Keep In Step With the Spirit

Scripture: Galatians 5: 17, 25

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^[c] you want.(17) Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.(25)

Scripture Commentary:

It’s vitally important to keep in step with the Spirit. There is a war raging on in you every day. If you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, then Satan has placed you on his list to bring you to his flock.

He starts by telling you to go ahead and do it your way. You don’t need permission.

Pray for God’s guidance.

Paul describes the two forces in conflict within you: The Holy Spirit and the sinful nature (i.e., your evil desires or inclinations of the flesh). When you rely on your own self, you are doing what satan would have you do.

Keep in step with the Holy Spirit that lives in you.

The Holy Spirit is infinitely stronger, and you must follow the Holy Spirit that God has placed in you. The only way to freedom from evil desires is through the empowering of God’s Holy Spirit in you.

As you keep in step with the Holy Spirit’s power, you need to submit every aspect of your life to God – emotional, physical and intellectual. If you say you are saved and have accepted Jesus Christ, then live like a Christian.

Read the Entire Chapter of the Scripture Referenced:

Galatians 5

Read Other Commentary from the Book of Galatians:

Live By the Faith of the God Who Loves You

Thanks Be to God for All He Has Done

For God’s Children: He No Longer Remembers Your Sins

Scriptures: Isaiah 43: 25 and Ephesians 2: 8-9

I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more. (Isaiah 43: 25)

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— ⁹not by works, so that no one can boast. (Ephesians 2: 8-9)

Scripture Commentary: God no longer remembers your sins.

Imagine the moment you accepted God and repented. In that moment your sins are forgiven. And God no longer remembers your sins!

In Isaiah 6: 7, a seraphim touches Isaiah’s mouth with a coal and God forgave his sins.

Imagine God wiping away all your lies and healing all of the hate you have stored up inside yourself.

Anger – forgiven
Bitterness – forgiven
Boasting – forgiven
Jealousy – forgiven
Envy – forgiven

Imagine it all forgiven by God – your evil thoughts, greed, hypocrisy, gossiping, lusts, pride, ingratitude, materialism and unbelief! All forgiven and forgotten by the grace of God!

Cry out to God for forgiveness.

Your sins are gone. Forgiven. Washed away. And forgotten. In the same way that the coal removed Isaiah’s guilt and sin, the blood of Jesus takes away yours. You don’t do anything except ask for forgiveness and repent of your sins.

God’s grace changes everything. Jesus Christ did it on the cross for you.

Read the Entire Chapter of the Scriptures Referenced:

Isaiah 43

Ephesians 2

Isaiah 6

Read Other Commentary From the Book of Isaiah:

Learning from Adversity

The Destroyer Flees From the Voice of God

Love Your Enemies. Is Anything More Difficult?

Scripture: Luke 6: 27-29

“But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, ²⁸bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. ²⁹If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them.

Scripture Commentary:

In Luke 6: 21-22, Jesus says, “Blessed are you who weep now.” He also blesses those who are cast out in His name. Then in verse 27 Jesus tells us, “Love your enemies.” This message has turned people away from Jesus because this is a hard one for most people.

How can I love someone who has hurt me?

How can I love someone who is bent on destroying me? This can be hard but Jesus is telling us to act in our best interest by praying for them and forgiving them. He gives an example to follow when He says to love your enemies as you love yourself. Grant your enemies the same respect and rights as you desire for yourself.

It’s easy to do things for the people who love us but love is doing for those we have problems with, for those who have hurt us. God has forgiven us so we are to forgive those who have hurt us.

Remember this: they whipped Jesus and placed a crown of thorns on His head. They spit on Him, and nailed Him to the cross, And He said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

Read the Entire Chapter of the Scriptures Referenced:

Luke 6

Luke 23

Read Other Commentary from the Book of Luke:

Save Yourself Through Belief; Save Others Through Discipleship

God Separates Light from Darkness, Good from Evil

Don’t Be Consumed With Anguish

Scripture: Lamentations 3: 22-25

Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. ²³They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. ²⁴I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.” ²⁵The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him;

Scripture Commentary:

Our world is consumed with injustice, poverty, war and rebellion against God. All of this should move us to tears and to action. The book of Lamentations, written by Jeremiah in 586 B.C., is calling to us today.

