Friday November 14, 2008 CHOICES?
When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, your lives will produce these evil results: sexual immorality, impure thoughts, eagerness for lustful pleasure, idolatry, participation in demonic activities, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, divisions, the feeling that everyone is wrong except those in your own little group, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other kinds of sin. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God. But when the Holy Spirit controls our lives, he will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Here there is no conflict with the law. Galatians 5:19-23 It seems to me that much of our lives revolve around choices. The choice to give in to the Holy Spirit or our sinful selves is a major choice and we deal with it many times a day. Learning to discern the old versus the new can be difficult at times for people who grew up not knowing they ever had a choice - believe me I know. This is especially real for me as I watch Cody. When Cody began acting out recently, I mean really acting out, I realized just how much emotions can control a person's behavior. Of course he is only nine-years-old, but his anger, his emotions control his every waking moment. It's as though he is always on an emotional roller coaster ride. This young boy has always had a roof over his head, something to eat, and just about every toy one can imagine, but that's not what he concentrates on. He thinks about how he wants to see his dad and the different guys his mom has had a relationship with. He's also angry because she doesn't live with us any more. Yet, at his age he doesn't realize he has a choice whether or not to be angry, so he just gives in to his anger. He is jealous of his nine-year-old cousin because Austin's mother has the same boyfriend and has lived in the same house for five years. Therefore, Cody takes out a lot of his anger out on Austin who, although he is only a month younger than Cody, he is light years behind him in many ways. Paul lays it on the line for all of us; there are definite results when we operate according to our sinful nature. For instance, the moment I feel a little bit of jealousy rearing its ugly head in my life I try to question what is really going on. It usually boils down to the fact that I feel threatened. The best thing to do in those moments is to call on the name of the Lord. Instead, too often we give in to our flesh and jealousy progresses to outbursts of anger, etc., and can even lead a person to believe that those in his or her own little group are the only ones with the truth. I read the following quote somewhere, it is good and I think you just might get something from it. "As we take responsibility for our lives, we must also take responsibility for obeying the Holy Spirit's instructions. Then, as we continue the process of spiritual renewal, God's Spirit will begin to produce fruit in our lives.Fruit doesn't instantly grow on trees. As trees grow and seasons pass, fruit slowly develops. In a similar way, as we continue to accept our responsibility to obey the Holy Spirit, good spiritual fruit will begin to appear in our lives. Our primary responsibility is to stay connected to God. It is the Holy Spirit's responsibility to produce good fruit in us." As we submit our feelings and fears to the Lord, He will work things out for our good and bear the fruit necessary for our journey. All we have to do is make the right choices according to His Word each day and not let our emotions direct our path. Father, we come to You, laying our worst fears at Your feet. We know that You will walk with us through the storms and help us lay aside the old and make room for the new in our lives, and lay aside our emotions. Thank You for helping choose the right path. ******************************************* O. Addison Gethers e-mail address : [EMAIL PROTECTED] or [EMAIL PROTECTED] window live messenger: [EMAIL PROTECTED] aim: durangoadd64 skype: cowboys62 yahoo messenger: OADDISONGETHERS --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Deaf-Blind Inspirational Life Group" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/DBILG?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
