by Dave Miller
Are you so foolish? After beginning by the Spirit, are you now finishing by the flesh? - Galatians 3:3
The standard of faith appears too easy for the unbelieving heart. Simply placing your faith in Jesus as the Savior and King will bring abundant and eternal life? There has to be more to it than that. Yet, the maturing soul knows the path of deep faith is anything but easy, in fact, trusting in self and personal ability often appears the easy route in the moment.
Walking in the Spirit, means walking in the unseen, trusting in the eternal over the temporal, finding comfort in the spiritual often against the physical. The Spirit tends to walk slowly, writing our story on the character path instead of the efficient path. The Spirit tends to present challenge and obstacle in place of agreement and advantage. The Spirit brings us lower, refusing to glory in our pride. Trust in the path of the Spirit of Jesus makes little sense to our way of thinking when taken at face value.
Impatience and frustration are the evidence of the flesh. Jealousy and exaggeration are the language of the flesh. Flattery and control are the currency of the flesh. Division and isolation are the reward of the flesh. In the core apostolic task, when these manifest, we are trying to finish in the flesh.
I know and you know that Jesus said, “I am the vine you are the branches. The one who remains in me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without me.” We fundamentally understand with our minds that any fruit in disciple making and the core apostolic task is a result of our abiding in Jesus. We began in the Spirit. But quickly, methods, tools, others success, stories we hear, and desires we have wage war against the standard of faith. We take our eyes off of Jesus and we begin trying to finish by the flesh.
My simple encouragement to each of you. Trust Jesus. Trust His methods, His timing, His direction, His voice. Engage Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit through devotion to the apostles teaching, the fellowship, the breaking of bread, and the prayers. Live in the identity of the repentant baptized one who believes the gospel, walking in Spirit. The Father will do the miraculous, overflow through you in generosity, demonstrate His worth through your worship, and will add daily to those who are being saved.
Our Father does not need you to do what someone else is doing, He needs you to do what He is calling you to do. Jesus completed the restoration you need and the Holy Spirit will empower your faithfulness. The standard is faith, a faith walking in the Spirit.
Until there's #NoPlaceLeft...
Comments