February 13 – Life In The Spirit (Galatians 3:1-5)

“After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?”(Galatians 3:3)

IN WORD:
The Galatians had diverted from the right path. They had become “religious.” It’s a trap any of us can fall into, and we often do. We follow a law — any law, even a good one like Jesus’ words — trying to live the Christian life apart from Christ. We try to accomplish the work of God in the strength of our flesh. It can’t be done.
Jesus was very clear: “Apart fro Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). We may have thought that being a Christian meant being better, improving ourselves, and having a profound reason to obey God and do good works. If so, we set our eyes on the result of the Christian life and forgot the means to get there. We cannot become mature disciples except by supernatural means. Jesus did not come into this world to make us better; He came into this world to make us new. There’s a significant difference.
We know what a mature Christian looks like. He or she will have the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). What we don’t seem to know — or we forget easily — is that we don’t grow these attributes by doing our best at them. We get them by realizing how foreign they are to our to our human nature, how futile our attempts at achieving them are, and how dependent on God we are for His life within us. It’s a supernatural means to a supernatural life.

IN DEED:
Are you frustrated with your Christian growth? Are you strong in religion but weak in faith? Understand the difference between the two. Avoid the foolishness of the Galatians. No amount of human effort can fulfill God’s laws. You were born of the Spirit when you believed. Now live by the Spirit. Cry out to God for Him to live His life in you, and He will accomplish your righteousness.

“The Father in Heaven loves to fill His children with the Holy Spirit.” -Andrew Murray-