“If we live by the [Holy] Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. [If by the Holy Spirit we have our life in God, let us go forward walking in line, our conduct controlled by the Spirit.]” If we live by the Spirit let us also walk by the Spirit. This statement is for those that are or want to live by the Spirit. We can live according to the flesh which is quite normal for most human beings. Until we meet the Lord how can we live by the Spirit. In the old testament the servants of God had the Spirit come upon them for connection with, and direction from God. Today the Spirit of God lives within us. Once we became born again Christians our dead to God human spirits were changed, and we became a new creature in Christ Jesus. Old things have passed away, and all things become new. With this new recreated human spirit that’s in the children of God, there’s a direct connection to Him all the time. We can give ourselves to the study, and meditation in God’s word for a greater sensitivity in hearing His voice. Our human spirits have seeds of love deposited in them. The fruit of the spirit (human spirit) must be developed, fruit implies growth (Galatians 5:22-23). As we develope the love seed, joy, patience, self-control, etc, we learn about holiness. Because of this we have the opportunity to walk by the Spirit. The Holy Spirit will always be in agreement with what the word of God says (Bible). Anything or any voice opposing what the scriptures say, is not the Lord speaking to you. Since you have what it takes to walk by the Spirit, will you allow your conduct to be controlled by Him.

“This Book of the Law shall not depart out of your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may observe and do according to all that is written in it. For then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall deal wisely and have good success.” Once we’ve determined in ourselves to follow the book of the law we redirect our lives towards success. Built in God’s word is beneficial insight into how to live above the things that block us from our goals. We must understand the rules of the kingdom of God, and be mindful of them during the course of our day. The word of God is spirit and it is life (John 6:63). It is a living entity that has creative power for those who believe. The more we get His word in our hearts and minds, the better positioned we’ll be for prosperity and success. In God’s word it covers how to have abundant life, how to stay healthy, how to have better relationships, and everything pertaining to life and godliness for victorious living. The word of God which is the book of the law, is our spiritual food. We eat food that keeps the body functioning, but the same is necessary for spiritual hunger to be satisfied. Our human spirits will not have any say between our minds and bodies if it’s not built up with God’s word. Our human spirits are the only part of our make-up that has been redeemed, changed. Our minds and bodies have not changed. If you were over weight before getting saved you’ll still be over weight after becoming a christian. Our mind must be renewed by the book of the law. But our spirits must be fed day and night to make our earth journey prosperous.

“But as for me, I will look to the Lord and confident in Him I will keep watch; I will wait with hope and expectancy for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me.” When we’re going through the storms of life, one of the hardest things to do is waiting for deliverance out of the crisis. Many times it’s out of our hands to deliver ourselves from the trouble, but if we can acknowledge the Lord during the trouble and not freak out, He can and will deliver us. Watching in hope for the Lord’s deliverance during a crisis is a confident favorable expectation driven by our faith in God. Answered prayer that manifests seemingly on our time schedule is more of a faith building encouragement for newer believers. But the answered prayer that takes a long time to come, will test your patience. It is through faith and patience we obtain the promises of God. He will stretch our faith as we mature in Christ. The Lord treats us according to our faith level because everyone isn’t on the same level of understanding. To watch in hope says it all. No matter what’s going on around us, we can have hope. It is imperative that we get God’s word deep down in our hearts so in time of need God’s got something to work with getting us delivered from our crisis. We pray His word back to Him, and He always responds to what He has proclaimed in the bible. Be watchful, but watch in hope of deliverance from your troubles. God hears you.

