February 14, 2010 Chapter 19
Dear Friends,
For those of you that actually read this blog you will notice that i had a completely different “chapter 19″ yesterday. My frustration at wordpress is relatively high at the moment but its given me an opportunity to decide what to blog on over the next few entries.
There has been a big thing going on with the people of my life in regards to living by the spirit. What does your life look like when you live by the spirit? What are the outcomes? There is an overflowing that comes from living by the spirit, that flows down into every area of your life. Over my next few entries i am going to look into what the effects of living by the spirit are.
Galations 5:16-25
“I say then: Walk in the spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatary, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as i also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with is passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit”
I am amazed at the honesty of this passage! It states it so matter of fact that you cannot live by both the spirit and the flesh, its either one or the other. And THEN it tells you what the effects are of both, its actually simple!
My aim is to live by the spirit and for the overflow of that to be constantly and consistenly present in my life. For love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control to be qualities that i am known for and remembered for.
Living by the Spirit. It is such a challenge! My mind immediately goes to that passage in Romans…….7:19 which says “For the good that i will to do, i do not do; but the evil i will not to do, that i practice”. To err is human, but i do not want to live by “humanity” i want to live by the spirit, i want to be more like christ, In the world but not of it (John 17), not conforming to the patterns of this world.
I look forward to sharing this with you
S.
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