Wednesday 12 Oct 2022

October 12: Galatians 5:16-18

Key Verse: Galatians 5:18
But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

Devotion:
This single statement must have upset the Pharisees and other teachers of the law; they had promoted the law as being everything for so long that they had forgotten the true meaning of the law. God set down the law, not as a punishment or noose around anyone’s neck, but as a guidance for people to sort their lives out by. No, I don’t mean they were given it as something they had a choice as to whether they obeyed it or not, but more of a set of rules to show their bad sides so they could aim for something better!

God wants us to live better lives than we are used to. We do not have to live according to what everyone else says we should. We don’t have to live by doing whatever we like because we only live once! God wants us to draw closer to Him by identifying what we are doing wrong and trying to do better. This way we will not be so distracted by the evil in our lives and we should be able to draw closer to Him.

If we do listen to Him through the Spirit, we will be able to strengthen our relationship with Him because we will be able to hear Him more often and better – because we are not so distracted by the sin in our lives and the temptations which surround us.

By living according to the guidance from The Spirit we will be able to continue drawing closer to Him each day. We will be able to shun the things which go against God and against His ways. We will be able to stay away from everything which is contrary to His ways. Does this mean we can ignore the law? Certainly not! But we don’t have to have that as the be all and end all in our lives – we can listen to God and live better lives instead because those lives will be lived according to the law – His law!

Points to Ponder:
Do you live according to the world or God?

Will you try to stay away from earthly ways and live a more Godly life?