Jeremiah is referred to as the weeping prophet. He wept because the people rejected God. He would weep today if he were here to see how people, out of selfishness and sinfulness, bring suffering to their fellow citizens.

Lamentations allows us to see what made Jeremiah sorrowful as well as shines a light on how we are today. Jeremiah saw a ray of hope in all the wrong that surrounded him, which is God’s love.

We have God’s love in us today.

We must turn from the wicked path we are on. If we do not, then punishment will come with our disobedience as it did with Jerusalem. God promised to restore and bless the people if they repented.

Lamentations is a funeral chant or song, so the people committed suicide rather than turn from their wicked ways.

God forgives when we repent. Are you going to repent and turn to God? He will forgive you.

Read the Entire Chapter of the Scripture Referenced:

Lamentations 3

Read Other Commentary from the Book of Lamentations:

God’s Compassion Never Fails

Praise God In His Sanctuary

Search Me, Lord, And Know Me

Scripture: Psalm 139: 1-2, 23-24

Lord, you have examined me and know all about me. ²You know when I sit down and when I get up. You know my thoughts before I think them. God, examine me and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. ²⁴See if there is any bad thing in me. Lead me on the road to everlasting life.

Scripture Commentary:

I learned at a young age that people would not know my thoughts before I spoke them. If I thought something but didn’t speak it out loud, no one would know what I was thinking. I learned to be very careful about what I said.

But God knows everything about us.

He knows what we’re thinking even if we never speak on it. We can lie to one another; however, we cannot lie to God. God is omnipresent – He is present everywhere! We cannot hide, lie or be lost because God’s Holy Spirit is in us.

David asked God to search for any sin in him and point it out so that he (David) could work to remove it. We, like David, have to ask for help. Like trees in the woods that all look the same, we are unable to see the ones that are diseased. We need God’s exploratory surgery to help us see the sins we have.

God, search me and know me.

God, through the Holy Spirit, points it out. Then, when God shows it to us, we can repent and be forgiven. Ask God to search you and show you your wickedness. Ask Him to help you be more like Him and to show you the path to His Holy Kingdom in heaven.

Read the Entire Chapter of the Scripture Referenced:

Psalm Chapter 139

Read Other Commentary from the Book of Psalms:

Praise the Lord While You Live

God Is With Me; I Will Fear No Evil

Jesus Is the Living Water

Scripture: John 4: 7, 9

But on the way he had to go through the country of Samaria.(4) When a Samaritan woman came to the well to get some water, Jesus said to her, “Please give me a drink.”(7)

Scripture Commentary: Jesus Christ is asking you for water.

What are you going to do? Give Him water or walk away? Every day Jesus Christ is asking for and giving living water to those who are asking.

How do you ask for Christ’s living water?

You ask through prayer and by talking to Him. The living Word is Jesus Christ; the written Word is The Bible. The woman at the well believed that if she received the water Jesus offered, she would have not have to return to the well each day.

She was interested in His message because she thought it would make her life easier. We all have to go to the well Jesus is talking about every day to fill our spirit. Jesus didn’t come to take away challenges but to change and empower us to deal with our problems from God’s perspective.

The woman didn’t immediately understand what Jesus was talking about. He gave her time to ask questions. Everyone is not ready to receive the Word or to understand it. Remember, God is patient with you.

Read the Entire Chapter of the Scripture Referenced:

John Chapter 4

Read Other Commentary from the Book of John:

Believe the Word that Jesus Speaks to You

Confidently Trust the Lord, Your Savior

Please Disturb Me, Lord

A Prayer of Sir Francis Drake

Disturb us, Lord, when
We are too well pleased with ourselves,
When our dreams have come true
Because we have dreamed too little,
When we arrived safely
Because we sailed too close to the shore.
Disturb us, Lord, when
With the abundance of things we possess
We have lost our thirst
For the waters of life;
Having fallen in love with life,
We have ceased to dream of eternity
And in our efforts to build a new earth,
We have allowed our vision
Of the new Heaven to dim.
Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly,
To venture on wider seas
Where storms will show your mastery;
Where losing sight of land,
We shall find the stars.
We ask You to push back
The horizons of our hopes;
And to push into the future
In strength, courage, hope, and love.

