Guard Your Heart - - Watch Your Walk

 

Galatians 5:25

If we live in The Spirit, let us also walk in The Spirit.

*Strong's Ex. Conc. No. 4748

Walk: to walk by rule

From the Greek word 'stoicheó' (pronounced stoy-kheh'-o); walk according to The Spirit, walk orderly, to walk in step with The Spirit.

We sing Where He Leads Me I Will Follow, and He Leadeth Me, sometimes without thinking about the HOW we are being led. If we walk in step with The Spirit, it is more than a following after His lead, it is keeping up with Him. Think of boot camp where the private is taught to keep in step with not only the drill sergeant but also the men and women walking with that soldier. One misstep and the whole order falls apart. 

    

    To walk in The Spirit is to 'walk according to His rule' (Galatians 6:16) wherein we walk out this new life in Christ in Truth and Liberty. For The Word tells us in 2 Corinthians 3:17,  "Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where The Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty." 

     Liberty to walk unbound by the bondage of sin, which once held us captive, ready to deliver us to death and hell. But now, having been set free from our sinful nature, we walk "in the newness of life" ( given us when we believe that Jesus Christ Is Lord and Savior. 

    If you are not a born again Christian you CANNOT walk in the Spirit of The Lord, for you have no New Life in Christ. You are still walking in darkness, bumping into things you cannot see and are but dimly aware of, if there is any awareness at all. You need to see the Light: the Light of God's Love extended to us through His only begotten Son Jesus Christ. We can only walk in The Spirit if we are living in The Light, for The Light shines on the path of the righteous, wherein The Spirit leads the faithful believer.  I pray you come to know the Love of God and His precious Holy Light. I pray for your salvation, the indwelling of The Holy Spirit within you and an eager joy birthed in you to serve the Lord your God with all faithfulness and urgency.​

   

Romans 6:3-5

3. Or aren’t you aware that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 

4. We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may walk in newness of life.

5. For if we have been united with Him like this in His death, we will certainly also be united with Him in His resurrection.

    When we live by, live in The Spirit, we are walking by His lead, walking in His authority, under His rule, in Love. When we truly follow His leading, our lives will show the fruit of walking in The Spirit: Galatians 5:22, 23 "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance. Against such things there is no law."

•     LOVE: Agape Love, Divine Love
•     JOY: The awareness of God's Grace
•     PEACE: God's Gift of Wholeness
•     LONGSUFFERING: Divinely-regulated Patience produced by The LORD 
•     GENTLENESS: Divine Kindness which meets the need(s); Meeting real needs in God's way, God's timing.
• GOODNESS: The Goodness which comes from God and reveals itself as spiritual excellence, moral excellence; a virtuous life.
• FAITH: God's Divine Persuasion, which He inbirths within us through the power of His Holy Spirit and which He refills us with each time we trust in Him and in His Word.
• MEEKNESS: Strength in Gentleness; Uncompromising, but firm; Temperate (Levelheaded, Sober {minded}, Restrained.
• TEMPERANCE: Self-Control from within; Mastering our desires with the power of The Lord through His Holy Spirit. Constraint, self-discipline.

    Let us walk in The Spirit. Let us walk in The Love of God, exhibiting the kindness of God to everyone we interact with. Walk in the Joy of knowing we are saved by the Grace of God. Walk in Peace, God's gift of Wholeness, knowing that we are complete in Him. 

    Let us walk in Longsuffering, in divinely-regulated patience, a long-tempered way of speaking and thinking, instead of  a short-tempered, short-fused way. Let not words of unkindness bleed through our lips when we get frustrated or upset.

    Let us walk in Gentleness, waiting on God to nudge us in the direction we need to go and serve Him in. Sometimes a simple prayer prayed with someone concerning their needs is what we are to do. Other times God reveals the need to someone and they bring what is needed to the person who needs it. (There was a time when I had no money for food. The boys and I prayed. That same night friends showed up at our door with armfuls of groceries for us. I had no phone so I could not call anyone. But I had faith that God would meet our needs and He did).

    Let us walk in the Goodness of God, living morally upright lives which reflect His Word and His Light and His Love to everyone that they may see Christ in us. This is not a 'holier than thou' stance, nor is it  judgmental living. It is letting The Spirit teach the believer how to live according to The Word of God which lives within us.

    Let us walk in Faith, believing, trusting God for His wisdom in making our every day decisions. Let us seek out, pursue and know His will that we may live righteous, holy lives before God.

    Let us walk in Meekness, leading uncompromising lives which shine the Light of God's Love into the darkness of the world around us. We walk knowing we have the mind of Christ: levelheaded, intelligent, wise, sober-minded. But not backing down in the fight against us. Not surrendering any part of our relationship with Christ, but making a steadfast showing of His Love and His Mercy to the unloved and unlovely, to the merciless and the unforgiving, to the hateful and the embittered. 

    Let us walk in Temperance, in the self-control, the self-disciplines, of The Spirit. Let us embrace Wisdom and allow it to be applied to our hearts and our minds. Let us surrender what we want and how we want it to God through His Holy Spirit, who seeks only to perfect us in the righteousness of Christ. 

    Can we be saved and live unholy lives? No. To be saved is to be saved from the punishment for sin. If sin is still ruling in us, then we are not living a holy lifestyle. The two cannot be on the same throne, especially the throne of our hearts. Sin must go when Christ enters in. 

     So let us walk in the newness of Life in Christ. Let us allow The Holy Spirit to lead us through God's Word and walk in The Way of Holiness, the path which God has set for His people to walk in. Come, walk with me.     

    Romans 8:5

Those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh; but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.

