I say then, walk by the Spirit and you will certainly not carry out the desire of
the flesh. For the flesh desires what is against the Spirit, and the Spirit
desires what is against the flesh; these are opposed to each other, so that you
don't do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the
law. - Galatians 5:16 - 18 (CSBBible)
We were buried therefore with Him by baptism into death, in order that, just
as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might
walk in newness of life. - Romans 6:4 (ESV)
When we respond to God’s call to follow Him, our first act of obedience is one
of faith. By faith we believe that Christ took our sin upon Himself while on the
cross, and through His shed blood and death, our sin has been washed away.
By faith we believe that God the Father raised Christ from the dead and in
doing so, we too will be raised up to be with Him in heaven. As scripture points
out, faith is the conviction of things not seen. As we go through life’s
experiences, if we don’t allow our thought patterns to conform to the will of
God, then we will remain stuck in our old ways. Hence, any opportunity for our
trust in the Lord to grow, will first be subject to our old pattern of thinking, and
subsequently we’ll fall back on our own resources. Instead of allowing God to
transform our thinking, using the old thought patterns, we continue to view
that experience with the same mindset as we had before coming to Christ.
Too often Christians try to follow Jesus by adhering to a set of rules, formulas,
and programs. There was a popular saying that had the acronym, WWJD, “What
Would Jesus Do?” Thankfully that saying has waned over the past few years.
The old testament has example after example of how the people of God failed
miserably, repeatedly, because they were attempting to follow God by following
a set of rules and regulations. For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice,
the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings. - Hosea 6:6 (ESV) We are
raised to walk in newness of life, not raised to continue in our old patterns
of living. We are to live in union with Christ by being sensitive to the Holy
Spirit’s leading to join with Him in the activities He is involved in. The key to
living in Christ, is to be attuned to His Spirit. We are not following in the
footsteps of Christ, but walking with Him in unison.
Living
We were buried therefore with Him by baptism
into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised
from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too
might walk in newness of life. - Romans 6:4 (ESV)
When we respond to God’s call to follow Him, our
first act of obedience is one of faith. By faith we
believe that Christ took our sin upon Himself while
on the cross, and through His shed blood and death,
our sin has been washed away. By faith we believe
that God the Father raised Christ from the dead and
in doing so, we too will be raised up to be with Him
in heaven. As scripture points out, faith is the
conviction of things not seen. As we go through
life’s experiences, if we don’t allow our thought
patterns to conform to the will of God, then we will
remain stuck in our old ways. Hence, any
opportunity for our trust in the Lord to grow, will
first be subject to our old pattern of thinking, and
subsequently we’ll fall back on our own resources.
Instead of allowing God to transform our thinking,
using the old thought patterns we continue to view
that experience with the same mindset as we had
before coming to Christ. Too often Christians try to
follow Jesus by adhering to a set of rules, formulas,
and programs. There was a popular saying that had
the acronym, WWJD, “What Would Jesus Do?”
Thankfully that saying has waned over the past few
years. The old testament has example after example
of how the people of God failed miserably,
repeatedly, because they were attempting to follow
God by following a set of rules and regulations.
For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the
knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
- Hosea 6:6 (ESV) We are raised to walk in newness
of life, not raised to continue in our old patterns of
living. We are to live in union with Christ by being
sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s leading to join with Him
in the activities He is involved in. The key to living
in Christ, is to be attuned to His Spirit. We are not
following in the footsteps of Christ, but walking
with Him in unison.
Living
