God’s Word was really speaking out loud this morning as I was reading it in the Bible itself as well as within the devotionals I presently use. What was being addressed is the separation of living in the bondage of our flesh vs living in the freedom of our spirit. The sinfulness we acquired from birth manifests itself in our flesh. Our spirit wants to feed the selfish desires of our flesh no matter what it is about. We can also come up with a thousand defense as to why “it is not selfish, just necessary or needed”.

Galatians 5:16 tells us to “…walk in the Spirit and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh”. It goes on to describe some of these characteristics: “adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness….” This is immediately followed by the characteristics of living by the Spirit: “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” This is all found in the fifth chapter of Galatians.

All of this written comes about just a few years after Christ had come to live out this evidence of “living in the Spirit”. Yet, already man was struggling with it. All of these years later we still are. It just reinforces to me our need to stay focused on today. Today I can commit to live in God’s Spirit within me because I am in today and God’s Spirit called I AM is with me and within me today.