A+B=What?
My whole life I was raised in church. I went to a christian school. I had great christian parents. Now I am in the ministry full time. There is a trend, a movement, that is probably not new but one that I have noticed in the past six months. Christians treat Christ just as if He is something to help them on their way to a better life. They know that they want a better life, and they hope, most of them truly and sincerely believe, that Christ is their key to a better life. Out of their crummy job, of their poor financial situation, to help them find that boy or girl that they have been looking for. So what do they do? They know that C is their goal, so they think that they have to do A and B to get to C. A+B=C
I have been extremely guilty of this in my own life. It was very difficult to see. The things that I wanted were not bad, and were things that were very holy and noble. I wanted to stop wallowing in sin. I wanted to have a succesfull ministry, to see people changed for His glory. I wanted a wife that I could love like Christ loves me. Many of the things we want are the same. To be able to put food on the table for our family. To have children that grow up and follow the Lord. These things in and of themselves are not bad. But when these things become our most prized goal, then it becomes bad. I believe Christ wants those things for me too. But my relationship with Christ cannot be regulated to a formula. No matter how much time I spend in prayer, I still with think evil thoughts. No matter how much I read my bible, I still will sin. All of this should point us to one thing in our life. WE NEED JESUS! We cannot do it on our own. Look at what Paul says about it.
Galatians 5:16
This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
Seems pretty simple to me. Notice, he does not say to memorize verses. He does not say to spend four hours a day in prayer. He simply says to walk in His spirit. All of these things will come from walking in the spirit. Also, notice that he does not say that life will be easy. I will fall. Children will turn from the Lord, hearts will be broken. That is the nature of the world we live in. This verse is not a formula. I must confess, when I first read it, I started looking for the formula of how to walk in the spirit. Christ showed me this great and glorious scripture, and how I could be set free from the trap of forumulism, and immediatley I fell back into the same trap of which I had just been set free from.
So what does all of this tell us? I am still left with the question of how to walk in the spirit. Simply, I must depend on Jesus for everything. It seems so simple, but this truth will revolutionize your life. I must realize that I cannot do anything for myself. Everything comes from the Lord. In our independent society of self-made men and women, this is a hard truth to grasp. WE MUST DEPEND ON THE LORD
Father, help me focus on you. May everything that comes into my life push me towards you. Open my eyes to the lies I have been believing. If I can do this or accomplish that then my life will be easier. Father, all I need is you. Everything I have comes from you. I need you Lord. I need you Lord. May I pray this all day long. Lord, I cannot pray without you. My heart is desperately wicked within me. I cannot breath without you. I cannot live without you. Cleanse my mind from the lies I believe, and help me to walk simply in your truth.
I have been extremely guilty of this in my own life. It was very difficult to see. The things that I wanted were not bad, and were things that were very holy and noble. I wanted to stop wallowing in sin. I wanted to have a succesfull ministry, to see people changed for His glory. I wanted a wife that I could love like Christ loves me. Many of the things we want are the same. To be able to put food on the table for our family. To have children that grow up and follow the Lord. These things in and of themselves are not bad. But when these things become our most prized goal, then it becomes bad. I believe Christ wants those things for me too. But my relationship with Christ cannot be regulated to a formula. No matter how much time I spend in prayer, I still with think evil thoughts. No matter how much I read my bible, I still will sin. All of this should point us to one thing in our life. WE NEED JESUS! We cannot do it on our own. Look at what Paul says about it.
Galatians 5:16
This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
Seems pretty simple to me. Notice, he does not say to memorize verses. He does not say to spend four hours a day in prayer. He simply says to walk in His spirit. All of these things will come from walking in the spirit. Also, notice that he does not say that life will be easy. I will fall. Children will turn from the Lord, hearts will be broken. That is the nature of the world we live in. This verse is not a formula. I must confess, when I first read it, I started looking for the formula of how to walk in the spirit. Christ showed me this great and glorious scripture, and how I could be set free from the trap of forumulism, and immediatley I fell back into the same trap of which I had just been set free from.
So what does all of this tell us? I am still left with the question of how to walk in the spirit. Simply, I must depend on Jesus for everything. It seems so simple, but this truth will revolutionize your life. I must realize that I cannot do anything for myself. Everything comes from the Lord. In our independent society of self-made men and women, this is a hard truth to grasp. WE MUST DEPEND ON THE LORD
Father, help me focus on you. May everything that comes into my life push me towards you. Open my eyes to the lies I have been believing. If I can do this or accomplish that then my life will be easier. Father, all I need is you. Everything I have comes from you. I need you Lord. I need you Lord. May I pray this all day long. Lord, I cannot pray without you. My heart is desperately wicked within me. I cannot breath without you. I cannot live without you. Cleanse my mind from the lies I believe, and help me to walk simply in your truth.
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