What are you doing to grow spiritually ?
Well currently I am working on self control and humility ... self control we understand, but humility is sometimes
thought of as being weak or being pure and meek like a little lamb.
Whoever is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city. Prov 16:32
I find this verse pretty much sums it up for me.
So how to do ?
I choose my battleground - in this instance where I'm going to engage in warfare with my flesh.
A situation arises and immediately the old man, the flesh rears his ugly head.
Right, I say to myself, this looks like a good place to engage the enemy.
My flesh would say something like, "Are you going to let them get away with that, you're going to have to say or do
something about this ... if you don't, well then you're going to look like a fool.
Think about how you feel, huh, don't you feel angry, I mean who do they think they are, don't let them get away with it.
AND IT DOES NOT MATTER WHAT PEOPLE THINK ... DESTROY THAT TEMPTATION TO TAKE THE BAIT.
I simply ignore the flesh and tell myself, Enquirer, you DO NOT HAVE TO RESPOND, and if you do so, do it without
aggression, just hang in there, the "feeling" will go away, strengthen yourself through this experience, don't respond.
In the beginning it was tough, but after having practiced it many times it's much easier to do.
Within me I sense a new thing taking place, a "knowing" of a new strength ... and this "knowing" comes from deep down
within ... from my spirit ... and when I sense it, it is exhilarating.
I would like to think of it as power from purity.
It is so strong that it is almost tangible.
My marriage has benefited from this, my relationships with staff at work, even here and so on and on.
When a person begins to grow the fruit of the spirit - I interpret Gal 5 to mean the human spirit and not the Holy spirit -
each one of these fruits - yes I know it's singular - each one of them covers a vast range of the "works of the flesh".
Take a look at love for instance, then look at the works of the flesh that are listed, do you see how many "works of the flesh"
are eliminated by love itself ?
I see the fruit - each one listed - as layer upon layer over the flesh drowning it out, destroying it's effectiveness, perfecting
holiness.
I remember a preacher from the US by the name of Ed Cole saying that "Manhood was synonymous with Christlikeness".
So to be a real man was to imitate Jesus and not get all bent out of shape when I get offended.
I'm not a man when I get aggressive but a man when I walk in self control and behave like Jesus.
The image of so-called men portrayed in today's media and society is directly the opposite.
"I gotta be Rambo", "I'm gonna kill you dead", and a few others not worth mentioning.
So how do you do it, how are you growing into the image of our Lord ?
Well currently I am working on self control and humility ... self control we understand, but humility is sometimes
thought of as being weak or being pure and meek like a little lamb.
Whoever is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city. Prov 16:32
I find this verse pretty much sums it up for me.
So how to do ?
I choose my battleground - in this instance where I'm going to engage in warfare with my flesh.
A situation arises and immediately the old man, the flesh rears his ugly head.
Right, I say to myself, this looks like a good place to engage the enemy.
My flesh would say something like, "Are you going to let them get away with that, you're going to have to say or do
something about this ... if you don't, well then you're going to look like a fool.
Think about how you feel, huh, don't you feel angry, I mean who do they think they are, don't let them get away with it.
AND IT DOES NOT MATTER WHAT PEOPLE THINK ... DESTROY THAT TEMPTATION TO TAKE THE BAIT.
I simply ignore the flesh and tell myself, Enquirer, you DO NOT HAVE TO RESPOND, and if you do so, do it without
aggression, just hang in there, the "feeling" will go away, strengthen yourself through this experience, don't respond.
In the beginning it was tough, but after having practiced it many times it's much easier to do.
Within me I sense a new thing taking place, a "knowing" of a new strength ... and this "knowing" comes from deep down
within ... from my spirit ... and when I sense it, it is exhilarating.
I would like to think of it as power from purity.
It is so strong that it is almost tangible.
My marriage has benefited from this, my relationships with staff at work, even here and so on and on.
When a person begins to grow the fruit of the spirit - I interpret Gal 5 to mean the human spirit and not the Holy spirit -
each one of these fruits - yes I know it's singular - each one of them covers a vast range of the "works of the flesh".
Take a look at love for instance, then look at the works of the flesh that are listed, do you see how many "works of the flesh"
are eliminated by love itself ?
I see the fruit - each one listed - as layer upon layer over the flesh drowning it out, destroying it's effectiveness, perfecting
holiness.
I remember a preacher from the US by the name of Ed Cole saying that "Manhood was synonymous with Christlikeness".
So to be a real man was to imitate Jesus and not get all bent out of shape when I get offended.
I'm not a man when I get aggressive but a man when I walk in self control and behave like Jesus.
The image of so-called men portrayed in today's media and society is directly the opposite.
"I gotta be Rambo", "I'm gonna kill you dead", and a few others not worth mentioning.
So how do you do it, how are you growing into the image of our Lord ?
