UNDERSTANDING HIS POWER

 

UNDERSTANDING HIS POWER

Eph. 1:19 I pray that you will begin to understand the incredible greatness of his power for us who believe him NLT

First of all, we should be a people of prayer. We should be praying for one another so that we can be all that we should be in Christ. Life would be so much easier for the believer if everyone would be praying for someone in the church. We all need the prayers of others.

Secondly, we have such limited understanding of the incredible power of God within us. We are so often reserved when it comes to tapping into God’s power. We hesitate to step out boldly in power because we fear failure. We know in our minds that great power exists in us, but our hearts don’t fully grasp it. We fail to be as strong and effective in our walk with the Lord because we don’t let His power be released in us.

I don’t know what it would look like in our lives if we were to have greater faith and let the power of God flow through us. I am sure that things would be different for most of us. I also know that there would be a lot of abuse, people manufacturing a semblance of power who really don’t have it. But, isn’t it worth the risk? If we were to tap into the power of God more, I do believe that we would grow in our knowledge and understanding of the Lord. It would enhance our desire to be the holy people of God He commands us to be.

The power of God is governed by the Spirit of God. The more we are controlled by Him, the more we will be able to do in and through Christ. If you lack God’s power at work in you, it’s time for you to surrender your all to the Spirit of Christ and let Him rule your heart.

PRAYING FOR THE CHURCH

 

PRAYING FOR THE CHURCH

Eph. 1:15-18 Ever since I first heard of your strong faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for Christians everywhere, I have never stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly, asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you might grow in your knowledge of God. I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the wonderful future he has promised to those he called. I want you to realize what a rich and glorious inheritance he has given to his people. NLT

What a wonderful thing it would be to have a Paul on our side! Think about it. Who wouldn’t benefit from having someone pray constantly for them? I know I would! The prayer of Paul wasn’t for repentance. It wasn’t for superficial things. It was a prayer of purpose. Paul asked the Lord to bless the church with spiritual maturity. His desire was that the body of Christ would have the resources of God that would enable them to become godlier in their thinking and living.

Spiritual wisdom and understanding, knowledge of God, the light of God to guide us, hope for the future, and an awareness of how rich and glorious this life we have in Christ, are all essential to a healthy soul. Would anything change if we were to be in constant prayer for one another for these things? Of course it would! We are to carry one another’s burdens to the Lord, but it shouldn’t be all that we carry to Him.

We should love each other enough to want each other to continue to grow into spiritual maturity and blessings. We should ask the Lord to help each other become stronger in faith and more Christlike in daily living. And, I believe that if we were to pray constantly for one another in this way, the burdens we bear will be less of a burden to us. We will be better equipped to handle what life throws at us, because we will to properly connect to our Burden-bearer.

If we are in constant prayer for the good of one another, we will have very little time or desire to find fault with each other. We will be far less likely to dwell on each other’s weaknesses. We will be less likely to complain. We will be less likely to play the comparison game. We will be less likely to be jealous or proud.

It is a good thing for us to pray good for each other. It pleases God and moves him to bless us and those we pray for. If you are not praying for the good of others, there is no better time than right now to do it. Pray, and watch the Lord work to accomplish some great things in the Church for His glory.

GOD'S LOVE FOR US

 

                                               GOD’S LOVE FOR US

Eph. 1:4 Long ago, even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. NLT

Wow! What a wonderful truth to dwell on today! Before He even made the world, God loved us and chose us to be holy and without fault in His eyes as we live in Christ. Before He made the world, God knew He would make us as the objects of His love. He knew exactly how He would make us and what needs He would instill within us. He knew how to make us so that we would be able to love and be loved by Him. He knew exactly how every detail of what makes us human needed to fit together. He knew how to place every minute detail together in such a way that we would be unique from all other living creatures.

God chose us, the objects of His love, to be holy and faultless as we live in Christ. God knew that we would have a desire to live in sin when He made us. He knew that with the ability to love Him would come the ability to not love Him. He made us anyhow because He had so much love to give and wanted to be surrounded by those who would love Him in return. He knew that many would rebel and reject His love and that He could not stand to have them around Him because of their sin. Therefore, He planned to provide a way for those who wanted it a way to be made pure and holy in His eyes. He lovingly decided before we were ever made to become the perfect sacrifice for our sins. Only God could change us from objects of His wrath to objects of His love.

God knew that what we needed was holiness of heart. He is holy and only holiness can be near Him. In Christ, we are made holy. The closer we live in relationship to Him, the more like Him we become. And, the more like Christ we become, the more we please God and are embraced in His love and invited to draw near.

CHRIST CHANGES US

 

CHRIST CHANGES US

Gal. 6:15 It doesn’t make any difference now whether we have been circumcised or not. What counts is whether we really have been changed into new and different people. NLT

The only thing that really matters as far as God is concerned is whether or not we have been changed into a new and different people. Jesus saves us to change us and if we are not changed we are not His. There are many different ways in which He changes us.

