Walk in the Spirit

“This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.” (Gal. 5: 16-17).

This article is being written the weekend before the Nov. 2 elections in the United States and as the year draws to a close my thoughts are on all that the near future holds. We live in a world full of turmoil and uncertainty. There appears to be great discontent rising among the nations and the people of the nations are growing restless. Many are starting to realize that the future no longer looks rosy. At times like these it is easy to fall back to our old ways. We may feel tempted in different ways as we feel the stress of the world working in our lives. This is a time, though, that we must Walk in the Spirit.

A good friend of mine is having problems with her family. There is a dispute between her and her brothers and sisters which is causing her much sorrow. The saddest part of this dispute is the lack of forgiveness by her family from an argument she had with one of her sisters. This is a Christian family and it is amazing to me that there can be such gossiping and a lack of forgiveness taking place. She has tried numerous times to heal this rift but they will not listen to her apology. Where are their hearts really? What comes out of our mouths speaks of our hearts. The Book of Proverbs has many verses that refer to the words that come out of our mouths. Here is one example: “The thoughts of the righteous are right: but the counsels of the wicked are deceit. The words of the wicked are to lie in wait for blood: but the mouth of the upright shall deliver them.” (Prov. 12: 5-6). If the words of our mouths are full of anger and gossip what does that say about our walk with the Lord.

The present world is an unfriendly place for Christians and we should not be fighting with one another as well. Our fleshy nature wants to control, judge and sometimes manipulate others but this is not how we “Walk in the Spirit.” We are to try and help, encourage and support each other at this time. Holding on to grudges and trying to control others does not encourage Christian fellowship. It only causes rifts in our relationships and weakens our walk with the Lord.

Our Israel nations have been blessed by a wonderful God who wants us to repent and walk with Him in the Spirit

In Gal. 5:16 the commentary in my Bible says for this verse, “Christians are to live with the Spirit’s help. (1) The Christian must believe that the Spirit is with him, having been sent by God into his heart (Gal. 4:6). (2) In every spiritual confrontation the believer must yield to the Spirit, that is, submit his own desires to those of the Spirit. (3) One must depend on the Spirit for help, enabling him to live a God pleasing life (Gal. 5:5). (4) The believer should anticipate the effects of the Spirit’s help in his daily life.” In Gal. 5:17 the commentary says, “ One’s sinful human nature (flesh) and the Holy Spirit lusteth against one another, that is, they have desires and yearnings that are contrary to one another. The Christian, then, is a battlefield, having desires to do good and evil. The outcome is that ye cannot do the things that ye would: the flesh seeks to thwart the Spirit who, in turn, attempts to frustrate the flesh’s evil desires.” We must submit ourselves to be led by the Spirit and not by the flesh.

When we are Christians we are meant to live our lives as an example to others, that they may see Christ living in us. This cannot happen if we are holding onto old grudges and being unforgiving, especially to someone who is asking for forgiveness. It appears then that we are Christians in name only and our hearts are cold. Our lives are being affected more and more by all that is happening in the world. This should make us more dependent on God every day to help us walk through this life in the Spirit.

Our Israel nations have been blessed by a wonderful God who wants us to repent and walk with Him in the Spirit, but we are a rebellious and hard headed people that like to do things our own way. It is sad because we make things so difficult for ourselves when we don’t walk with the Lord and many are hurt by our actions as well. In 2011 let us all try our best to Walk in the Spirit more and more and give our lives to Christ alone. He deserves all the glory. The following verse is from the beautiful song “In Christ Alone” written by Shawn Craig and Don Koch and sung so amazingly by Michael English or Brian Littrell. I think it says it all.

In Christ alone
I place my trust
And find my glory in the power of the cross
In every victory
Let it be said of me
My source of strength
My source of hope
Is Christ alone