How foolish can you be? After starting your new lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort? Galatians 3:3 NLT
I am “Johnny-come-lately” in regards to podcasts. It was just a couple of months ago that I asked my son David to get me started. I only subscribed to Ravi Zacharias. Ravi is a full on evangelistic apologist who wants to help people believe in the reality and existence of Jesus and His love so that they can give their hearts to Him. On one podcast he made this statement, “Jesus didn’t come to make bad people good, he came to bring dead people back to life.”
How much effort do you put in trying to make your old fleshly way of thinking better? The struggle is real. In one sense Christ has already made us perfect as we became believers. All our sin was forgiven and we are made righteous in Christ. In this world that we live daily, we are working to make our belief and actions line up with the reality of being the righteous person that He has already made us.
From the beginning of our entrance into becoming a believer, we looked for a way to be a part of our salvation experience. We wanted to be “good” enough for Jesus sacrifice, but we failed. All come to the cross, broken and in need of a savior. Not by any works of righteousness on our part are we saved. We receive salvation fully by His grace to forgive us and accept us.
That pattern of our flesh, wanting to help and get part of the credit as we continue to follow after Jesus doesn’t go away easily. Fleshly thinking likes to remain hidden as reformed. so that it can also help us. It wants its own glory for helping us do better. The flesh tells you that you should be able to “pull up your own bootstraps” and perform to the higher standards that God has for you. The flesh does not want to be exposed or reckoned as dead. The flesh has only one ending for the Christian- crucifixion. It never wants to die.
But those who live by the Spirit, bear the fruit of the Spirit which includes love, joy…and self control. It is incredibly simplistic, but our goal as a child of God is to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit, moment by moment, day by day for the rest of our lives. We must teach people how to recognize His voice and then what following through in obedience to His leading looks like. This requires faith. You will feel like you are walking into the unknown, because your flesh is not in control of the direction nor the outcome of this type of obedience.
Wrapping up for today. Can you discern the Spirit’s voice leading your life? Is there an issue that He has been leading you to do, that you have failed to obey? How would you communicate with another person, your process for giving up control and following the Holy Spirit’s lead in your life?
Let’s purpose to stop “trying to be better” and follow the Holy Spirit in faith obedience.
Blessings Love y’all