Key scripture – “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please.(Galations 5: 16-17).

Do you have a healthy relationship with the Holy Spirit? Did you know that if your relationship with the Holy Spirit is healthy you’ll find godliness to be the natural outflow of your life!

You can tell how healthy or unhealthy your relationship is with the Holy Spirit based on the type of fruit you are producing in your life.

If you are living by the flesh this describes the type of fruit you are producing: “The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.” (Galatians 5:19-21).

If you are living by the Spirit this is the type of fruit you are producing: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.” (Galatians 5:22-25).

If you are a Christian I know that you feel the conflict in your life between God’s Holy Spirit and your sinful nature because they “are in opposition to one another” and this causes conflict within you. We are all used to following our sinful, fallen human nature, but God is in the process of restoring us and renewing His image in us so that we reflect the fruit of the Holy Spirit.

Our process of renewal is nowhere near finished yet! God put His Holy Spirit within us to enable us to live in a way that honors Him and we can choose to live “by the Spirit” or by our flesh.

Living by the Spirit means being responsive to His initiatives in your life. When He convicts you to stop doing what you are doing, you stop. When He puts it on your heart to pray for someone, you pray for them. When He speaks to you from His Word, you follow His lead. Then His power will flow in your life.

God’s inviting you to live a new way today—“by the Spirit”.

Pray this – Our Precious Heavenly Father, my flesh and all its desires and passions have been crucified, therefore, I no longer produce the fruit of death, because The Holy Spirit lives in me and the fruits of the Spirit are being produced in me. Father, I want to bear more and more fruit for You, but I know that in order to do that I must do what Jesus said when he told us, “Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:4-5). Show me and teach me how to remain in Jesus because apart from Him I can do nothing but produce rotten fleshly fruit. In the Name of Jesus, the Vine, I pray, Amen.

Laura Ingle