“But, on the contrary, as the Scripture says, What eye has not seen and ear has not heard and has not entered into the heart of man, [all that] God has prepared (made and keeps ready) for those who love Him [who hold Him in affectionate reverence, promptly obeying Him and gratefully recognizing the benefits He has bestowed].” We are not capable of understanding what God has in mind concerning the things He has prepared for those who love Him. He will always do exceedingly abundantly above all we could ask or think. He’s in the blessing business to those of us who keep His commandments. We are highly favored by God in a position for victorious living while we keep Him in the loop. We never think big enough when it comes to God taking care of supplying our needs, and intervening in that which concerns us most in life. He has us in His sights at all times, and more so as we include Him in everything. We see in part now, but when He shall appear we will be like Him, and understand with a higher, supernatural level of comprehension (1Corinthians 13:12). But for now here on planet earth we can have some benefits of higher understanding. By having close fellowship with the Lord, He tells us things not otherwise received. Revelation knowledge is receiving insight from the spiritual realm where God is, into this natural realm where we live, and need it now. We have the mind of Christ and can exercise the mind of Christ in our everyday lives by having close fellowship with God (1Corinthians 2:16). We can be led by our human spirits to gain some insight into experiencing what He has prepared for us His children. In other words our soul and mind functions can never connect to knowing the things He has prepared for us who love Him.

“And let the peace (soul harmony which comes) from Christ rule (act as umpire continually) in your hearts [deciding and settling with finality all questions that arise in your minds, in that peaceful state] to which as [members of Christ’s] one body you were also called [to live]. And be thankful (appreciative), [giving praise to God always].” We have been called to peace according to today’s post. The beginning of the text reads “…..let the peace…. rule in your hearts”. This is saying we can let it rule in our hearts. The Lord wouldn’t tell us to do something we couldn’t do. By invoking our wills, and obeying His command on how to allow that peace to rule our hearts, it will become a reality. We must always guard what we’re hearing. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. If we’re constantly listening to drama folk or negative people with loads of issues, then we’re not off to a good start. Peaceful surroundings are the best conditions for temporary outward peace. But we can have the peace of God that passes all understanding in the middle of a crisis. Jesus is the Prince of Peace and He lives in the christian heart (Isaiah 9:6). Now His presence in the christian heart varies from person to person. Some have more of Christ than others. To get more of Christ’s abilities and presence in us will take more study of His teachings and precepts. Then becoming a doer of God’s word and not a hearer only (James 1:22). The more we demonstrate God’s love in our daily life the more His peace will overtake us.

“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds [curing their pains and their sorrows].” God heals the broken hearted and binds up their wounds. If your heart is broken this day the Lord already knew it would be, and yes He allowed it. Many factors could be attributed to you being in such pain now. Even with self inflicted heart break, when you were told to leave that person alone but you haven’t yet. When we give ourselves to others sexually, there’s a spiritual bond that gets created making it harder in this natural realm to let go of that toxic person. Marriage is where the institution of the spiritual bond is legally connected. Coming together with someone you’re not married to may seem ok to the point you feel, we’ve lived together for so many years we’re just as good as married. Not true, on many levels. In God’s eyes it’s a sin to have intimate relationships with someone outside of being married. This has become the way for many people today, but it’s not cool with God. Your broken heart can be from other issues in life as we already know. The thing to take away from today’s post is, the Lord will heal your broken heart. It’s always easier for God to get healing to us, or any provisions to us without the sin in our lives. Wrong doings block the hand of God, but thank Him for His mercy. Whether your heart has been broken because of your own bad decisions or you fell into it, God’s mercy will set you free of the pain. He’s with us through it all. He will bind up your wounds from a broken heart.

“He who heeds instruction and correction is [not only himself] in the way of life [but also] is a way of life for others. And he who neglects or refuses reproof [not only himself] goes astray [but also] causes to err and is a path toward ruin for others.” The person taking heed to the instruction and correction is in the way of life. And then there’s the person who refuses reproof and goes astray. We are always on display for others to observe. They may not say anything to you, but we are all always under the microscope of the world’s lens. That being said, others without necessarily realizing, are reading our actions and learning from us, the light and salt of the world. It’s human nature to naturally glean from each other. So in living out the teachings and precepts of the Lord, we become a living walking bible to others who may never attend church. On the other side of the coin, if we refuse God’s instructions and corrections we become a living walking witness to the effects of disobedience to His order. The rules of the kingdom of God are in place for our protection, guidance, and experience of victory over the evil in this world. Keeping His commandments are also a demonstration of our love for God (1John 5:3). When people go too far in the going astray area, that’s when jail, or worse comes into play. Don’t allow your stubbornness to rule your life. To be stubborn is a symptom of pride, that dirty weed which blocks God’s favor and grace. We cannot trust ourselves with all the temptations thrown at us daily. Get the governor of God’s instruction and correction to keep you out of hell’s direction.

