power is made absolutely perfect in you.

You can’t do this on your own, and you’re not supposed to. But you are supposed to do this with his power!

Gideon began following God’s promptings with disciplined surrender. He did things that were hard for him to do. He did things that made absolutely no sense to him. He did things that would cause others to question. And with each act of disciplined surrender, God’s power was made perfect within him.

This is how the least person in a family of the weakest clan became a mighty warrior. He actually BELIEVED what God said about him. And he believed it so much, he took action.

And this is exactly where you are today. You’re at this place where God is speaking to you. He is telling you you are his beloved and chosen girl. He is telling you he created you for a purpose and he has great plans for you. He is telling you the deepest desires of your heart have been put there by him, written into your soul by your creator, as a guide to your destiny. Will you BELIEVE IT?

Will you believe this could be true for you?
Will you believe your weakness makes you a perfect candidate for God’s power?
Will you believe it so much that you stop dismissing yourself?
Will you believe it so much that you greet the feelings that tell you you don’t want to, and show up with disciplined surrender anyway?
Will you believe it in the face of your most recent set back?
Will you believe it when it looks totally unlikely?
Will you believe it when you’re tired?
Will you believe it when it doesn’t make sense?
Will you believe it to the point of action?

God has aligned things for you that your mind simply cannot even begin to fathom right now. It’s crazy perfect how God’s plans for your life will fulfill every dream you’ve ever had and bring purpose to every struggle you’ve ever lived through. Yip, God meant it when he said he will give you the desires of your heart. He meant it when he said he would take everything the enemy ever meant for harm and use it for good.

Now, you get to choose whether you believe it.

And if you choose to believe it, something will start shifting within you. That belief will stir up power and courage and strength you never knew possible. The warrior stuff inside of you will start showing up. And every day, through disciplined surrender pushing you through all the things you don’t feel like doing, you will discover you really are the one God has chosen!

Your job today is to start believing it and start showing up for it.

My whole world changed when I spent more time believing I could be the one God spoke through than dismissing myself from the calling.

No more dismissing yourself. God is calling you. He’s calling you out of the corner where you’ve been hiding. Out of the rut where you’ve been stuck. Out of the comfort you’ve been clinging to. Out of the excuses you’ve been using. Believe it and see where your feet are guided next!

Each act of your disciplined surrender invites God’s power to be made perfect within you.

Follow Pamela on Instagram – https://instagram.com/headmamapamela
Or Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/pamela.crim
Find out more about BIG Life – http://biglifehq.com