Galatians 5:16
“So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.”
Today, I thought of three instructions that might be helpful to my brothers and sisters in Christ, as well as to myself. These are things I’ve pondered recently that I thought would help us in our Christian walk. These things relate to behavioral and spiritual enhancements and how we might walk them out with the help of the Holy Spirit.
1. How to Be Different Without Being Rebellious
Some of us, or maybe even most of us, feel very unique from other people. With this thinking, we may, in certain areas, reject any suggestions to change, for fear of becoming something we are not. However, it is not a bad thing to change, as this happens to all of us as we grow older, whether we like it or not, for better or for worse. Yet, thankfully, we are encouraged to grow to become more like Christ. Hence, we want to move further away from being rebellious and closer to improving and being humble.
In 1 Samuel 15:23, the Bible relates being rebellious to witchcraft. It represents an attempt to usurp God’s supreme authority in favor of self-will or other spiritual powers. Rebellion also involves having a rigid attitude that resists rules.
God has given us all a spirit and soul that live in a body, where all three are different from those of other people. Yet He has given us His Bible to teach us how to live and communicate with Him and others in love. Hence, while our personalities are and should be different, our ways of relating to others should align with God’s teachings.
We’ve been reared in various ways, enjoy different things, and dislike other things, which involve our family history, personal desires, learning, and environment. But rejecting rebellion in our lives entails replacing pride with humility, cultivating a teachable spirit, and actively submitting to authority. We are to avoid self-reliance alone and disobedience to God’s will, as a defiant and stubborn spirit leads to judgment and spiritual destruction.
Thankfully, God has made His will for us known through His Bible and by communicating with Him in prayer. So, if we lack wisdom, we are told in His Word to ask, and He will grant it to us liberally. Moreover, He’s given leaders in the Church to give us His instructions, as well as His Holy Spirit, who leads us into all truth.
2. How Not to Conform, While Being Transformed
The Bible tells us we are being transformed into the image of Christ. Specifically, Romans 8:29 says, “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.” We are also told in Romans 12:2-3, not to “conform to the patterns of this world, but to be transformed” by the renewing of our minds. Then we will be “able to test and approve what God’s will is—His good, pleasing and perfect will.”
Meditating on the Lord’s teachings daily strengthens our faith. It allows us to remember what the Lord’s will actually is, instead of what the world imparts to us. As we train ourselves and practice what He has instructed, we become more accustomed to His will and ways and less desiring of worldly ways and attitudes. Not to mention, His Holy Spirit’s sanctification process, which is a lifelong work in our lives to make us more like Christ.
3. How to Love without Compromise or Carnality
The Bible teaches us in 1 Corinthians 16:14 to “do everything in love.” Also, in 1 Corinthians 13:6, “love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.” So, truth is important in showing love. True love rejects wrongdoing and celebrates truth. Moreover, “love does no harm to a neighbor…” (Romans 13:10).
When we are carnal, we appeal to our flesh, and as Romans 8:7-8 teaches, “The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.” Therefore, we must seek to live according to God’s Spirit and not our own carnal desires.
Living in this world, over time, we have developed worldly habits that need to be replaced by godly habits. We’ve grown accustomed to living and doing in ways that are opposed to God’s desires for us. We won’t know what that is until we hear and study the truth of the Bible’s teachings. Compromising involves settling for an altered version of the truth. And there are many altered versions of truth one can embrace. So, we must know and understand the truth God has made available to us in the Bible.
Consistently, learning and practicing God’s standards for living keeps us in the knowledge and way of truth. Needless to say, encouraging one another in God’s principles for living His life of love is a blessing to our growth.
The chief way to learn how to love is to know God and live close to Him. He will show us how to love others as well as ourselves. The Bible tells us in 1 John 4:8, “Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.” So, knowing God is the first step to success in love.
It’s quite apparent that these things can’t be accomplished in our own strength alone, but we need the wisdom and guidance of God to help us. One fruit of the Holy Spirit we can exercise to help us walk by the Spirit and not our flesh is self-control. It empowers believers to govern their desires, speech, and actions rather than being ruled by them.
Ms. Rita's Minute 