Living A Spirit-Controlled Life
DAILY VITAMIN
- Living A Spirit-Controlled Life
"If we live by the [Holy] Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. [If by the Holy Spirit we have our life in God, let us go forward walking in line, our conduct controlled by the Spirit.]" (Galatians 5:25 AMP)
Almost everyday of our lives, we make decisions based on a 95:5 percent ratio of our own will over the will of God; and oftentimes despite the knowledge of the fact that our chosen option is totally wrong, we still persist on doing it. It's funny, but it's the truth.
We have turned the virtue of persistence and perseverance from a gift that can serve as a means to remain firmly in God as He desires into a means to fulfill our own cravings and lusts regardless of how long it may take.
I'll give you an example.
At the era when Israel had peace all around them, having dealt with their foes, placing Ammon under their control and Syria as their 'tributaries', the Bible recorded that Satan provoked David to carry out an act he plainly knew was wrong before God.
Now it would be untrue to say Satan 'forced' David to commit this felony by pulling strongly on the strings of his pride, but rather i'd say that the willingness of David to fulfill the lusts of his heart enticed and caused him to sin against God. James revealed the mechanism behind this (James 1:14-15).
In fact, the extent of this wrong was so unduly clear that even his servants and acquaintances could tell from a distance, yet because he had decided to please self rather than God, their opinion was nothing more than just mere 'air' before him- which no matter the intensity of its sound you just never see (1 Chronicle 21:3-4).
In a similar context of life as David's, many of us so much as persevere against the will of God. We so much as allow our carnal cravings to subdue God's chosen will despite knowing we are wrong, and Satan always makes himself available as the tempter, the provocateur to make sure we drift away from God's house to the house of our desires, where he can have a field day. He knows that when we are far away from God, it's easier for him to strike. Again, he does this to make sure we play the protagonist's role in the Prodigal Son story all over again; thus making sure as David that we create displeasure in the sight of God (v. 7), and as such suffer the foreseeable consequences it attracts.
Thus, this is what we must do from henceforth: We must switch our decision ratio from the 95:5 of ours over God's in a 0:100 fashion, thereby allowing God's will to overcome ours'; and then also as a result allowing ourselves to be candidates of His tutelage rather than the torture of the wicked one.
We must give ourselves to the leading of the Holy Spirit, and not to the yearning of self. As Paul depicted, we must bring all parts of ourselves under subjection to the obedience of Christ, doing that which is His good, acceptable and perfect will at all times.
This is paramount because truly the will of God only prevails in our lives when we subject the will of self and the powers of our feelings and emotional rush to His. We must bring ourselves under control to live not just how our minds dictate, regardless of how brilliant it seems, but how He bids us to. That is the only way we will find ourselves doing the things that He desires of us, and not the things we selfishly want as men (Galatians 5:16-26).
Note, all things are yours (1 Corinthians 3:21), but also remember that you are Christ's.......God's (v.23). And so in short, you must know that He rules over us, and we must live under Him doing more of His desires than ours. Jesus calls relegating all wills to uphold His alone (John 5:30). It was how He lived, and how we must.
I believe you can do this, but in spite of what I believe, only you can decide what you would do. So please, do make a commitment to live a life that is more submissive and unconditionally in surrender to His will; for that is our entire duty as men (Ecclesiastes 12:13).
- Living A Spirit-Controlled Life
"If we live by the [Holy] Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. [If by the Holy Spirit we have our life in God, let us go forward walking in line, our conduct controlled by the Spirit.]" (Galatians 5:25 AMP)
Almost everyday of our lives, we make decisions based on a 95:5 percent ratio of our own will over the will of God; and oftentimes despite the knowledge of the fact that our chosen option is totally wrong, we still persist on doing it. It's funny, but it's the truth.
We have turned the virtue of persistence and perseverance from a gift that can serve as a means to remain firmly in God as He desires into a means to fulfill our own cravings and lusts regardless of how long it may take.
I'll give you an example.
At the era when Israel had peace all around them, having dealt with their foes, placing Ammon under their control and Syria as their 'tributaries', the Bible recorded that Satan provoked David to carry out an act he plainly knew was wrong before God.
Now it would be untrue to say Satan 'forced' David to commit this felony by pulling strongly on the strings of his pride, but rather i'd say that the willingness of David to fulfill the lusts of his heart enticed and caused him to sin against God. James revealed the mechanism behind this (James 1:14-15).
In fact, the extent of this wrong was so unduly clear that even his servants and acquaintances could tell from a distance, yet because he had decided to please self rather than God, their opinion was nothing more than just mere 'air' before him- which no matter the intensity of its sound you just never see (1 Chronicle 21:3-4).
In a similar context of life as David's, many of us so much as persevere against the will of God. We so much as allow our carnal cravings to subdue God's chosen will despite knowing we are wrong, and Satan always makes himself available as the tempter, the provocateur to make sure we drift away from God's house to the house of our desires, where he can have a field day. He knows that when we are far away from God, it's easier for him to strike. Again, he does this to make sure we play the protagonist's role in the Prodigal Son story all over again; thus making sure as David that we create displeasure in the sight of God (v. 7), and as such suffer the foreseeable consequences it attracts.
Thus, this is what we must do from henceforth: We must switch our decision ratio from the 95:5 of ours over God's in a 0:100 fashion, thereby allowing God's will to overcome ours'; and then also as a result allowing ourselves to be candidates of His tutelage rather than the torture of the wicked one.
We must give ourselves to the leading of the Holy Spirit, and not to the yearning of self. As Paul depicted, we must bring all parts of ourselves under subjection to the obedience of Christ, doing that which is His good, acceptable and perfect will at all times.
This is paramount because truly the will of God only prevails in our lives when we subject the will of self and the powers of our feelings and emotional rush to His. We must bring ourselves under control to live not just how our minds dictate, regardless of how brilliant it seems, but how He bids us to. That is the only way we will find ourselves doing the things that He desires of us, and not the things we selfishly want as men (Galatians 5:16-26).
Note, all things are yours (1 Corinthians 3:21), but also remember that you are Christ's.......God's (v.23). And so in short, you must know that He rules over us, and we must live under Him doing more of His desires than ours. Jesus calls relegating all wills to uphold His alone (John 5:30). It was how He lived, and how we must.
I believe you can do this, but in spite of what I believe, only you can decide what you would do. So please, do make a commitment to live a life that is more submissive and unconditionally in surrender to His will; for that is our entire duty as men (Ecclesiastes 12:13).
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