Are You Ready to Die?

• Posted on May 24, 2018 at 10:28 pm

And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires (Galatians 5:24).

How easy it is in today’s society to declare, “I am a Christian,” but how hard it can be to walk the walk sometimes. “When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die,” said Dietrich Bonhoeffer. I expect many people are as afraid to die to their flesh as they are for their flesh to die.

This evening, my Walk of Repentance Bible study focused on Galatians 5:16-26. So much is contained in those eleven verses which start with, “I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh” (v. 16, emphasis added). It goes on to list the lusts of the flesh versus the fruits of the Spirit. It’s sobering to compare the two lists and ask yourself, “In which category do I exhibit the most traits?” When you compare yourself with others, it’s easy to feel good about yourself but, when you look into the mirror of God’s Word, that is when you see what you are really like without His Spirit. It is not a pretty sight.

One of the things Steve Gallagher mentioned in this study was, “If we attempt to obey the Law outside of the Spirit, we will soon find ourselves becoming hard-hearted, self-righteous, and contemptuous of others.” So the answer is not just doing good. Therefore, the question is, How do I become filled with the Spirit?

This is not something one can conjure or “will” into existence. Instead, you must surrender every part of yourself to Christ. You must turn off the entertainment and spend more time with Him. You must study His Word to learn what He desires of you, and then do it. Let Christ chip away every bit of stone around your heart so that His Spirit can fill in the gaps. As this happens, your desires will change so that you want to do the right things for the right reasons.

As I mentioned in the beginning, dying to self is not an easy process, but this death is the only one that will bring everlasting life.

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Reflecting Once Again

• Posted on May 15, 2018 at 7:35 pm

I turn another year older tomorrow which brings with it some reflecting. Why am I here? Now that I have quite possibly lived over half of my life, have I accomplished anything significant? Earlier today, I was counseling someone who has similar questions. She didn’t put it in so many words, but she is struggling to find meaning in this thing we call life.

I expect that most people, at some point, have these questions and, when focused on too much, they can lead to discouragement and depression. The best thing to do at times like these is to think about what you do know. To whom have you been an encouragement? How many people love you? Are there at least little things that God has done at just the right moment to remind you that you are loved and that He has a purpose for your life? These are the things that you must hold on to.

No matter how old you get, you should never stop learning and growing and drawing ever closer to your Savior. The moment you cease doing that, you will begin a downward spiral, from which you may have a hard time pulling yourself out. It doesn’t matter if you are 21 or 81; you were placed on this earth for a purpose, and it is never too late to begin fulfilling that purpose. I am so thankful that God’s mercies really are new every morning. When we blow it, we can go to Him in repentance and start anew. I pray that this coming year finds me more willing to do that and less willing to fritter my time away with things that are meaningless.

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