Galatians 5:22-23
New International Version (NIV)
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
This is the last installment of the fruit of the Holy Spirit series. God has spoken to my heart big time as I have meditated on this verse the last week. Today I have been thinking about self-control. This is a component of the fruit that we struggle with as Christians. There is nothing harder than to dig deep and rely on the wisdom of the Holy Spirit in us to walk in discipline.
We are reminded that the freedom we enjoy in Christ has its limitations. We are not to use our freedom to hurt others. Look at what Paul says about how we limit our freedom:
Galatians 5
13 You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh[a]; rather, serve one another humbly in love. 14 For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”[b] 15 If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.
16 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever[c] you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
We keep ourselves in check by operating in self-control. This means we have to recognize those things in life that sow hurt and wounds into the lives of others and our own lives. There are specific activities that Paul gives us a stern warning about. He says that if we engage in these activities, we will not inherit the kingdom of God.
The scripture gives us a key bit of advice about how to walk in self-control. Paul says we have to serve one another humbly in love. If we always treat others the way that we want to be treated we can have the discipline to speak the words that build up, do the things that draw others closer to Christ, and live in a way that keeps our conscious clear before the Lord God.
My heart's desire is to live a life controlled not by my flesh, but by the Holy Spirit that lives inside of me. Do I ever fail? Yes. But I am determined to be quick to repent and move back in the life that is not hindered by the law. The freedom to live in the Spirit puts us all in the place where God's anointing is obvious to the world we walk through...that's what I've been thinking......
This is the last installment of the fruit of the Holy Spirit series. God has spoken to my heart big time as I have meditated on this verse the last week. Today I have been thinking about self-control. This is a component of the fruit that we struggle with as Christians. There is nothing harder than to dig deep and rely on the wisdom of the Holy Spirit in us to walk in discipline.
We are reminded that the freedom we enjoy in Christ has its limitations. We are not to use our freedom to hurt others. Look at what Paul says about how we limit our freedom:
Galatians 5
13 You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh[a]; rather, serve one another humbly in love. 14 For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”[b] 15 If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.
16 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever[c] you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
We keep ourselves in check by operating in self-control. This means we have to recognize those things in life that sow hurt and wounds into the lives of others and our own lives. There are specific activities that Paul gives us a stern warning about. He says that if we engage in these activities, we will not inherit the kingdom of God.
The scripture gives us a key bit of advice about how to walk in self-control. Paul says we have to serve one another humbly in love. If we always treat others the way that we want to be treated we can have the discipline to speak the words that build up, do the things that draw others closer to Christ, and live in a way that keeps our conscious clear before the Lord God.
My heart's desire is to live a life controlled not by my flesh, but by the Holy Spirit that lives inside of me. Do I ever fail? Yes. But I am determined to be quick to repent and move back in the life that is not hindered by the law. The freedom to live in the Spirit puts us all in the place where God's anointing is obvious to the world we walk through...that's what I've been thinking......
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