I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants. Deuteronomy 30:19b God has given us an opportunity to make good decisions based on His Word and see great results—not just in the sweet by and by, but also in this life. Paul writes in Galatians that when we walk by the Spirit we won't "carry out the desire of the flesh" (5:16). We have a clear choice: life or death, the way of the flesh or the way of the Spirit.

How do we choose life and how do we walk by the Spirit? Moses lays out how God expected the Israelites to choose life and blessing: "by loving the Lord your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding fast to Him" (Deuteronomy 30:20). The bottom line is to focus on what really matters—Jesus. Love Him, obey Him, and cling to Him through everything. Every morning when we wake up, we have an option: to walk by the flesh or by the Spirit; to ignore God or to fellowship with God—whether we feel like it or not. But the more I understand how much God loves me, the more I want to walk in holiness after the things of the Spirit.

There are blessings attached to choosing life. "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control . . ." (Galatians 5:22-23). These attributes are the tools that give us victory in life. In the midst of a storm, God's peace will sustain us and His joy will strengthen us. As we choose the love walk, faith is activated to bring God's plan to pass!

Walking in the Spirit,
Pastor Jeff







© 2007 St. Louis Family Church. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reprinted or distributed in any form without prior written permission of St. Louis Family Church. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation.