Led By The Spirit, Children Of God

Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do.  For if you live by its dictates, you will die.  But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live.  For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.

—Romans 8:12-14 (NLT)

Heavenly Father,

Thank You that I don’t have to do what my sinful nature urges me to do—that through the power of the Spirit, I can put to death those evil deeds and find life everlasting.

Your Word tells me that if I live according to the dictates of my sinful nature—giving into the wants and desires of my self-centered and self-motivated flesh—my sin will lead me to death.

But praise be to You, my God, not only for showing me the way I should go, but also for supplying—through the Holy Spirit—the power I need to put to death the deeds of my sinful nature and live!

And thank You for the privilege of being called Your child—as I listen and obey the leading of Your Spirit and as You walk me through this fallen world to bring me safely home with You.

Thank You that I don’t have to do what my sinful nature urges me to do—that through the power of the Spirit, I can put to death those evil deeds and find life everlasting.

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

You Cannot Mock The Justice Of God

Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant.  Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit.

—Galatians 6:7-8 (NLT)

Heavenly Father,

Help me live to please Your Spirit, so that I may reap the benefits of harvesting the best that You have for me here—in this world—and look forward, with hope, to that everlasting life that awaits me there—when You call me to my forever home with You.

Don’t allow me to ever forget that there are consequences associated with everything that I do—for You are a Holy and Just God.

Keep me mindful that when I live for myself—living only to satisfy my own sinful nature—there are bad consequences that come as a result, just as there are good consequences that flow from my living in faithful obedience to Your Spirit.

Show me how the choices I make—that is, the seeds that I plant by my thoughts, words, and actions—will determine the kind of harvest that I will reap.  Help me to choose wisely.

Continue to caution me with the knowledge that, while You will forgive me and extend to me Your mercy and grace when I repent of my bad choices, there will always be consequences of my sin which still remain—consequences that can cause as much harm to others, as they do to me.

Help me live to please Your Spirit, so that I may reap the benefits of harvesting the best that You have for me here—in this world—and look forward, with hope, to that everlasting life that awaits me there—when You call me to my forever home with You.

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Finding The Gift Of Grace And Peace

May God give you more and more grace and peace as you grow in your knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord.  By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence.  And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.

—2 Peter 1:2-4 (NLT)

God of Grace and Peace,

Help me to grow in my knowledge of You and of Your Son, Jesus—so that I can receive more and more of Your grace and peace—as You call me to Yourself and enable me to share in Your divine nature and escape the corruption of this world.

Give me a hunger to know You more—a hunger to read and study Your Word and to fellowship with You in never-ceasing, prayerful conversation—that Your grace and peace would abound in my life.

For You have given me everything I need to live a godly life—and it is all found in my coming to know You—as You call me to Yourself by Your marvelous glory and excellence.

Thank You for the great and precious promises that You offer to those You have called—promises that allow me to share in Your divine nature, instead of my human desires, and allow me to escape the corruption of this world.

Help me to grow in my knowledge of You and of Your Son, Jesus—so that I can receive more and more of Your grace and peace—as You call me to Yourself and enable me to share in Your divine nature and escape the corruption of this world.

In the name of Jesus, Amen.