Followers of Jesus Christ!

“Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.” – Galatians 5:24-25 NLT

If we are fully-committed to Jesus Christ or going to choose to follow Him until the end of the age, then we have to make sure that we have repented before God (Acts 2:38-39; Acts 3:19-20). This is because Matthew 3:2 states, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” After the repentance, we ought to crucify everything that is part of our worldly nature and then abide in the Spirit of God (2 Peter 1:3-11). The main reason for this is that the desires of the Spirit are contrary to the desires of the flesh (Galatians 5:17). This is the reason why  the word of God declares, “You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us?” (James 4:4-5) In fact, Jesus Christ was crucified and resurrected, just to come to inside of us as the Holy Spirit (John 16:7-15) so He can guide us to do the will of God until the end of  the age (John 14:15-27). This is because Jesus Christ announces, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 7:21) Thus, the  word of God declares,

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh,God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.

You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.

Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. (Romans 8:1-13)

Hence, we should overcome the world (1 John 5:1-5) and set our mind on the Spirit to focus on what God wants us to do (Colossians 3:1-4)—even if it comes to sacrificing (Romans 12:1-2) and denying ourselves before God (Matthew 16:24-27).  “For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.” (Romans 8:14)   Furthermore, 1 John 2:15-17 urges us to hate the world, unless there are things that we can use, in order to please our heavenly Father with. “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 14:17)

Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith. (Galatians 6:7-10)

As for me, I desperately should fix my time-arrangements and only focus what God’s will for me for the rest of my life. This is because sometimes I think too much that I cannot sleep. Because of this, I should really abide in the Spirit of God and sleep early. The main reason for this is that it is really hard for me to persevere my fatigue to do devotional-writing, especially when I eat my breakfast too. However, eating my breakfast is what I should be doing when I get hungry. This is because I hate to do devotional-writing as a religious-routine, or to do it self-righteously.