September 14, 2024

Walking in the Spirit-Part 3

Cut off the deeds of the body with the help of the Holy Spirit

Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. Romans 8:12-13

The desires of the flesh are strong. However, through the power of the Holy Spirit, we can overcome. I try to avoid eating sugar and things that become sugar in my body. It affects me both mentally and physically. If I give into my fleshly desire for sugar and go on a binge, I pay the price with weight gain and my ability to think clearly. Though most of the time I persevere, for me, overeating sugar is a sin; when I overdo it, I confess, and through the grace of God, I’m forgiven. We are accountable for our actions if we ignore the cues of the Holy Spirit. If you know, and everyone knows their kryptonite, that sinful desire that takes you out of fellowship with God, then you must stop that activity. We do not belong to ourselves; God purchased us for Himself, and because we are His, we must mortify our desire for anything that feeds our flesh. That said, remember, there is no condemnation in Christ Jesus. He paid the price for all our shortcomings, and there is forgiveness if we make a mistake. To walk in the Spirit requires that we ignore our fleshly desires. If you pay attention, you will feel God rejoicing over you when you overcome your flesh and set your mind on Him.

September 13, 2024

Walking in the Spirit

Part 2

Think about the things of the Spirit rather than the things of the flesh.

That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. Romans 8:4-5

Keeping the law won't save you; it's weak at best. Because of the grace of God and our Savior Jesus, we can count ourselves worthy of redemption. If my salvation depended on me, I wouldn't have it because sin is in my nature. Now that you know the law won't save you, nor can you save yourself, let's focus on walking in the Spirit. If you are not saved by Jesus, this won't work for you because you need the Holy Spirit to be able to walk in his ways; you get his indwelling at salvation. 

I must confess that after I study, pray, and write in the morning, my focus tends to be on other things; we must still endure our flesh and do whatever it takes to care for it. Aside from that, I sometimes get caught up in browsing through social media. It's not all bad news; some people I follow are great teachers. However, I tend to focus on the latest worldly happenings. Am I walking in the Spirit? He never leaves me, but my focus during that time is fleshly. So, yesterday, I decided that it was vital for me to prepare to write this post. I listened to two of my pastor's sermons on Romans 8:1-4 and then read a chapter in the book I'm using as a guide. I spent so much time doing that that I barely had time to browse the internet. I filled my head with the good things of God rather than the junk and felt very fulfilled. So, it works! Set your mind on things above and let the Holy Spirit be your guide, and before you know it, you will be walking in the Spirit.

September 12, 2024

Walking in the Spirit

Part 1

There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. Romans 8:1

This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. Galatians 5:16

I decided to start a series on walking in the Spirit. I prayed for God to help me with the direction He wants me to go in, and that's what I came up with through the guidance of the Holy Spirit. We shall see where this leads. What does it mean to walk in the Spirit? Together, we will learn what that means. I found a book By Kenneth Berding called Walking by the Spirit that might help us become aware and give us focus so we can become intentional in our walk. This series will not be a book review; I'm merely using it as a guide to get all the key points.

One of the things I do when at the beach is walk on the shore. I spend an hour walking about two miles, looking for patterns in the treasures I find, talking to God, singing hymns, and enjoying the atmosphere. My mind is clear, and it helps God to fill it with things He wants me to learn. Sometimes, I express my desires and pray for the people He brings to my mind. You can see that it's a two-way conversation. Now, remember, I am not that holy, and my mind wanders if I don't focus on Him, but He gets a lot more out of me when I’m submersed in his beautiful creation. I expect we will learn to fill ourselves with the Spirit so that we will be so full of Him that we will hunger for nothing else. Maybe I will learn to walk and keep my eyes on Him without my mind wandering. Let's take this spiritual journey together and see where it leads.

September 11, 2024

Marks of a true Christian

Part 11

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23

I couldn’t conclude this series without covering this verse. Even though the world may be in turmoil and our lives hard, do you possess the fruits of the Spirit? These are the qualities of having the Spirit of the living God within you, that wonderful gift of the Holy Spirit that Jesus gave us when he ascended to the Father as a placeholder until he comes again. These qualities naturally emanate from us as proof of our being bought and paid for by Jesus. Every now and then, our flesh will rear its ugly head, and we act out of character of the One who lives in us and feel guilty when that happens, but for the most part, we possess these attributes of the Holy Spirit as our way of life. If you lack in one of these areas, ask the Holy Spirit to help you work on that particular attribute. For the most part, these should come naturally, but if one seems to be holding you back, hone in on it and make a conscious effort to remedy it. The world will notice a difference in you compared to others who live by the flesh, and they will want what you have, but sometimes that makes them jealous of you. I can’t blame them; Jesus makes it easier for us to exist in this world. 

September 10, 2024

Marks of a true Christian

Part 10

Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also doye. And above all these things put on charity (love), which is the bond of perfectness. Colossians 3:12-14

We have found our Savior, who has forgiven us of so many sins. Our chains are gone, no longer binding us to our past sins. However, we live among those who haven't sought redemption through Jesus, so we must contend with their ignorance, sometimes making it difficult for us to be around them. Some of our characteristics include kindness, mercy, and long-suffering. We know about suffering with these people and live with the enumerable consequences of their actions. We must remember that unsaved people don't understand how ungodly their behavior is to themselves and others around them because they don't have God in their corner. We must, therefore, consider their lack of knowledge when contending with them. This lesson goes back to feeling sorry for them because they are dead until they are raised to life when they begin to believe in Jesus and have faith in him. Even though we suffer because of them, we must still show kindness and mercy. We don't know who God has chosen and must treat everyone as if they are part of His kingdom.

September 9, 2024

Marks of a true Christian

Part 9

My friend and brother in Christ shared with me three pivotal characteristics of a true Christian from First John, and I felt compelled to share his teaching with you because it is so good.

"I know you've been teaching lately on Marks of Christianity, and I thought I would mention to you that there are three patterns or characteristics of a born-again Christian taught by John in the letter of First John.

The first is faith in Jesus Christ as God's son who died and was raised for us. The second is that we love the father and love his children, and the third is obedience to the word of God. It is not perfect obedience, of course, but we want to obey and try our best.

John wrote the letter because there was a group of gnostics from his church who left his church and had tried to influence a lot of his believers so John wrote this letter to give them assurance of salvation through these three tests.

"But you have been anointed by the Holy One, (he's talking here about the Holy Spirit ) and you all have knowledge. I write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth. Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son." 1 John 2:20-22

He's talking about the person and works of Jesus Christ.

"Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love." 1 John 4:7-8.

"And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says "I know him" but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him," 1 John 2:3-4

He sums it up in chapter 5, verse 13 "I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life." 1 John 5:13

You can also see all three tests are listed in the first three verses of chapter 5." Joe Miles

September 8, 2024

Marks of a true Christian

Part 8

Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good. Romans 12:17-21

The Bible is very clear on recompensing evil for evil, so I’ve included the whole text. God wants to handle your issues himself. He can do far more than we can, and we won’t have to spend time in jail. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. God avenges his children! In fact, it’s one of our privileges. He is the sovereign King and a righteous judge. He can see all sides of the issue and fairly judge the case. When we leave it in His hands, we show him that we trust him to handle it, which helps us increase our faith. As the evil in this world increases, it is essential that we allowthis lesson to penetrate our hearts because it will become harder and harder not to seek revenge on those who’ve hurt us. Defend yourself if you must, but seek no revenge. And, by treating our enemies kindly, it’s like heaping hot coals on their heads; that does it for me every time. We cannot avenge ourselves better than God can so leave it in His hands.