Thought for July 7, 2023

1806: Cornerstone laid for the first Catholic Cathedral in the US--Baltimore

1873: Lottie Moon is appointed a missionary to China by the Foreign Mission Board 

1928: Sliced bread sold for the first time using machine invented by Otto Rohwedder 

1947: Roswell UFO incident

2005: Terrorist bomb attacks hit London public transportation--52 killed, 700 injured

Born: Satchel Paige, Ringo Starr, Shelley Duvall

Died: Henri Nestle, Arthur Conan Doyle, Anna Louisa Coghill [wrote, "Work, for the Night is Coming"], George W. Truett [pastor of First Baptist Dallas]

Thought:

Reading Galatians 5 today, a very familiar chapter. All of us are familiar with the fruit of the Spirit in 5:22-23. Take a look at what leads into those verses:

  • 4:1--It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore, keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery. Why did Christ need to set us free? We were in bondage to sin and death. We had indentured ourselves into a debtor's prison--a sin debt that we could never be good enough to repay. Christ paid the debt owed, set the prisoner free. Paul is telling the Galatians that in Christ you have been made free and through the Holy Spirit you have received the indwelling power to resist the evil one, refuse to again go into debt. Don't yield to the chains of the flesh.
  • 4:13--Don't turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh. I think of those who used to tell me I can go to an x-rated move [or R] because I am strong in my faith and it will not effect me. A few days ago, we talked about the deceit of the evil one--his cunning ways. Here he is trying to use our faith to our detriment. Some then and now think that when I was saved I was freed from the penalty of sin and death---so I can live any way I want to and Christ's blood covers my future sins. Yes, it does, but I have changed freedom into license. 
  • 5:16 Walk by the Spirit and you will not carry out the deeds of the flesh. Notice, the deeds of the flesh please us [5:17]. It feels good, it tastes good, its makes us feel superior, powerful. The Spirit causes me to be humble, please God, think of eternity. 
  • 5:25--if we are alive in the Spirit, let us walk by the Spirit---our external walk should match our internal bloodline. Do I have my Father's DNA? 
  • 5:19-23----here are some things that give evidence of whether I am walking in the Spirit or in the flesh. Tonight when you finish your day, come back to these 5 verses and think about your day. Today, was my life dominated and controlled by love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, kindness, faithfulness, self-control--did I walk in the Spirit? Or was my day one filled with immorality, impurity, sensuality, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing? What filled my thoughts, what peppered my speech? Did I live like a someone freed by Christ or someone slave to the flesh? 
Lord, help me see myself today as You see me. 
Blessings
Larry


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