Amen

Commentary:

How often do we say, “Do not disturb me?” We go through life not wanting to be interrupted. We think we are happy because we think we have handled life’s storms. But have we? Rather than trying to control your life, learn to trust God moment by moment. In doing so, you will find your faith stronger, your life richer, and your heart more full.

Read Some of the Scriptures Concerning Prayer:

Matthew 6: 9-13

Mark 11: 24

Acts 16: 25-29

Did You Hear Jesus Knock On Your Door?

Scripture: Luke 11: 9-10

So I tell you, ask, and God will give to you. Search, and you will find. Knock, and the door will open for you. ¹⁰Yes, everyone who asks will receive. The one who searches will find. And everyone who knocks will have the door opened.

Scripture Commentary: Ask. Search. Knock.

There is a knock at your door. Do you sit there thinking, “Do I go and see who it is,” or do you ignore it? We have apprehensions with all that is going on in the world today.

God knocks at your door every day but some of us aren’t answering.

We get up in the morning and take the day for granted, going on auto-pilot. Those who stop and give God thanks have opened the door for God to come in. When you ask God what you can do for Him this day, you are agreeing to serve Him. And in doing this, you can count on His guidance.

Put God first in your daily life.

Faith, service, and obedience to God will fill all your needs but not your desires. Ask your Lord and Creator and He will provide what you need. He will be your Provider.

Read the Entire Chapter of the Scripture Referenced:

Luke Chapter 11

Read Other Commentary from the Book of Luke:

Follow Jesus and Become Fishers of Men

What Is the Price of Being Tempted?

You Can Trust God

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 10: 13, 21

The only temptation that has come to you is that which everyone has. But you can trust God, who will not permit you to be tempted more than you can stand. But when you are tempted, he will also give you a way to escape so that you will be able to stand it. (13) You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons also. You cannot share in the Lord’s table and the table of demons. (21)

Scripture Commentary:

No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. But you can trust God. He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can handle.

When you are tempted, God will provide a way out if you call on Him.

Paul tells us there is a battle going on with the flesh and the spirit. He is not referring to our physical flesh. He is referring to our spiritual soul.

The nature-self wants to do what feels good and easy. God’s Holy Spirit in us wants us to glorify Him, not ourselves. These two spirits are constantly against one another as long as we live.

Paul tells us that the flesh (Satan) desires what is contrary to the Holy Spirit (God). The Holy Spirit is contrary to the flesh.

The Holy Spirit inside each of us says, “Live for God.” The flesh says, “Live for yourself.” In order to live for God we must submit to Him daily by reading the Bible and calling upon Him. This is how God nourishes our spirit, our soul.

Read the Entire Chapter of the Scripture Referenced:

1 Corinthians Chapter 10

Read Other Commentary from the Book of 1 Corinthians:

God Is the Foundation

You Can Overcome Temptation with God

God Lifts Us From the Pit of Despair

Scripture: Psalm 40: 1-2

I waited patiently for the Lord. He turned to me and heard my cry. ²He lifted me out of the pit of destruction, out of the sticky mud. He stood me on a rock and made my feet steady.

Scripture Commentary: Sin is a bottomless pit. Only Jesus can draw you out.

At times you have been in places where you were either lost, trapped, or it seemed like you were in a bottomless pit. It seemed like the more you tried to get out, the deeper it became.

The thought to call God didn’t occur in the beginning. Or maybe you did call on Him, and as far as you were concerned, He wasn’t fast enough. Waiting for God to help us is not easy in this fast paced lifestyle we live in.

King David received four benefits from God:

God lifted him out of despair
God set his feet on solid rock, and
gave him a firm place to stand
A new song of praise was put in David’s mouth

There are times when we need trials and tribulations to see how God works in our lives.

Don’t think that going to church, taking communion, and paying tithes is all you have to do. Are you really serving God? Do you spread His Gospel and live as close to a Christ-like lifestyle as you can?

The prophet Samuel told Saul, “To obey is better than making sacrifices,” as they did in David’s time. What God is saying is not to push Him out of your life. Tell the world about God’s blessings.

Read the Entire Chapter of the Scriptures Referenced:

Psalm Chapter 40

1 Samuel Chapter 15

Read Other Commentary from the Book of Psalms

To Build Without God is Futile

Praise the Lord While You Live