Galatians 5:22-26 — Keep in Step...Left...Left...Left...Right...Left

READ THIS: Galatians 5:19-21

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.
 
WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY?

So the fruit of the Spirit looks a LOT different from the rotten fruits of the flesh from yesterday. But, what verse 24 shows us is that giving up the fruits of the flesh is HARD. Being crucified is a long and painful process. When we give our lives to Jesus, some people get to experience a cool immediate freedom from the fleshy stuff we talked about yesterday, but other people have to work hard at it over time. Even Paul, in a different place in Scripture, talks about how he struggled with a fleshly desire that just wouldn't go away. But, because we struggle with the flesh/human desire, we get to actively choose every day to keep in step with the Spirit. It's like a dog on a walk without a leash. Because the dog sees a bunch of cool stuff, he gets to actively choose whether he will run away, or if he'd rather walk in step with his owner. We get to decide if we'd rather go after the world or stay in step with Jesus! (Also side note, other translations say patience instead of forbearance, in case you were confused!)

THINK ABOUT IT:

1. Right now, what's a desire that you have that you KNOW is opposite to what Jesus would want for you?

2. Honestly, would you rather have Jesus or that desire? Do you like your answer to that question—why or why not?
 
TRY THIS:

Tell God about the desire in detail. Just say something like, "God, I really want ___. I want it because ____. What do you think about that desire? Why do I really want this thing, God, is there something I'm missing?" (This can be the same thing from yesterday!)

Comments

  1. YoooonahMarch 21, 2023 at 4:36 AM

    Hello people (and peoples) it’s been a minute but I’m back. I would say in desire I have and that I think we all have is to fit in, and I’m not saying God doesn’t want us to have friends, I’m saying it’s the things we do to fit in he doesn’t like (Romans 12:2 people)

    I would rather have Jesus because he is everlasting through all time, I mean (dark thoughts here) I could die today on my way to school or next week or anytime really, so there is no guarantee how long you will have this desire, and these things often aren’t all they’re cracked up to because we don’t really know if they’re quality or not. But we know Jesus is the best there is no questions asked

    ReplyDelete

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