Thursday 14 Dec 2017

December 14: Galatians 5:13-17

Key Verse: Galatians 5:17
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 you want.

Devotion:
Does the bible teach us how to sin and do evil? Far from it! It tries to teach us how to do the opposite, how we are to live in liberty and love one another. God's Word is there to guide us away from the evil which has penetrated our world so deeply that it feels more like ‘our world’ than what God intended it to be. The bible is there to teach us there is evil and we need to avoid it or we will be consumed by it. It does not tell us how we should combat it, to kill it off, but how we need to avoid it. In other words, it acknowledges that evil is now part of this world but also that if we give in to it, it will overcome us.

It all starts with us. If we are not willing to make the first move to live in harmony, then how are we to ever expect to be able to live in harmony with anyone or anything else? If we do not show respect to others, how do we ever think we will gain respect from them? If we start to give in to things, then before long we find that we have given in to the things we once said we never would; we find we have done the things we said we never would. Once we give in in our minds, it is a simple step before we give in to those things physically.

It should not be taken lightly when we read that we are at war within ourselves. It should not be taken lightly that we are spiritually fighting against evil all the time. If we give in to this fight, then we will lose physically too. If we uphold our lives spiritually, then we will be more likely to uphold our lives physically. Our physical selves are weak and will follow after our spiritual selves. If we follow on in Christ's instructions, then we will have no need to give in to the physical temptations which surround us all the time. Live up to following God's Word!

Points to Ponder:
How long after thinking about something do you find you do it?

How often have you been led astray just because you “wanted to see”?