Dear Student of God's Word,
It is time once again for your regular dose from God's word. No matter what "ails" you, God's word has the answer and antidote. We are almost finshed with our Galatians study and this week we see Paul's remedy for problems of the flesh. This week I wrote on part four of this seven-part study:
5:16 – It is not sufficient not to walk in the flesh. For example, if you say, “I will not lie” you will probably lie because you are focusing on a negative, on what you won’t do in your own power. What would be better to say is, “I will tell the truth.” That sets your focus in the right direction. You cannot lie if you are telling the truth—living by the Spirit will not allow you to gratify the desires of the flesh, for you cannot do two things at once!
I have worked with many people who were trying to stop bad habits. The more they focused on the bad habit—smoking, eating, cursing—the more they seemed to do that very thing. It wasn’t until they took their eyes off those actions and put them on the desire behavior that they began to follow the Spirit and have some measure of release and success.
5:17 – There is conflict between the Spirit and the sinful nature. The sinful nature can never, ever accomplish the will of the Spirit. They are mutually exclusive. That is why I often counsel people that they must stop expecting Christian behavior from a non-Christian. A non-believing boss or partner cannot possibly do spiritual things in a spirit of kindness or patience if they don’t have the power of the Spirit in their lives, but neither can you. Stop trying to do God’s will and instead say, “God, I cannot do this. I cannot love this person. So I am asking that you come into my life and love this person through me. I will cooperate with your Spirit to do your will where this person is concerned.”
That does not mean that people are totally evil. There is a concept called common grace and that does allow that people will do good things for no apparent reason. They are not believers, yet they exhibit godly deeds and attitudes. Thank God for this, for the world would be a terrible place without common grace. Yet you cannot expect ongoing, spiritual behavior from unspiritual people. That is an unrealistic expectation.
5:18 – If you are led by the Spirit, you cannot follow the Law at the same time. As I wrote in verse 17 above, they are mutually exclusive. The law of the Spirit will enable and empower you to fulfill the requirements of the Law but it is actually God doing those things through you as you put your faith in Him. I am not negating discipline or doing the right thing even when you don’t feel like it. The goal is Spirit-led living and not just a disciplined life, pure and simple. I want to obey the Spirit’s leadings and then rely on the Spirit to help me fulfill what I have decided to do.
As always, I welcome your comments to this week's study. For additional Bible studies, check out my website archive, which contains a complete collection of all my verse-by-verse New Testament studies, along with the unpublished volumes of The Faith Files.
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No donations came in this past week for Operation Chicken Coop, the Sophia Fund or the Deborah Foundation. I received the email below yesterday from Pastor Francis, founder of the Upako Center (Pastor Francis is pictured to the right next to me last August, and some of his children lined up for lunch are pictured below left).
Thank you so much for your help
God's peace and all that is good be with you. As Upako Children Centre, we are very grateful to you for making it possible for us to live on despite the many challenges that we have been faced with as a least community. Through you God has manifested Himself and we have been able to find our identity in the Christian family. May you realize how God has used you in a special way in embracing the lost and in getting involved in practical ministry in our land.
The end of this year is fast approaching and people are busy planning on how best they can do things this holiday. As much as you have other important plans this season, we still appeal to you for a little help to at least buy food/clothes for at least one of these orphans and give them a reason to celebrate together. it is not a must that you give towards this so feel free to engage us in some other levels as this is just apart of the long journey to see these children fulfill their human goals. We all love and appreciate you. Blessings
If the Monday Memo has been a blessing to you this year, please consider a token of appreciation that will help HIV/AIDS orphans and widows in Kenya as we approach this holiday season. Read how you can do something significant for them here and here. Thank you!
P.S. I will be back in Kenya November 27 to conduct more seminars for The Pacific Institute. Make plans to invest in your future and self-development while I am there.
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