HE LEADETH ME by Candi Pearson

FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT by Hillsong Young & Free

 SPIRIT LEAD ME (Oceans) by Hillsong United

WISDOM IN THE SECRET HEART by Shane & Shane

MOVE THROUGH ME by Charity Gayle 

 

Arming The Spiritual Warrior -- Godly Wisdom

Proverbs 18:15 

An intelligent heart acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.

In the KJV the word 'prudent' is used, which means, (according to Strong's No. 995): intelligent, discern, gain understanding of,  diligently consider, pay close attention, investigate. Plus a few more definitive words given, but we'll start with these in this study. 

Understanding what words mean is a one of the steps in being able to explain what the Bible tells us. The other is a saved and filled heart: saved by the blood of Jesus Christ and filled with God's Holy Spirit, who is described as the Spirit of God, or Wisdom personified. Godly Wisdom comes from God.

GODLY UNDERSTANDING

Daniel 1:17

As for these four children, God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom: and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.

2 Chronicles 26:5 (referring to King Uzziah) 

And he sought God in the days of Zechariah, who had understanding in the visions of God: and as long as he sought the LORD, God made him to prosper.

Godly Understanding comes from seeking God's Wisdom with fear, a reverence, of God. Fearing God is more advantageous to one's soul and life than fearing anything that people may do to us. It is not a fear of consequences, but a loving respectful fear. 

Proverbs 1:7

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

GODLY WISDOM IS GOD'S GIFT & INVALUABLE

Job 28:12-28

(12) But where shall wisdom be found? and where is the place of understanding?

(13) Man knows not the price thereof; neither is it found in the land of the living.

(14) The deep says, ‘It is not in me’; And the sea says, ‘It is not with me.’

(15) It cannot be gotten for gold, neither shall silver be weighed for the price thereof.

(16) It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir, with the precious onyx, or the sapphire.

(17) The gold and the crystal cannot equal it: and the exchange of it shall not be for jewels of fine gold.

(18) No mention shall be made of coral, or of pearls: for the price of wisdom is above rubies.

(19) The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it, neither shall it be valued with pure gold.

(20) From where, then, does wisdom come? And where is the place of understanding?

(21) Seeing it is hid from the eyes of all living, and kept close from the fowls of the air.

(22) Destruction (Hades) and death (those who have died without godly wisdom)  say, We have heard the fame thereof with our ears. (heard a rumor, a report of [it, wisdom])

(23) But God understands its way, and He knows its place.

(24) For He looks to the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens.

(25)  When He gave to the wind its weight and apportioned the waters by measure,

(26) when He made a decree for the rain and a way for the lightning of the thunder,

(27) then He saw it and declared it; He established it, and searched it out.

(28) And unto man He said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.

Are we discerning Christians? Do we seek out, look for, the fear of the Lord that He may impart to us His Wisdom? Or are we too lazy, content to be barely saved, saved enough to attend church and/or become involved in church activities? 

Do we understand the times in which we live? If it came to choosing life in Christ or life without Christ, would we be able to choose Christ knowing that this choice means death? This is Wisdom: making an informed decision to follow Jesus Christ all the way to the cross, into the garden? 

John 8:28, 29 So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing on My own, but speak exactly what the Father has taught Me. He who sent Me is with Me. He has not left Me alone, because I always do what pleases Him.”

• Jesus lives His life in the Love of God in service to His Father. 
• Jesus speaks to us what His Father speaks to Him.
• Jesus does what pleases God

ACQUIRING KNOWLEDGE

Proverbs 15:31

The ear that listens to life-giving reproof will dwell among the wise.

Ecclesiastes 7:5

It is better to heed a wise man's rebuke than to listen to the song of fools.

Proverbs 4:7

Wisdom is supreme; so acquire wisdom. And whatever you may acquire, gain understanding.

Proverbs 16:16

How much better to acquire wisdom than gold! To gain understanding is more desirable than silver.

So just how do we acquire, get, this Godly Knowledge?

Isaiah 55:6

Seek the LORD while He may be found; call on Him while He is near.

Psalm 119:105

Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

Job 23:11

My feet have followed in His tracks; I have kept His way without turning aside.

Psalm 119:157

Though my persecutors and foes are many, I have not turned from Your testimonies.

1 Corinthians 15:58

Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil in the Lord is not in vain. (KJV)

The ESV reads like this: So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.

Are you smiling yet? I am. I have joy inside me and it is overflowing to the outside of me. I am being poured into and the Spirit is pouring out of me. 

You Are My Joy

GODLY WISDOM

To acquire knowledge is to hear what the Lord God says to us in His Word through His Spirit. We must be willing to seek out God's face and submit to God's will, surrendering every aspect of our lives to His purpose. This is honoring God, this is blessing God. More than lip service or acts of kindness: it is a whole-hearted, God-fearing lifestyle. This is Godly Wisdom, too. 

 

Godly Wisdom is given to the heart of the born-again believer, not the brain. It is with the heart that we believe. It is in the heart that Jesus Christ, The WORD of God, takes up residence. It is from the heart that Wisdom speaks. It is the heart that makes the decisions, so the heart must be filled with The WORD in order to make wise decisions.

The heart of the born-again believer makes sound decisions, but the heart of the foolish makes unwise decisions.  God has given each of us the ability to choose. And He wants us to choose wisely, but we know that doesn't always happen. While we are in this world, we are tempted on every side to make wrong, unwise, decisions. But we don't have to stay in the consequences of those decisions, we can choose to make a decision to leave the unwise decision and seek out God's wisdom for our lives. 

Lord, help me. Help me to lead a life that is pleasing to You. Help me to hear Your voice more clearly. Help me to see You in every decision I make and follow through in the doing of that decision. Lord, be my strength as I follow You. Give me Your wisdom that I may make decisions based on Your Word. In Jesus' Name, I pray, Amen.