14/3/11 Deuteronomy 25-27; Galatians 5
S: Galatians 5:19-26 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, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God. But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another.
O: This is in the context of “Live by the Spirit”. What does it mean to live by the Spirit? Here, the emphasis is not on some mystical thing, but rather, what are you being guided by? The flesh or the Spirit?
When we follow the flesh, what the NLT calls our “sinful nature”, we end up with all these bad effects. But when we live by the Spirit, we grow the fruit of the Spirit in us.
A: We need to daily deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Jesus. As we abide in Christ and grow in the Spirit, the fruit of the Spirit will grow in us – “little by little, every day, little by little, in every way, Jesus is changing me!” as Yvonne pointed out to us a few days ago.
On a personal level, I need to remember this when my flesh tempts me again!
P: Father, I pray that I will remember this next time I’m tempted, and that I’ll be more and more day by day listening to the Spirit and not to the flesh! In Jesus’ name, Amen!
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