Walk by the Spirit

Do you ever feel sluggish? You know—blah? Can’t quite find your “get up and go” even though there are things you could be, should be doing? 

Nobody likes that feeling. So what do we do when we don’t feel motivated to pray, work, or get moving? We lift up our souls to God (Psalm 143:8). 

We read God’s Word regardless of how we feel and while reading we are encouraged and inspired. God’s thoughts become our thoughts. His passions become our passions. 

We ask our Heavenly Father to give us the mind and energy of Christ. 

The King James Version of 1 Corinthians 15:45 contrasts the first man, Adam, with the “last Adam,” Jesus, in this way: “The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a Quickening Spirit.”

Jesus’ quickening Spirit arouses and invigorates us. 

Christ-followers are not spiritually dead. We’re spiritually alive in Christ. Pray and ask God to fill you with His Quickening Spirit. Then pay attention to what He quickens (nudges, prompts) you to do. 

Heavenly Father, thank You for Jesus who is a QUICKENING SPIRIT! Arouse and invigorate me to do Your will. 

Want to deepen your understanding of the Holy Spirit? Check out Debbie’s Bible study, Listen UP! 31 Points Every Christian Should Know About the Holy Spirit. This study will help you understand the Holy Spirit’s role in the Christian life and respond to His leading and presence. Click HERE to listen. 

“I can’t be the Christian I’m supposed to be. I can’t overcome this sin.” Have you ever said those words? If we sometimes feel incapable of being the Christian we want to be, we’re not alone. The Apostle Paul, who was instrumental in helping spread Christianity, once referred to himself as the chief of sinners.

Here’s the good news. God knows that we can’t live the Christian life by self-effort. That’s why He reminds us in Galatians 3:5 that He’s provided us with His Holy Spirit: “So then, does He who provides you with the Spirit and works miracles among you, do it by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?”

We don’t please God by trying to improve our old selves. We please God by learning to walk by His Spirit who is in us. Instead of saying we can’t live the Christian life or we can’t accomplish what God’s called us to do, we can ask Christ to fill us and accomplish His work through us. Then, we can practice walking by the Spirit. Will we walk by the Spirit perfectly 100% of the time? No, because our fleshly nature will oppose the Spirit (Galatians 5:17). We’ll also struggle against spiritual forces of darkness/wickedness (Ephesians 6:12). But we can practice walking by Christ’s Spirit, confident that God is at work in us, perfecting us. 

Lord, my PROVIDER, thank You for Your Spirit by whom I can walk. 

Would you like to learn more about being led by God’s Spirit and become better equipped to discern God’s voice? Listen to this free podcast teaching: “Listen UP! 31 Points Every Christian Should Know About the Holy Spirit.”

Would you like to experience magnificence? If you said “yes,” you are in alignment with God’s will for you. He never intended our lives to be filled with anxiety and the consequences of sin. Rather, He created Adam and Eve in His image and placed them in the Garden of Eden to share life with Him and experience His magnificent glory. But now? We live in a sin-sick world. However, as believers, our hope is not lost. Rather, our hope is firm in Christ Jesus. We can once again experience God’s magnificence as 2 Peter 1:4 tells us—“[God] has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.”

God has granted to you His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become a partaker of the divine nature. Are you experiencing Christ through the divine nature He has given you?

Rather than allowing the world’s despair, anxiety, and hopelessness to infiltrate your soul, begin each day welcoming your Heavenly Father and Spirit’s presence, praying, “Heavenly Father, fill me with Your Holy divine nature and Spirit. Help me walk in Your magnificent divine promises.”

The Father, Son, Holy Spirit, and Bible are all magnificent. Immerse your mind in the Father’s ways. Walk by His magnificent divine nature/Spirit.

Lord, You and Your promises are MAGNIFICENT. Thank You for salvation by which I am a partaker of Your divine nature. Help me walk by Your promises so others see and believe in You. 

Learn more about becoming a partaker of Christ’s divine nature through Debbie’s 2 Peter Bible study, Living by the Divine Nature Instead of Our Fallen Nature. The study includes free accompanying videos and podcasts, which can be found HERE.

LISTEN

Beep Beep. Driving down the highway, my car signaled a warning to me that I had veered from the center of the lane.  I love the beeping feature on my car. What’s interesting though, is I can turn it off. Why would a driver not welcome an alert? Because if they’re veering regularly, that beep can become annoying. When a person becomes a Christian, the Holy Spirit becomes a warning signal in our spirit. We can either welcome His alerts or stop them by choosing to not read our Bibles or pray. What if we crash and want to get back in the center lane of His will? We can pray, ask forgiveness, and read the Bible. We can ask Him to be our guide. Galatians 5:16 says, “Walk by the Spirit.” In other words, walk by God’s prompts and alerts. 

Heavenly Father, thank You for “overs” as we learn how to go through our day paying attention to; not ignoring, the warnings of the Holy Spirit. Our heart’s desire is to stay in the center lane of Your will. Teach us. Help us!