Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ... Please take the time to take in a YouTube video of images and lyrics from the group The Gettys singing … By Faith … poignantly singing of how we, as disciples of Christ, must walk by faith in our quest to glorify God by walking in His Spirit.
Walking in Faith by the Spirit
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Highlight Verse[s]: Galatians 5:16 [ESV] ... 16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
… Paul exhorts us to put in the work to walk walk by faith in the Spirit so as to avoid being pray to the desires of the flesh.
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Highlight Passage [context]: Galatians 5:13-18 [ESV] ... USE THIS LINK ...
… God, thru Paul, exhorts Christians to walk, guided by God’s Spirit, in the work that is this life.
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Reference Passage : … Psalm 119:105 [ESV] … 105 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
… We walk by faith and follow God’s Spirit when we use His truth to light our path in life.
Reference Passage : … Proverbs 3:5-6 [ESV] … 5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths.
… If we trust in God’s will and follow His way in faith from His word, we will be walking by His Spirit.
Reference Passage : … Luke 9:23 [ESV] … 23 And He said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. …”
… Jesus’ command for disciples to deny our selfish ways and follow Him.
Reference Passage : … Hebrews 11:1 [ESV] … 1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
… As Christians, we must walk by faith in God’s Spirit and not by sight.
My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Peter W Chin, quotes another expert on how hard a talented person must work to attain excellence in that person’s area of talent. … The ODB author wrote: Ten thousand hours. That’s how long author Malcolm Gladwell suggests it takes to become skillful at any craft. Even for the greatest artists and musicians of all time, their tremendous inborn talent wasn’t enough to achieve the level of expertise that they would eventually attain. They needed to immerse themselves in their craft every single day.
Any reader who thinks that “walking in the Spirit,” as God, thru Paul, exhorts in the highlight passage, is some auto-pilot function of sanctification, as Christians we miss what the ODB entry is trying to say to us above. To achieve excellence as a disciple of Christ, following the Lord’s mandate to follow Him [see Luke 9:23], does NOT come automatically at salvation. Yes, we receive God’s saving and empowering grace at conversion; but then comes the hard part, … walking in faith [see linked song], guided by the Spirit, primarily by God’s word, to let our faith be led by His light of truth [see Ps 119:105].
Why else would you find me here EVERY DAY, trying my best to shine a light on my path (as shown in the photo), walking the walk of faith and following God’s light by seeing my path of faith by using His word to light my way. I pray you’re on that path as well, because walking in the Spirit is hard work, requiring the diligence of discipline and the direction proved by God’s truth.
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My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh Abba Father, ... thank You, Lord, … for shining Your light of truth on my path of faith.
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My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... I pray, Lord, that all reading here will join me today, to let God’s word guide our path in life daily. Amen
Blogger Note: Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled “Our Daily Bread,” distributed online via email by RBC Ministries. If you GO TO THIS LINK on the date of my blog, you can read/study the ODB blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.</ span>
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