Devotion:
Read Galatians 5:16-26.
Paul implores Christians to be guided by the Holy Spirit. In the verses just prior to these, he reminds them that “the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ As was often a subject in his other letters, the Christians in Galatia were apparently becoming divided, not acting in love toward each other.
When he refers to “the acts of the flesh” in verse 19, we usually think of just physical sins. But notice what is included in these “acts”: hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy. All of these deal with relationships and how we treat other people.
We all have people and personalities which we find difficult to be around. And if we try to deal with them on our own, it is likely that those relationships will at some point dissolve into factions and discord and everything else on that list. It is only by spending time with the Holy Spirit that we will have the power and wisdom to relate to them differently than the rest of the world does. We simply cannot expect to be guided and empowered by the Holy Spirit if we are not spending time with and giving focus to that Spirit.
Note the assumption he makes at the beginning of verse 25: “Since we live by the Spirit…” The question is “Do we?” Do you?
Personal Worship Option:
Daniel Iverson wrote this chorus almost a hundred years ago, but it is still a great prayer for any of us to pray every so often:
Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on me.
Melt me, mold me, fill me, use me.
Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on me.
No comments:
Post a Comment