Verse of the Day 10/15

Verse of the Day 10/15??????

Galatians 5:18?? But if you are led by the Spirit,??you are not under the law.?????? New International Version (NIV)

The other day I quoted Elijah from I Kings 18 when he asked the Israelite's, "how long will you waver between two opinions"; challenging them to turn from Baal and follow the One true God.?? There is a constant battle going on between the "works of the flesh" and following the Holy Spirit's promptings in our lives.??

Our men's Bible study reviewed this passage from Galatians 5 this week (read it below) and it brings this concept into perspective, into full view.?? Before us we have the "works of the flesh (v.19) vs. the fruit of the Spirit, which gives us the grace to follow Jesus' example.?? It is up to us. Self control is listed as a component, an instrumental part of the "fruit of the Spirit".?? If we are to follow we must use self control

I had pasted the following note about self-control in my eBible. "It is impossible to achieve the highest level of self-control apart from God???s abiding Spirit within us. Self- control does not come by the outworking of mere fleshly energy and effort. Like all the rest of the fruit, self-control is the outcropping of the life of the Holy Spirit within us. When we come to know Christ as a personal Savior, the Father sends the Holy Spirit not only to seal us, indwell us, and fill us, but also to produce fruit through us."  (source unknown)    Now go back to today's verse, "if you are led by the Spirit you are not under the law".  The law is about following rules and regulations - do not steal, lie, cheat, or commit the acts listed in the passage below.  If you break the "rules" you will always be looking over your shoulder and continually be "covering your tracks".  But if we live by the Spirit, follow His promptings, we will have no worry of such things, there is nothing to be looking back over our shoulders about - goodness, kindness, gentleness, patience and self control to name a few.    This then begs the question, are we being led by the Spirit?  Do we want to or would we still like to "waver between two opinions"?  It is up to each of us.     Galatians 5:25 "We must live in the Holy Spirit and follow after him."  The Passion Translation

--   In Christ,  Mike    Folllow the Verse of the Day blog at http://mikesvotd.blogspot.com  Ephesians 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins,  in accordance with the riches of God's grace.  NIV    

Galatians 5:17-25??The Passion Translation (TPT)

^17??For your self - life craves the things that offend the Holy Spirit??and hinder him from living free within you! And the Holy Spirit???s intense cravings hinder your old self - life from dominating you! So then, the two incompatible and conflicting forces within you are your self - life of the flesh and the new creation life of the Spirit.^[a]

^18??But when you are brought into the full freedom of the Spirit^[b]??of grace, you will no longer be living under the domination of the law,??but soaring above it!

^19??The cravings of the self-life are obvious: Sexual immorality, lustful thoughts, pornography,??^20??chasing after things instead of God,^[c]??manipulating others,^[d]??hatred of those who get in your way, senseless arguments, resentment when others are favored, temper tantrums, angry quarrels, only thinking of yourself, being in love with your own opinions,??^21??being envious of the blessings of others, murder, uncontrolled addictions,^[e]??wild parties, and all other similar behavior.

Haven???t I already warned you that those who use their ???freedom??? for these things^[f]??will not inherit the kingdom realm of God!

^22???23??But the fruit^[g]??produced by the Holy Spirit within you is divine love in all its varied expressions:^[h]

joy??that overflows,^[i]

peace??that subdues,

patience^[j]??that endures,

kindness^[k]??in action,

a life full of virtue,^[l]

faith??that prevails,

gentleness??of heart, and

strength??of spirit.^[m]

Never set the law above these qualities, for they are meant to be limitless.^[n]

^24??Keep in mind that we who belong to Jesus, the Anointed One, have already experienced crucifixion. For everything connected with our self - life was put to death on the cross and crucified with Messiah.??^25??We must live in the Holy Spirit and follow after him.