God
gave us His law to prove to us that we cannot save our self. To reach holiness
through the law, we must keep every word of it (Matthew 5:18; James 2:10).
Christ, who abides within us, is the only one who can satisfy the law for us
(Galatians 5:18).
When
we trust in Christ, who did keep every letter of the law as the perfect
sacrifice for our sins, His Holy Spirit takes up residence in our body as well
(Romans 5:8; 1 Corinthians 6:19). So, we grieve God's Spirit when we use His
temple for sin (1 Corinthians 6:19; Ephesians 4:30-31).
As
we surrender to the leading of God's Spirit, we are free to live in Jesus' righteousness
(Roman 1:17, 8:14). God's Spirit never leads us into permissive living
(Galatians 5:18). Increasing our intimacy with God is our best guarantee
against sin.
Our
relationship with God is more important than any other aspect of our life. He
fills us with His presence, and we follow His Spirit moment by moment
throughout our day. His living water flows through us and out into the world
around us (John 7:38).
As
we love Him with our whole heart, soul and strength, He quenches our thirsty
soul (Deuteronomy 6:5; Psalm 42:1-2, 143:6). Then we can love our neighbors as
our self, and fulfill the second greatest commandment (Matthew 22:37-40).
We
love each other as God loves us, and we serve one another as we lay down our
preferences, feelings and opinions for one another (John 15:12-13). However, when
we also love our self in this same way, our soul will also prosper (3 John 1:2).
Prayer:
Father
God, we are humbled that You loved us, even when, prior to our salvation
through Christ, we served the devil and his will for our life. We may not have
committed evil, but even our responsible, ethical life was inspired by his
desire to keep us from surrendering to Christ. Remind us that if we return to
the bondage of Satan's lies (Galatians 5:1), we forfeit our freedom from sin.
You
can no longer bless us, although Your desire is always to give us all good
things to enjoy (Psalm 84:11; James 1:17). Draw us to completely surrender our
life to You. Help us to realize that Your precepts are for our protection, and
are only restrictive if we want to continue to sin. When we choose to live in
Your freedom in righteousness, we are no longer under the oppression of Satan's
abuse.
Thought
for the Day:
When
the righteous return to a sinful lifestyle, we muddy the springs of living
water within us, and we can no longer serve as an example of an authentic
Believer; therefore, God leads us in the paths of righteousness for His name's
sake.
- Proverbs 25:26; John 4:14, 7:38; Psalm 23:3
