Galatians 5
Psalm 37:4 – Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
To delight in something is to be happy about it; take exquisite delight; to make merry over, or make sport of.1 Within this writing, we take notice to the delight that is in the Lord, but there is another ‘delight’ that affects the hearts and souls of men as well.
There are but two delights a person can place their hearts upon. To witness the first delight, we can go to the beginning with Adam and Eve. The Lord created the heavens and earth. They had been dressed and arrayed according to His good pleasure. The man was created out of the dust of the ground and the woman out of one of his ribs. She was to be a help meet to share a common purpose: to be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over ever living thing that moves upon the earth (Genesis 2:29).
What is Doctrine?
Doctrine is considered an instruction or teaching that can be learned or developed through experience. Doctrine is associated with a person’s beliefs; the way they ‘see,’ perceive, or relate to the world around them. Each person has a countless number of doctrines on the issues, people, and situations they experience on a daily basis. The number of doctrines a person has is countless and continues to be shaped and expanded throughout a person’s lifetime.
Within Christianity, sound biblical doctrine is based on the biblical teachings, experiences, pastors, ministers, and interactions with fellow brothers and sisters in the local church community. Within the context of this message, doctrine will encompass God’s Word. God’s Word is the foundation of good sound doctrine:
2 Timothy 3:16-17 – All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.
Why do I always have to go through trials and temptation? I don’t want to continue facing the same things over and over and over AND OVER again! I just want to be free.
Have you ever felt like that? Have you ever felt like the Apostle Paul when he said that when he wants to do right, sin is right there (Romans 7:21)? OR the things you want to do you don’t do, but the things you don’t want to do, THAT you find yourself doing (Romans 7:15)? Many of us can relate to Paul’s statements of temptation and sin, but we often stop there without going any further. We continue to live in a cycle that goes from temptation-sin-repentance-temptation-sin-repentance and it never seems to stop. We want to get off the merry-go-round, but it doesn’t seem like we ever can. Why do I have to go through this? Why can’t God just take it away because He knows I want to serve Him. If I didn’t have this ‘sin’ issue, I could just run for Him.
1. Grow in Intimacy. This is the most important for us as believers. Our connection with the Lord must be strong and sound…where He is our first source and not people. Learn how to have an intimate relationship with Him. Meditate on the Psalms to witness lives that were dependent upon the Lord (in the good and tough times).
2. Grow in the Word. Allow the Word of God to become your source for all aspects of your life…it is the most important ‘book’ you will ever read. Understand the entire message of the Bible and how each inspired writing ties into the plan of God and your life. Use study resources (i.e. study guides, commentaries, and dictionaries) that do not inject a lot of personal opinion.
Mark 8:36-37 – For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
Though there are many things the ‘world’ would consider being important (i.e. family, job), the most important is your soul. For different people, gaining the world will mean something different. At the root, gaining the world is anything that does not place your spiritual life before God first, causing your soul (and eternal salvation) to be at risk.
There are many times when the world comes knocking on our doorstep. Be it promotion, position, or people, they call for our attention at the expense of our soul. These desires seldom originate from outside ‘elements,’ as our flesh is the culprit for all types of lustful desires (James 1:14-15). If we place our focus on these desires, we find that they begin to draw us away from the thing that should matter most in our lives–God. Now, I’m not saying you shouldn’t love your family or be a good worker (as scripture says we should – Matthew 22:34-40; John 13:34-35; Colossians 3:22-24), however, we must not love them more than the Lord (Matthew 10:37-39).
We can obtain the highest position at our jobs or gain the popularity of an entire country, but if our soul isn’t ‘right,’ it profits nothing!
Think for a second…what would your life be like if you placed the condition of your soul as the top priority? There would probably be a lot of decisions you wouldn’t make, a lot of places you wouldn’t go, and A WHOLE LOT of things you wouldn’t do.
What is preventing you from serving God fully and focusing on your soul? …and are you willing to give up those things hindering you? Remember, the flesh (and lust) will not allow this decision to be made without a fight (Galatians 5:16-17).
The decision you make may cause you to lose a promotion, popularity, or some other ‘benefit,’ but what you gain is the GREATEST benefit of all and lasts for an eternity! Think about it and choose wisely!
Photo courtesy of freeimages.com/Zern Liew
For some strange reason, I thought my body (or flesh) was my friend. Since we share the same ‘space,’ I figured we would seek the best physical, mental, and spiritual health possible…and I WAS WRONG! Because of this reasoning, I didn’t always ‘fight’ with my flesh. I figured the fight (spiritually speaking) was solely with the devil and didn’t include the inner me.
Galatians 5:17 – For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
The flesh is not an ally! It seeks to satisfy its lust! Whether the lust refers to sexual acts, eating, speaking, or thinking, the flesh wants its way…AT ALL COSTS! The flesh isn’t concerned about your spiritual well-being; it only wants to be satisfied.
Throughout our lives we will meet people with great gifts, talents, and abilities. We admire their work and see the fruits of their labor born for good. If we are not careful, we will become envious of their ‘success.’ We will desire the same while looking at our own shortcomings and becoming sad, disappointed, and hurt.
Why doesn’t God use me like that?
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