Devotionals for May 1, 2024
Join us for Theology Thursday tomorrow at noon! Bring your question and your lunch.
READ
Galatians 5:16-24
16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.
18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality,
20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions,
21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.
18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality,
20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions,
21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
REFLECT
To “walk by the Spirit” is to draw one’s strength and vitality, not from ourselves, but from God. When we do this we look a certain way. As generations of Christians pass, misreadings of this text abound. Some, like those of us growing up in the 80’s and 90’s, viewed as “fleshly” things like wearing jeans, listening to certain musical genres, and tattoos. We have bought the lie that “looking a certain way” sanctifies us, rather than the other way around.
What Paul (and the New Testament) is actually saying is this: when you walk in the Spirit as a new creature in Christ, a certain type of behavior and attitude will accompany it naturally. Imagine for a moment you are walking on unstable ground. How will you look doing so? You will appear unbalanced, not because you’ve decided to, but because the nature of walking on unstable ground produces unbalanced strides. Thus, when you walk in the Spirit, when you are energized by His presence, there will result in a moral uprightness similar to the balance of walking on solid ground. It would be odd if, walking on a perfectly constructed road, you held out your hands for balance. Living by our own strength makes us adopt a way of walking unfit for the narrow road.
What Paul (and the New Testament) is actually saying is this: when you walk in the Spirit as a new creature in Christ, a certain type of behavior and attitude will accompany it naturally. Imagine for a moment you are walking on unstable ground. How will you look doing so? You will appear unbalanced, not because you’ve decided to, but because the nature of walking on unstable ground produces unbalanced strides. Thus, when you walk in the Spirit, when you are energized by His presence, there will result in a moral uprightness similar to the balance of walking on solid ground. It would be odd if, walking on a perfectly constructed road, you held out your hands for balance. Living by our own strength makes us adopt a way of walking unfit for the narrow road.
APPLY
Q: What do you make of Paul’s side-by-side list of the “works of the flesh” and the “fruit of the Spirit?”
Q: Do you need to repent and turn away from any of the fleshly ways listed by Paul?
Q: What does Spirit-empowered discipleship practically look like?
Q: Do you need to repent and turn away from any of the fleshly ways listed by Paul?
Q: What does Spirit-empowered discipleship practically look like?
SING
PRAY
"Give us today our daily bread."
Help up, Lord, to walk in the Spirit. Give us enough for daily obedience. Amen.
Help up, Lord, to walk in the Spirit. Give us enough for daily obedience. Amen.