Make Up Your Mind: 4 Decisions That Will Transform Your Walk With God预览

Make Up Your Mind

"I choose to walk in the Spirit over works of the flesh."

We make a lot of decisions every single year. We make a lot of decisions every single day, and we make, believe it or not, a lot of decisions every waking hour– 2,000 to be exact. Two thousand of what they call remotely conscious decisions. What's a remotely conscious decision? Remotely conscious means something you have a say in. Your heart beating, eyes blinking, breathing in and out are not remotely aware–these things happen automatically. When you wake up, sit up, and swing your legs to the side of your bed, deciding which foot you take your first step with is a remotely conscious decision. Left sock on first or right–that's a remotely conscious decision. Cereal in the bowl and then milk, or vice versa–a remotely conscious decision. 2,000 every hour, over 30,000 every day.

We are living our lives one decision at a time, for better or worse. Now, of course, not all decisions weigh the same. Left foot, right foot, that's not really going to alter the course of your life significantly, but what we're going to do in this series of Devos is say, "Out of all of those 30,000 choices each day, what are going to be the ones that we prioritize the most?"

Walking in the Spirit Over the Works of the Flesh

Every day, we are faced with the choice of flesh versus Spirit. Galatians 5 paints a vivid picture of the consequences of following the flesh—drunkenness, revelries, wrath, and the like, contrasting sharply with the fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, goodness, kindness, and gentleness. We are called to continually choose the Spirit, to walk in it, to cultivate its fruits in our lives, recognizing that this path cannot be forced but must be nurtured through a deep and abiding relationship with Jesus. The key to overcoming this internal conflict is not through more rules or legalism but through a deeper relationship with Christ.

We are called to walk in the Spirit, which means living in a way led and empowered by the Holy Spirit rather than our old sinful nature. The truth is, you don't have to blatantly welcome Satan into your life; you just have to not walk in the Spirit, and he will automatically welcome himself in. When it comes to walking in the Spirit, you don't set it and forget it. It is a constant daily resolve. If you're not being led by the Spirit and inviting him into your days and decisions, you won't automatically drift in the right direction.

So how do we make up our minds and daily walk in the Spirit? Here are four things to consider and prioritize:

1. Scripture: God calls and invites us to deeply engage with his Word, the one place where we find foundational guidance, wisdom, and truth. You don't need better rules. You need a better relationship, Jesus.
2. Siblings: You can welcome the Holy Spirit into your everyday life by building and maintaining Godly relationships–brothers and sisters in Christ–and living in community and accountability with one another.
3. Songs: Worship is the sound of a healthy soul. There is power in using your voice to bring praise, worship, and adoration to Jesus. It gives God the glory He is due, and we are encouraged, uplifted, and spiritually nourished as a byproduct.
4. Savior: The key is focusing on Jesus Christ, our Savior. He is the source of our salvation, the model for our lives, and the one to whom all our actions and thoughts should ultimately point. We get to bring glory to the one who brought us roaring out of the grave with Him.