Navigating Life's Tricky Journey

 

Thursday, June 2, 2022

So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves.  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 nature desires.  These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions.  But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses.  When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear:  sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, 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.  But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  There is no law against these things!  Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there.  Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.  Galatians 5:16-25

The Apostle Paul’s logic is inescapable; those who truly belong to Christ live like it, while those who do not belong to Him travel a different path.  And any way you care to plot this on a graph, survey, study, or equation, both paths are the result, NOT causative.  If living like a Christian is how you become a Christian, then the pop-psychology of fake-it-til-you-make-it works. 

But that’s just not Biblical.  Paul also said that clearly:

God saved you by his grace when you believed.  And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God.  Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.  Ephesians 2:8-9

So the case Paul makes between Galatians and Ephesians is that we become (or start) our Christian life when we believe.  God’s grace accepts our confession of Christ as Savior and Lord; by His grace we are knit-into the fabric of Christ’s body, the church, and it is akin to becoming a soldier; you’ve begun training, but you’re not perfectly skilled in the art of battle.  You’re learning how to live authentically Christian…following Christ.  You’re also stumbling at times, giving place to anger, selfishness, lust, and more.  But, thankfully, there are those other times when you listen to the Spirit dwelling within you, and you live in love, joy, peace, gentleness…the self-control of one who has chosen the path of the Master. 

All this points to the reality that life was always going to be a struggle.  Paul understood this better than anyone:

I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong.  I love God’s law with all my heart.  But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind.  This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me.  Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death?  Thank God!  The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord.  So you see how it is:  In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin.  Romans 7:21-25

For You Today

The journey of a believer can be tricky.  Just when we think we’ve become immune to Satan’s false leading we get blindsided by the old nature, and sin begins chipping away at our progress.  The Apostle knew he wasn’t perfect; he messed up with exceedingly poor choices, and some vile attitudes.  He also was humble enough to write it down for our sakes. 

If you’ve stumbled, don’t give up…give in to Christ’s forgiveness and strength.

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road with Jesus; have a blessed day!  

[1] Images:  Pixabay.com   Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©   

God's Life Skills - Not for the Half-Hearted

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Thursday, January 4, 2018

My child, never forget the things I have taught you.  Store my commands in your heart.  If you do this, you will live many years, and your life will be satisfying.  Never let loyalty and kindness leave you!  Tie them around your neck as a reminder.  Write them deep within your heart.  Then you will find favor with both God and people, and you will earn a good reputation.  Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.  Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.  Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom.  Instead, fear the Lord and turn away from evil.  Then you will have healing for your body and strength for your bones.  Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the best part of everything you produce.  Then he will fill your barns with grain, and your vats will overflow with good wine.  My child, don’t reject the Lord’s discipline, and don’t be upset when he corrects you.  For the Lord corrects those he loves, just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights.  Proverbs 3:1-10^(NLT)

A man was driving home late one afternoon from a visit to a nearby mountain resort.  As he rounded a particularly sharp curve his car tumbled off the road and over the side of the mountain, launching him free of the car.  Free-falling, the man was flailing-about, clutching at anything; his hand caught a branch growing out of the side of the cliff.  Momentarily relieved, he hung there by one hand, unable to move up or down. 

He began to cry out for help.  Hello…anyone up there?

After several calls he hears a deep voice seemingly from the clouds:  I’m here child. 

The man haltingly responds:  God? 

Yes, my child; you called; what is it you’re asking?

Uh…save me, please…uh…in the name of the Father, Son…well, you know.

You want me to save you?  

Yes, please…and hurry, my hand is slipping.

Let go of the branch, child.

The dangling man looks down 1500 feet to the rocks below:  Let go?

Yes, you heard me correctly; let go and I’ll save you.

He looks down again, to each side, and then above:  But, God…

Let go.

He looks down one more time and then lifts a plea:  Is there anyone else up there?

This silly little story highlights the kind of half-hearted trust that goes nowhere with God.  And that is a sure way to have to repeat Basic Faith-101.  Trusting God is not a sometimes-you-do/sometimes-you-don’t, on-again/off-again proposition; you either trust Him fully, or you do not trust Him at all.

The Proverb writer gave us 5 basic benchmarks for a life of fully-trusting God:

·       Be a disciple, not just a believer

·       Be God’s servant, not the other way around

·       Be impressed with God, not yourself

·       Be generous, just like God is with you

·       Be teachable, you can’t get better without correction

For You Today

Go back and re-read Proverbs 3 until those benchmarks begin to sink-in, take hold, and change the way you think about trusting God.

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road…have a blessed day!

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[1] Title Images: Courtesy of Pixabay.com