Walk in the Spirit

Paul prayed for His followers, including you and me, "that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places" (Eph. 1:17-20).

Not only are we to live by that same faith through which we were saved, but we were saved by the same power that raised Jesus from the dead. That mighty power of God is at work in us and we are to live our lives by that same power. Living by that same power means living by faith in Jesus and letting Him have control of your life; letting Him guide and direct your path so that you become more like Him every day.

To have Jesus guide and direct your path is to walk in the Spirit or to live the Spirit-filled life. Paul said, "Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh" (Gal. 5:16). He also said, "And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit" (Eph. 1:18). When you live the Spirit-filled life you find yourself growing daily in your spiritual walk. Each day you become a little bit more like Jesus.

To walk in the Spirit means spending time reading and studying the Bible every day, not because you have to, but because you want to. It becomes a desire or even a passion of yours as a child of God. When you are Spirit-filled, the central focus of your life will change. Your whole focus will center around the Lord Jesus and your main desire will be to want to get to know Him better. The main avenue for getting to know more about Jesus and to walk closer to Him is found in the word of God, the Bible; hence, spending time in the Word every day.

Following the death of Moses, God turned to Joshua and commissioned him in Moses' place. Part of what God told Joshua was this: "This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success" (Josh. 1:8). This shows the importance of spending time in God's Word. Through His Word you receive guidance and direction in the way you should go. By following His Word you will be made to prosper and have success. Amen.