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3/19 Reading Portions: Exodus 30; John 9; Proverbs 6; Galatians 5

Listen to the audio devotional above, and/or read the written devotional below.

STRUGGLE

The struggle within our Christian life is real (Gal 5:17). This is why, as the Lord Jesus said, we must…

“…not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life.” John 6:27

Yes, we must also…

strive to enter that rest. Hebrews 4:11

Even by the verse we’re considering today, we should recognize that a holy life before God doesn’t simply happen instantly or automatically. We must walk. And not walk aimlessly, not hapless, in whatever direction we please. We must walk by the guidance of the Holy Spirit. We must walk in the direction in which He leads us. We must move forward, toward the kingdom of Jesus Christ, without reservation, without retreat, and without regret. As Jesus was led by the Spirit from Jordan’s banks to judgment upon Calvary’s cross, so we too must walk by the Spirit to deny self, taking up the truth of Christ’s cross as our personal possession, and following the Master straight to Christ’s exaltation, unto the Father’s eternal glory.

Although we are new creations in Christ (2 Cor 5:17), the desires of the flesh we have inherited from fallen Adam still remain. These desires are evident yet manifested in various ways (Gal 5:19-21); and therefore, we must recognize them for what they are. Each one of us has the potential to gratify those desires in one way or another, to some extent or another. Were it not so, the apostle would never have given us instruction to walk by the Spirit to keep from gratifying the lusts of the flesh. When we walk by the Spirit, we not only see the self and fleshly desires denied, we will also see the Spirit’s fruit manifested (Gal 5:22-23). Fruit is born upon a tree; and as Christ came to be crucified in sinless flesh, we now may crucify “the flesh with its passions and desires” (Gal 5:24) when we “live by the Spirit… [and] keep in step with the Spirit” (Gal 5:25).

The lives we live are more than talk,
The Spirit guides us in
A holy, blessed, fruitful walk,
Denying fleshly sin.