Friday, July 29, 2011

Walking in the Spirit


This I say then, Walk in the spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. -Galatians 5:16,17

The Bible speaks much of doing, but it is to be a response of obedience to God and is to be energized by Him. We call this obedience walking in the Spirit, or being controlled by the Holy Spirit. Since we cannot do the work of God on our own, every Christian needs to understand and practice what it means to be controlled by or filled with the Spirit. We are to yield or submit to His control. Your responsiveness to His conviction of sin will test your sincerity. A proper response makes continued fellowship with God possible.

In Ephesians 4:30 we are told not to quench the Spirit of God. His work in us is quenched or hindered by our selfishness. As we "put off" the ways of the flesh, as we hear and do what the Spirit says, we begin to develop the "mind of Christ" and to be "renewed in the spirit of [our] minds.Our lives will demonstrate an increasing stability and fruitfulness for Christ.

A love relationship is at the heart of our obedience. We will please the one we love the most.

Endurance is continued obedience to God even under pressure; the crowing virtue of character. The love for Christ, the relationship, is what fuels endurance during a trial. A renewed mind beholds "those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God" and set is "affection on things above, not on things on the earth."

"Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him." -James 1:12

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