Because I’m a follower of Jesus, my flesh has been crucified through Christ. Romans 6:6. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin because anyone who has died has been freed from sin. I’d like to point out this is by no effort of my own, but the Lord’s.
I now possess a new Spirit, the one the Lord put in my heart, replacing my dead one. 11Corinthians 5: 17. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation: the old has gone, the new has come. But I still must choose to walk in the Spirit, to do the things that please God. I still have a free will in all of this.
How do I walk in the spirit? In a word, choose to please God and not myself. That doesn’t sound too easy, but since I have the Spirit of God living in me, it’s possible. Not in my own power, but in the Lord’s. The Lord wouldn’t tell us to keep in step with the Spirit if he didn’t think we could do it. Galatians 5: 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.
Is there a Spiritual thermometer to help us see how we’re doing? We have some clear indicators listed for us in the Bible: the Fruit of the Spirit. How many of these character traits can you indentify in your life? Love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. All by-products of a Christian life.
Amen 🙂 Thank you for this beautiful message.
Melissa, I wish it were always easy to walk in the Spirit. But with God’s power, we can.