For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.
Thoughts on Today’s Verse…
Living a life of purity is a daily battle, an ongoing war between our flesh and the Spirit of God working to re-create us to be like Christ. Without the power of the Spirit, our willpower eventually fails. But because of the Spirit’s power at work within us, we can overcome our failures in the flesh and progress toward our goal of Christlikeness (Colossians 1:28-29), which the Holy Spirit assures (2 Corinthians 3:17-18). We choose to live by the power of the Holy Spirit as the children of God and those destined to share in his glory because of his grace to us in Jesus and Jesus pouring the Holy Spirit out on us and into us (Titus 3:3-7)!
My Prayer…
Forgive me, Father, for the times when I’ve willingly let my flesh win out over the call of your Spirit. Thank you for cleansing me with the Spirit’s holy fire and drawing me onward to be more like my Savior. Today, I intentionally offer you my heart for the Holy Spirit to empower me past sin as the Spirit molds me to be more and more like Jesus, in whose name I pray. Amen.
All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.