What Kind of Person Indeed!

What Kind of Person Indeed!

by David Brenneman 

"But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.  For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please.  But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law.  Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.  Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.  If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.  Let us not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another." Galatians 5:16-26.

There's more to the life of a Believer than simply looking for the coming of Our Lord Jesus Christ.  

It's certainly not for us to just live life on a whim and choose things to see, say and do of our own accord.

Granted there's must-dos of life.  Providing for yourself and your family.  There's a job to go to that supports that. 

But there is still much more than that.  We are to grow up in all aspects of life in Christ Jesus. 

The deeds of the flesh that Paul wrote about are entirely possible and sadly flourish in the Church of Jesus Christ.  Yet in our world today it's often just dismissed as not being that bad.  As long as you're covering the basics God won't have too much to say about the other stuff. 

Uh wrong. 

Literally if God took the time to write about it then abide by it.  

Our opinion doesn't matter. 

In fact our opinion doesn't count. 

Obeying Christ in life isn't to be open for debate. 

Obeying Christ in life is to be our first consideration. 

We aren't to engage in many aspects this world offers entirely because they fly in the face of Scripture.  

Our forgiveness in Christ is never to be used to off-handedly cover up willful sins. 

We don't need help in sinning. 

We need help in identifying it and avoiding it. 

We need a mindset that's of a follower of Jesus Christ in all areas of life.  

Yes it's going to make us unpopular. 

Yes it's going to make us look different. 

Newsflash: It's supposed to. 

It's all for the glory of God for you in Christ Jesus.  

Are there things in this world that I crave to go after?  Sure.  I am human after all.  Would it be wise?  Absolutely not.  Should I mope and dwell upon them until God says yes? Certainly not.

Our life is to be Christ-centric.  Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you.  All these things isn't your every whim of desire.  It's those things that will help you become more like Christ. It's all the things that will help you become a fully devoted follower of Jesus Christ.  It's those things that Jesus certainly implied in the Great Commission.  

The Great Commission wasn't marching orders to only the Disciples.  It certainly wasn't only to be passed to the Godly Men leading the Church.  The Great Commission is our mission in this life until either the Rapture of the Church or we are called home to Heaven.  

Scripture says we are to do our best, give our best as unto the Lord. 

Is it right to take that best that's supposed to be for Jesus and give it to useless things that the world holds dear?

If it's important enough that it was written to take every single thought captive to the obedience of Christ Jesus...it certainly must be extremely important. 

To take a line from a popular movie...our thoughts betray us.

Unfortunately it's happening so often we don't even feel remorse. 

Stop and think about that. 

What are you thinking you're enjoying that you really shouldn't be?  

We all have things like those in our lives that are not helping our growth in Christ.

Ask Jesus to open up your spiritual eyes to see what He sees in your life that needs to change, to see what needs to go. 

So that the fruits of the Spirit, the very evidence of Christ Jesus in you, would be evident to all. 

All NASB 1995 and NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission. (C) Lockman Foundation.