Liz’s Morning Devotional based upon Upper Room
March 14, 2022
Read Galatians 5:[13-18] 25-28
13 You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh[a]; rather, serve one another humbly in love. 14 For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”[b] 15 If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.
16 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other so that you are not to do whatever[c] you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. Against such things, there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.
Good Morning! Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.
How is it with your soul? What gifts do you bring? These are two questions that faithful followers of Christ should consider. As believers, we are imperfect beings who are being molded and transformed by the Holy Spirit at work within us.
Our physical bodies have very visible bumps and bruises, but we often try to hide our inner faults from our friends, our family, and even God. God who made us knows us from the inside out, yet in our childlike minds, we imagine we can conceal those bumps and bruises. Some imperfections might be quickly smoothed out while others require time and much work to mold them into a pleasing form.
Let’s look at that list again: But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Because we are each unique beings, the greater challenges for each of us are different. No matter what our circumstances, our afflictions, the Holy Spirit continues to faithfully smooth out our rough parts until we are the beings who God sees in us. Thanks be to God! Even when we fall and gather new bumps and bruises, or we resume our previous ways, God is patient as the Holy Spirit works.
How can we ever thank God enough? God, our Creator, simply wants to be in a relationship with us and will wait until we are ready to make the choice to be faithful followers of Christ. Even the roughest edges can be smoothed into perfection with faithful work by the maker. Thankfully, God is a master craftsman for whom all things are possible.
Loving God, Thank You for loving us. We know that our feeble attempts to thank you are never enough, but You lovingly accept us for who we are and You never lose sight of who we are to be. Thank you for being patient with us and always loving us. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen
Thought for the day: When I look in a mirror, I will try to look past my outer coverings and see what God sees.
God sees our hearts! Pastor Liz
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