When we come to Christ, He immediately frees us from the
snare of the flesh. Then, He puts His Spirit within us, so that we can inherit
God's Kingdom as co-heirs with Christ (Ezekiel 36:25; Galatians 4:4,
5:19). By His grace, God forgives our sins; and as His children
we surrender to His Spirit, who crucifies the desires of our flesh, and teaches
us to live in and walk in His Spirit (Galatians 5:16-25).
We are filled with the Spirit's fruit and our entire
personality and life change for the better (Galatians 5:22-23). Whom the
Son sets free lives in perpetual freedom (John 8:36). Anyone
who prefers to walk according to the dictates of our flesh is living in
disobedience to God and will reap earthly destruction and eternal damnation (1 John
3:4; 2 Thessalonians 1:9).
As authentic Believers, it becomes normal to reject the
dictates of our flesh, and to follow the Spirit instead. The more our intimacy
with God increases, the less we would think of using our liberty in Christ as
an occasion to sin. We prefer to walk in the Spirit, so that we reap God's
blessings and please Him with our life (Galatians 5:13).
We cannot perfect our self by our human effort, but
according to God's mercy. His Spirit helps us to walk in holiness and to
inherit eternal life (Titus 3:3). The more we feed our spirit by
Bible study, prayer, fellowship with other Saints and sitting in the presence
of God, the stronger our spirit will grow and the more we will live in
perpetual freedom (Romans 8:6-7).
Prayer:
Father God, thank You for enabling us to walk toward
perfection in holiness (1 Peter 1:16). We still make mistakes, but You
always give us a choice and a way out of the temptation to sin (1
Corinthians 10:13). When we do fall, we do not allow Satan's condemnation
to belittle us. Instead, we submit to the conviction of Your Holy Spirit and we
respond in repentance for our sins (Romans 8:1-7).
Eventually, sin grieves us and has no more dominion over us (Romans
6:14-18). Thank You for providing Jesus as our atoning sacrifice, as
our Savior and as our Lord (1 John 2:2; Romans 10:9; Philippians 2:11).
Thought for the Day:
Living according to the dictates of our flesh is not
profitable for us at all; but walking in the Spirit guarantees us a joyful,
fulfilled life drenched in love and peace. - John 6:63; Romans 8:6
