Will My Life Be Occupied WIth Spiritual Fruit Or With Cravings Of The Flesh?

I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. (17) For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.  (18) But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.  (19) Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness,  (20) idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, (21) envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. (22) But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  (23) gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. (Galatians 5:16-23-NKJV).

Well, it’s day 365 of 2015. The last day of the year. This is my last blogpost of the year. We’re now thinking about 2016 and what it will hold for us. Will we walk with God in 2016 or will we fall into flesh centered living? How was 2015 for your spiritual life? Every day we have the choice of walking in the spirit or of allowing our flesh nature to rule us. Let’s look at this subject as we peer into 2016.

 

Walking in the spirit is allowing your human spirit to govern your life. Walking in the flesh is giving in to your natural appetites and desires.  Galatians 5: 19-21 gives a list of the lusts of the flesh and Galatians 5: 22-23 gives a list of the nine fruit of the recreated human spirit.

 

The lusts of the flesh can be broken down into two categories, inward sins and outward sins. Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, drunkenness, and revelries are outward sins of the flesh. Idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, and murders are inward sins of the mind, emotions, and motives.

 

The fruit of the spirit are the byproducts of the love of God being placed in us by the Holy Spirit when we’re born again. They are all connected much like the segments of a tangerine. Love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and self-control are placed in your spirit at the new birth.

 

Our daily choices determine which fruit our tree of life bears. If we with our will choose to focus on the daily happenings around us then we will probably walk in the flesh and the flesh works will surface in our lives. What occupies our minds will eventually fill our lives.

If we keep our minds on things above, and filter out the flesh things that the world and the enemy dangles at us each day, then we will walk in the spirit. The mind is the doorway to spirituality or carnality. Protect your mind. Allow nothing in it that would tarnish your spirit life. Carefully watch what you allow yourself to read, look at, hear, and dwell upon.

Flesh lusts never satisfy. They demand more and more of your time and attention and then leave you empty. Spirit fruit gives total satisfaction to life from the inside out. If you find yourself ill-at-ease, ask yourself what you have had your mental and emotional attention and outward actions focused upon.

At any time during your day today, you are either exhibiting the lusts of the flesh or the fruit of the spirit. The fruit you bear determines what you’re focusing on today. If you don’t like the fruit, then change your focus!

Spending time daily in the Word and in prayer are spiritual exercises that will allow the fruit of the spirit to surface in your life. Spiritual fruit generated by your human spirit through the Word and through being prayerful will challenge every wrong thought, word, action, and motive of your life.

Your bearing flesh lusts or spirit fruit today will be determined by what you give your attention to with you mind. Keep it clean!