We cannot fill our self with God's Spirit through human
effort (Acts 8:18-24). God's presence in our life
demands obedience. Without it, God's Spirit is quenched. The still small voice
of God is always there to lead us, if we will just listen and obey. God's
Spirit guides and empowers each step we take as witnesses and ministers for God's
Kingdom (Acts 1:1-9; John 1:12, 14:16-17; Colossians 2:9-10).
Carnal people may have prayed for salvation, but they skip
one important step...salvation also implies obedience (Romans
8:5-7). If people refuse to walk away from their sin and to believe
in God, they are probably not Christians (1 John 2:3,3:6-9; Ephesians
5:5). They constantly grieve and quench the Holy Spirit with their sinful
choices (Ephesians 4:30; 1 Thessalonians 5:19).
A carnal person is too proud or fearful to trust God. They
rely on their own efforts, because they do not want to bother God. They live a
roller coaster life, stressed out and weary. They are either very legalistic or
very undisciplined. They only open their Bible on Sunday. When given a choice,
they slide into sin, because it is easier than following God's way out of
temptation (1 Corinthians 10:13).
The problem with living a carnal life is that we miss out
on the abundant blessings of living a spirit-filled life. God loves us and
planned every day of our life before we were ever born (Psalm
139:16). Life is so much easier when we live it God's way. His
Spirit indwells us at salvation and fills us with each new day (John
3:1-8; Ephesians 1: 13-14; 5:18; Romans 8:8-10).
Prayer:
Father God, thank You for birthing us by Your Spirit as
authentic Believers. Your peace fulfills us as Your Spirit glorifies Christ
through us (John 7:37-39; 16:1-15). As baby Christians we mimic the
sinful behavior of the world, but we are constantly growing in love and
obedience to Your Word (1 Corinthians 3:1-3). We struggle with our
carnal desires, but we eventually realize that we are already free in Christ,
who took our condemnation and gave us His righteousness (Romans
7:15-8:1). We want to walk in Your Spirit and in Your service every
day of our life.
Thought for the Day:
When we obey God's Spirit, we do not gratify the
lusts of our flesh or desire what is contrary to God's Word, because living by
God's Spirit is the opposite of abiding in a sinful lifestyle. - Galatians
5:16-18