“Guide me in Your truth and faithfulness and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; for You [You only and altogether] do I wait [expectantly] all the day long.” David is speaking here to the Lord. He has discovered that God and God alone is the only one that he will wait expectantly for all day long. God is our Savior and He can guide us in His truth and teach us all things. There is so much confusion and distractions in this world. It can become easy to be misdirected in our normal everyday endeavors. There are so many options available for the same end result of our goals to be accomplished. Choosing the right pathway for our God given purpose is vital. Some ideas are good ideas but not God ideas, which means somewhere along the way there could be a booby trap. God’s way will cause us to use our faith to break through challenges but it will be God’s way of unnecessary trouble. Truth is our rule of thumb. Building our lives on truth needs to start somewhere and right now is a good time. Without keeping truth and honesty in our motives, we’d be no better than the devil, who is the father of lies. Truth doesn’t just happen for us since we were born in sin and shaped in iniquity (Psalm 51:5). We must train ourselves to live in truth and honesty. Better to swear to your own hurt and speak the truth at all costs. We will be judged on every word that comes out of our mouths (Matthew 12:36). Our Savior Jesus Christ knows our struggles and that is why He came to earth. He is the way, the truth, and the life. David didn’t have the Lord the way we do since Calvary happened. Live in the truth, we need to do so more than ever before.

“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty (emancipation from bondage, freedom).” There is freedom wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, because when He shows up, anything having an evil motive in His presence will burn up. That’s why we need to have a Christ inside mindedness. Knowing the Creator of the universe lives in us keeps our faith actively present when needed. What do we need to be freed from? Glad you asked about that, freedom comes in many different forms, depending on what has you in bondage. To be free from certain people is a thing. Those people that seem to be sent to you from the pit of hell with an assignment to rock your world and worse. We can be free from them by acknowledging the Lord in all our ways and He’ll direct our path. To change can be scary when you don’t know what’s coming. But that’s where God would have you, in the faith zone of triumphant deliverance. To keep doing what you’ve always done and expect your life to change for the better, is totally not going to happen. With big change comes bigger and better opportunities. Emancipation from bondage has been made available to all, but without allowing the process of the change, you’ll stay stuck in life. To be free from habitual wrong doings has been provided by the Lord Jesus Christ at Calvary. Old habits don’t just stop automatically. The snare of Satan has been destroyed. Learn what’s yours and act on it. You’ve been freed long ago.

“Little children, let us not love [merely] in theory or in speech but in deed and in truth (in practice and in sincerity).” When someone tells you they love you, what do they really mean. Well, from a man who has an inordinate desire to be with a woman, a man who only wants his own needs met, we’re not talking about that kind of love. A person who uses those magical words, “I love you”, knowing most people just want to be loved or shown love, it can be a trap. There are many predators out there who know how to play that game. The agape love of God is the love that gives, not takes. Agape love in action will never be self-serving. It is actually the opposite of that predator love. To tell someone we agape love them is important, but to show them by our actions is priceless. A child knows the love of the parents by the consistent caring for them over the years. Helping them in difficult situations and circumstances, encouraging them through their troubles. The love of God is a sacrificial love that never tires or gives up. It’s a love that has completely detached from self comforts and willful energies. This love mirrors the Father’s image on earth, He sees Himself in our actions when we show and demonstrate His love to others. Even our words or speech should demonstrate His love by the way we say things, and even more importantly, how we say things. To love others with pure motives based on truth, will represent the Lord’s kindness, and mercy even unto the listeners salvation. Let us love one another.