Walk in the Spirit - My story

John 14:16 (NKJV) And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever

About a month ago, I asked my nanny to make a dress for my daughter. I gave her some instructions on how to make it, and asked her to wait until I give her a sample, before she can go ahead with the cutting and sewing.

Last week, I got the sample ready to give her, but was shocked to discover that she had gone ahead to cut the cloth and was about to start sewing it, the style was completely different from the instructions I had given her and looked like there was no remedy.

I was bewildered and angry, I wanted to scream. I asked her why she had had gone ahead without my consent and she could not give me any concrete reason. I quickly went to my room to ask the Holy Spirit for help. I couldn't get myself to be calm and I really wanted to "walk in the spirit". I prayed out, "Holy Spirit please help me handle this issue". I felt the peace of God, in my soul and the anger dissipated. 

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I went back to see my nanny and I began to correct her calmly and told her that next time when a customer gives her some work to do, she has to get clearance before commencing the work, it turned out to be a counselling session for her on customer service!

The Holy Spirit helped me handle the situation better and at the end of the day, we both found a way of still sewing the style that was originally planned, I couldn't believe it. What the enemy intended for evil, God worked it out for good.

I've learnt that I can only walk in the spirit, by the immeasurable help of the Holy Spirit. 

Prayer

Lord help me remember that you are always there to help me.

 

Walk in the Spirit

Galatians 5:16 (NKJV)
I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh (sinful nature).

When a child begins to walk, he/she doesn’t start out perfectly; sometimes he falls but rises up again and keeps taking those little steps until the walk becomes perfect.
As we learn to walk in the spirit, there would be times when we miss it, but we pick up ourselves and by the help of the Holy Spirit, we keep at it until we become perfected.

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Walking in the spirit means living our lives daily, the way God expects of us, through the enabling of the Holy Spirit, it also means responding to issues of life the way Jesus would respond.

Galatians 5:19-23 (NJKV)
19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, murders,[d] drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. 24 And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

It is either we are walking in the spirit or in the flesh, as there is no middle ground 
One way we can continually walk in the spirit is by being continually filled with the Holy Spirit - Praying in tongues, giving thanks to the Lord, singing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs to the Lord. 

Acts 2:4 (NKJV)
4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

Acts 4:31 (NKJV)
31 And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.

Acts 13:52 (NKJV)
52 And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

Ephesians 5:18-20 (NKJV)
18 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, 20 giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ

The apostles were continually filled with the Holy Spirit as seen in the book of Acts.
The Holy Spirit is the one who empowers us in our walk. 

John 6:63 (NKJV)
63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.

Prayer
Dear Heavenly Father, grant me grace today through the help of your Holy Spirit, to walk in the spirit today, not to fulfill the lust of the flesh. I also ask for a fresh in-filling of your Spirit. Thank you. In Jesus Name. Amen.

Growth - Increase

increase
verb
/ɪnˈkriːs/
1. become or make greater in size, amount, or degree.
Synonym: grow

Happy New Year to everyone, we all have great expectations for the year as usual. And I trust God that our godly expectations would be fulfilled as we walk with Him this year.

Today I want to talk about God’s expectation for us as His children. Just as every parent’s desire is to see their children grow and become mature over time, so does our heavenly Father expect us to grow in Him in all things, the Lord wants us to grow in our knowledge of Him and all that He has done for us through Christ.

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Luke 2:52 (NKJV)

52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.

He expects us to grow in faith, wisdom and become more mature in our character. 

1 Peter 1:5-9 (NKJV)

5 But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, 6 to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, 7 to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. 8 For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins.

It is His desire for us to prosper

3 John 2 (NKJV)

2 Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.

How do we grow?

We grow in our knowledge of God as we diligently study and obey the Word of God. The blessing is in obeying and applying what we have studied.

2 Timothy 2:15 (NKJV)

15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

James 1:25

25 But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.

We grow in character as we abide in Him and walk in love always.

John 15:10 and 12 (NKJV)

10 If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love

12 This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.

Ephesians 5:1-2 (NKJV)

Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. 2 And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.

We grow as we spend time praying in the Spirit.

Jude 20 (NKJV)

20 But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost

We grow as we continuously walk in the Spirit and obey the promptings of the Holy Spirit.

Galatians 5:16 (NKJV)

I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.

This year, let us commit to growing in Christ.