sooo, last week i studied through a few passages of scripture and was really trying to battle back at satan…he was trying to gain some ground in my life and i really wasn’t wanting that to happen…and through my studies i wound up in galatians, and specifically in the second half of chapter 5…
16 So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. 17 The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful natures desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. 18 But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses. 19 When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, 21 envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God. 22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. 25 Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. 26 Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another. (NLT)
for me this creates such and amazing picture…there is so much going on in this passage that i can’t begin to cover it all, but verse 24 just keeps ringing in my mind…i have to take my struggles and my shortcomings to the cross and nail them there…YES, i have struggles and shortcomings…LOTS OF THEM!!! and if they are nailed to that cross…I CAN’T TAKE CONTINUE TO CARRY THEM…i no longer have them, they are forever there…
nailed…
it says they are CRUCIFIED there…
though there may be a battle between my flesh and the Spirit…i know Who wins…i need to remember that…i need to remember that the battle was won on the cross through Christ…
sooo what rings out to you??? what is it that you see in this passage???
for me…my past…my struggles…my shortcomings…are…
NAILED…
Verse 16….for me is the answer. Letting Him lead our lives. I am training myself to stop analyzing things and instead ask the Holy Spirit for direction. Let the Holy Spirit guide my life, every area…believing that God wants to be involved in every area. Once I am focused on Him, it really is hard to get side-tracked by anything else NOT of HIm….this is so good. Thank you!
25 Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.
The verse you mentioned is my favorite. I did a blog not long ago on how I felt that I would wake up one day and when I looked in the mirror I would see sticky notes all over me listing my sins. I went on to talk about how I need to take to take those off and stick them to the cross. I had been reading James 1 about seeing yourself in a mirror..seeing your appearance..sinful heart and then leaving it..etc. But, I love verse 25 as well….that since we are living by the Spirit…Let us Follow His lead in Every part of our lives! So hard to let Him have control of ever corner of my life and of my families.
I keep coming back to this post. I know that this is something that I need to look at and ponder before comment….I just cannot find the words… ugh…
it’s good for me to know that victory is possible. sometimes the devil tells me that i am doomed to be defeated in certain areas, but through Christ and the indwelling Spirit, i can have victory. thank you Lord!