So I Say Walk By The Spirit!

My Utmost For His Highest

. . our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin —Romans 6:6

‘This was not some divine future expectation on the part of Paul, but was a very radical and definite experience in his life. Are you prepared to let the Spirit of God search you until you know what the level and nature of sin is in your life— to see the very things that struggle against God’s Spirit in you? If so, will you then agree with God’s verdict on the nature of sin— that it should be identified with the death of Jesus? You cannot “reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin” (Romans 6:11) unless you have radically dealt with the issue of your will before God.’ CHAMBERS

Do you have places in your heart that you don’t want anyone to know about … places perhaps where you trust no one, not even God?  Jesus said the greatest commandment in Matthew 22:37 is to love God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength.  As a child of His, there is no place in your heart that God does not already know about.  You deceive yourself to think that He does not know your innermost secrets and fears.  Our God is trustworthy …. He loves us beyond measure … and wants nothing to get in the way of the relationship He desires to have with us.  But then there is our flesh .. the old nature .. it raises its head … and does its best to get in the way of us drawing close to God.  How do you know when your flesh is at work?

Galatians 5:16-21 says “So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions  and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God."

Did you zero in on the things you don’t do when you read that?  Were you looking for a reason that the list does not apply to you?  Did you gloss over the things that you struggle with?  Friend … our life is a struggle. We all face temptations .. we struggle with the desires of our flesh … But God has made a way for us to have victory … Stop making excuses for your sin … and repent ..  turn to God and walk by the power of the Spirit … You can only do that by practicing the disciplines of our faith .. reading the Word, praying, fellowshipping with other Christians .. sharing Christ with others and keeping Jesus the focus of your life.

Bondye Beni Ou (God Bless You)