June 9, 2022
16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
18 But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.
20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
24 And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
26 Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.
These verses remind me of 1Corinthians 9:27 where St. Paul tells us “But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.”
The hardest person to say ‘no’ to is ourselves. It is our constant battle. What we think, what we say, what we do, what we enjoy, what we encourage … these are all things (along with a plethora of others!) we do battle against, that we strive against. Of course we fall down – we are, after all, only human but it’s what we do after the fall that defines us. Do we stay down and wallow in our failure or do we get back on our feet with a resolution to not fall again and amend our lives to that resolution?
The battle is real. Our need for Jesus to help us in this battle is real. If we take His hand and hold on really tightly … as our General in Battle, He will help us succeed. Amen and thank God.
Words on the Word 