Daily Bible Study

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Day 135 Galatians 5:13 For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. 14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: “You will love your neighbor as yourself.” 15 If you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another! 16 I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh. 17 For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. 18 If you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. 24 Those, who are Christ’s, have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. Turn on the news. What do you hear? Walk down the street. What do you see? Turn on your television. What do you see and hear? In the space of a few minutes, you can see every form of evil imaginable. Nothing is left to the imagination. Does it repulse you or do you find it entertaining? Paul told the Galatians they were called to liberty. They were free because they accepted Jesus as Savior and Lord, but they were not to use their freedom to do whatever they desired. He told them the kind of people who would not enter God’s kingdom. Everyone who practiced evil in any form would never see heaven, would never be with Jesus. However, those who lived by the Spirit produced the fruit of the Spirit in their lives. Paul told them there is no law against love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, or self-control. When they walked in the fruit of the Spirit, they had nothing to fear. One of the first things Christians learn when they study the Bible is the fruit of the Spirit. However, learning it and putting it into practice are two different things. How often do you meet with other Christians, and they talk about things that work against the fruit of the Spirit? The works of the flesh are as prevalent among believers as they are in the world. How can you live in the world and not become entangled with it? Like Christmas wrapping, Satan wraps up the lusts of the flesh in glittery packaging and causes the heart and mind to yearn after those things which separate you from God’s love. You need to separate yourself from the works of the flesh. Don’t let Satan tempt you with glittery packaging that will separate you from Christ’s love. How do you separate yourself from the world? Spend your time in Bible study and prayer. What did Jesus do when Satan tempted Him with all the glitter of the world? He told Satan, IT IS WRITTEN. Luke 4:1 Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 2 being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days, He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry. 3 The devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” 4 Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, ‘Man will not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’” 5 Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time 6 and said to Him, “All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. 7 Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours.” 8 Jesus answered and said to him, “Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You will worship the LORD your God, and Him only you will serve.’” 9 Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here. 10 For it is written: ‘He will give His angels charge over you, to keep you,’ 11 and, ‘In their hands they will bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.’” 12 Jesus answered and said to him, “It has been said, ‘You will not tempt the LORD your God.’” 13 Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time. Satan tempted Jesus with the three things he tempted Adam and Eve with in the Garden of Eden and caused the fall of mankind: lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. 1 John 2:15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. (NKJV) Without the Word of God living in you, you cannot overcome Satan’s temptations but will fall prey to them. When you immerse yourself in God’s Word, you will know Satan’s temptations and tell him IT IS WRITTEN. No matter how he packages sin, it won’t tempt you. Let the fruit of the Spirit live in your life. Let the world know you will not let it persuade you with the lust of the eyes, lust of the flesh, or the pride of life. Remember, greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world. 1 John 4:4. Let’s pray: Father, help me when Satan comes against me with the lusts of the world. Help me say as Jesus did, IT IS WRITTEN. Let Your joy flood my being so that no matter what Satan tries to do, he will fail. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen. Copyright © 28 November 2023 by Valerie Routhieaux The image belongs to me.