Choosing To Walk in the Spirit
"Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God. You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit, who lives in you (Romans 8:5-11)."
All who are in Christ Jesus have His Spirit living within us. It is by His Spirit, that we overcome our sinful nature. When we live in submission to the Spirit, we desire the things He desires and in return, are filled with peace and joy. I don't think there is anyone more miserable than a follower of Christ who is not walking with Him. By that I mean, you have tasted and have seen that the Lord is good, you have been washed in His cleansing blood, yet you allow your sinful nature to take over. This could be out of fear of what others may think of you. It could be that your mind is not consistently being renewed in the word of God. It could be the people you surround yourself with, those you spend a lot of time with who aren't walking with God and are influencing you in a negative way. Whatever the case may be my friend, each day you have a choice to make. You will either choose to walk in the Spirit or you will chose to walk in the flesh. There is no middle ground. You cannot please the flesh and at the same time please God.
When the Spirit comes, He guides you into all truth, convicts you and comforts you, however, He does not force His will on you. It is up to each one of us to surrender to His will; to lay aside our will and our wants, and choose to walk in obedience to the Lord. This is not always easy, in fact, it can be hard at times, but in choosing to follow the Spirit's lead, you can be sure that you will have so much peace and joy. On the other hand, if you choose to follow your flesh, you will experience frustration, guilt and lose the peace you once had.
You see, God created us for a purpose and that purpose is to bring Him glory. We were created for Him! "For in Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through Him and for Him (Colossians 1:16)."
God has placed boundaries for us, not to keep us from enjoying life, on the contrary, these boundaries keep us from destroying ourselves and ruining our lives. God gave us boundaries because of His great love for us. Sin will always lead to death (James 1:15), however, if you live by the Spirit, you will be able to overcome the sinful desires of the flesh. "The acts of the sinful nature 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. (Galatians 5:19-21)." In choosing the Spirit-filled life, you will gain: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23)."
God is good and everything He does is perfect and loving. "The Lord is righteous in all His ways and loving toward all He has made (Psalm 145:17)." He created you and because of this, He knows you better than you know yourself and knows what is best for you. "For You created my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from You when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, Your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them came to be. How precious to me are Your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand (Psalm 139:13-18)." You are precious to Him my friend! Oh how He loves you so! When you experience the captivating, freeing love of Christ, your life is never the same. And when you realize just what He did for you, it becomes an honor to live for Him~not because you have to, but because you want to!
So I challenge you today and everyday~as long as you have breath~choose to walk in the Spirit. Surrender to the One who paid it all~the King of kings and Lord of lords! Amen!
All who are in Christ Jesus have His Spirit living within us. It is by His Spirit, that we overcome our sinful nature. When we live in submission to the Spirit, we desire the things He desires and in return, are filled with peace and joy. I don't think there is anyone more miserable than a follower of Christ who is not walking with Him. By that I mean, you have tasted and have seen that the Lord is good, you have been washed in His cleansing blood, yet you allow your sinful nature to take over. This could be out of fear of what others may think of you. It could be that your mind is not consistently being renewed in the word of God. It could be the people you surround yourself with, those you spend a lot of time with who aren't walking with God and are influencing you in a negative way. Whatever the case may be my friend, each day you have a choice to make. You will either choose to walk in the Spirit or you will chose to walk in the flesh. There is no middle ground. You cannot please the flesh and at the same time please God.
When the Spirit comes, He guides you into all truth, convicts you and comforts you, however, He does not force His will on you. It is up to each one of us to surrender to His will; to lay aside our will and our wants, and choose to walk in obedience to the Lord. This is not always easy, in fact, it can be hard at times, but in choosing to follow the Spirit's lead, you can be sure that you will have so much peace and joy. On the other hand, if you choose to follow your flesh, you will experience frustration, guilt and lose the peace you once had.
You see, God created us for a purpose and that purpose is to bring Him glory. We were created for Him! "For in Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through Him and for Him (Colossians 1:16)."
God has placed boundaries for us, not to keep us from enjoying life, on the contrary, these boundaries keep us from destroying ourselves and ruining our lives. God gave us boundaries because of His great love for us. Sin will always lead to death (James 1:15), however, if you live by the Spirit, you will be able to overcome the sinful desires of the flesh. "The acts of the sinful nature 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. (Galatians 5:19-21)." In choosing the Spirit-filled life, you will gain: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23)."
God is good and everything He does is perfect and loving. "The Lord is righteous in all His ways and loving toward all He has made (Psalm 145:17)." He created you and because of this, He knows you better than you know yourself and knows what is best for you. "For You created my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from You when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, Your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them came to be. How precious to me are Your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand (Psalm 139:13-18)." You are precious to Him my friend! Oh how He loves you so! When you experience the captivating, freeing love of Christ, your life is never the same. And when you realize just what He did for you, it becomes an honor to live for Him~not because you have to, but because you want to!
So I challenge you today and everyday~as long as you have breath~choose to walk in the Spirit. Surrender to the One who paid it all~the King of kings and Lord of lords! Amen!
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