Most people never give much attention to spiritual
pursuits, and they allow the requirements of life to push and pull them through
their day. Denying their flesh never enters their mind and they cater to their
glutinous habits in every area of life. They even resist all opportunities to
deny their self or to pursue spirituality. Disillusioned with life, they permit
bitterness to defile them. They harbor unforgiveness towards others, as well as
toward their self.
There are a multitude of distractions in today’s world,
which keep us from pursuing a deeper walk in Christ. The world, the flesh and
the devil do everything in their powers to sidetrack us from a holy walk of
obedience. Trivial pursuits, negative emotions, misplaced priorities, worldly
ambition, work-related burdens, school demands, fleshly temptations and family
obligations all require our time and energy and pull us away from God. God has
a solution to this dilemma.
He sent the Holy Spirit to help us to draw near to Him, so
we can resist the devil and his demons until they flee from us (James
4:7). The Spirit also directs us to evade disruptions. He helps us to plan
the minutes of our day to accomplish the works God created for us to do (Ephesians
2:10). Once we allow the Sprit to guide us, the temptations of
sin no longer appeal to us (Galatians 5:16-25). God’s Spirit enables us
to walk in holiness and to make a difference for Christ in the world.
Our righteousness is based on Jesus’ sacrifice on Calvary’s
cross, not on our own effort to win His favor (Ephesians 2:8-9; Romans
3:23). We do not use self-effort to reach holiness, but we are
Spirit-led through each moment of our day (Titus 3:5). We live
in victory over sin and death and in the hope of our resurrection with Christ from
the dead (1 John 5:4; 1 Corinthians 15:55-57; 1 Peter 1:3). We are a
new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17), and we are no longer satisfied
with the mediocre life of sin and deprivation.
Prayer:
Father God, we commune with You in our spirit, and we walk by the direction of
Your Spirit each moment of our day. We find our self reaping rewards of
fulfillment and satisfaction because our schedule works like clockwork. We
experience a freedom that we never had when we lived by the dictates of our
fleshly, carnal nature. Remind us how much You love us and help us to make You
the top priority of our day.
Thought for the Day:
We never please God more than when we make Him our priority
and follow the leading of His Spirit moment by moment throughout our day.