He changes the way we think about life, others and ourselves. We come to understand that life is not meaningless, that it indeed has a purpose rooted in Christ. We discover that every person has a soul and is of great worth in God’s eyes. We discover that we are special to God and that He chose us to be His children. We discover that all of life revolves around Christ and not us.

He changes the way we feel. In place of sinful passions, He installs godly passions. He tempers our feelings that are fueled by sin and gives us the ability to react in a more godly way. He gets to the root of our feelings and transforms them into a more acceptable way of feeling.

He changes the ways of our hearts. He works to transform our motives into that which pleases God. He redirects our motives so that we live to please God and not man or ourselves.

He changes our desires so that we will want to seek after the things of God. He keeps working on us so that we will want to spend time with Him in His Word and prayer. He instills within us a desire to be in fellowship with His children. He changes the desires we have for the things of the world to desires for the things of God.

The many ways God changes us should be obvious to all, including ourselves. We should be able to take a regular examination of ourselves and see progress. If we are not changing like we should, then we are not properly connected to Christ.

DON'T QUIT

 

DON’T QUIT

Gal. 6:9 So don’t get tired of doing what is good. Don’t get discouraged and give up, for we will reap a harvest of blessing at the appropriate time. NLT

It is so easy to get tired of what we are doing and give up trying. This is especially true when it seems like we aren’t making any difference at all in people’s lives. We have a need to know that we are not wasting time and energy on something that’s not working. We measure success by results we can see and not by what we can’t see.

God is different. He measures results by the impact it has on the heart of man. God knows what difference we make in the thinking of others. What is planted in another’s life may not ever be seen by us, but it is always seen by God. We need to grasp this important and wonderful truth. No labor of love done in Jesus’ name is a waste of time or energy. It is always good for us to do that which is good.

Satan wants to weary you. He wants to get you discouraged and move you to give up your efforts to do good. He wants to put a stop to the good you are doing. Protect your soul and don’t listen to him. God says that your living and serving have eternal value. God says that anything done for His honor and glory will be blessed by Him and used by Him to help others.

God promises that our labors are not in vain. In due time, we will reap a harvest of blessings. We may not see the harvest, but in eternity we will. God uses what we do and adds it to what others do and reaps the harvest at the appropriate time. He knows when it is time to bring it all together. He knows the heart of man and exactly when it is time to reap the most spiritual good.

Keep on doing good and let the Lord bring forth the results. Don’t let discouragement get a hold of you. Don’t ever give up. The Lord of the harvest blesses those who faithfully serve Him to the end.

REAP WHAT YOU SOW

 

REAP WHAT YOU SOW

Gal. 6:7 Don’t be misled. Remember that you can’t ignore God and get away with it. You will always reap what you sow! NLT

Satan wants to lead you astray. He wants to convince you that you can ignore God and His Word and it doesn’t matter. He wants you to believe that there are no real consequences to leaving God out of your life. He doesn’t want you to know that no one can ignore God and get away with it. He wants you to believe that you can stray from God and get away with it.

We always reap what we sow. Sometimes we live with the consequences of our behavior in this life, and sometimes we will pay the price later. Either way, we reap what we sow.

There is an important truth here that we must know. When the Lord saves us from our sin, He doesn’t always remove the consequences of our sins from us. We often are victims of our sinful behavior. Some relationships that are broken will never be fixed. Some health issues will linger and haunt us the rest of our lives. Some penalties to society must be paid. Sometimes we will pay for the rest of our lives for the sins we committed. The Lord helps us deal with the consequences of our sinful choices, but He doesn’t always remove them from us.

Take life seriously; take faith seriously. Each of us reaps what we sow. Live to please God always and you will not be burdened in life with the consequences of bad choices.

DO THE RIGHT THINGS RIGHT

 

DO THE RIGHT THINGS RIGHT

Gal. 6:4-5 Be sure to do what you should for then you will enjoy the personal satisfaction of having done your work well, and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else. For we are each responsible for our own conduct. NLT

There is personal satisfaction in knowing that we have done things right. When we live in Christ sincerely seeking to honor and glorify Him, we can know that God is pleased. Knowing that we please God should free us up from the need to compare ourselves with others. It doesn’t matter how we stack up to others as long as we are living to please God. When we stand before God, we will not be judged in comparison to others, we will be judged in comparison to how we have lived by the Word of God.

Each one of us is responsible for our own conduct. No one can live our life for us. We have to answer to God for how we have lived in response to what we know about Him and His Word. The more we know about God, the greater our responsibility will be for what we do in life. Once we know the truth, we will be held accountable for making that truth a part of our living.

We dare not let this awareness pass in one ear and out the other. It has to stop in our minds and get hold of us. There will be no excuse for our failure to live out what we know. Ignoring God’s revealed truth is deep trouble for our souls. God does not take His Word lightly and neither can we.

Examine your life today. Are you living in such a way that you can boldly stand before God knowing that he is well-pleased with you?

DO WHAT YOU SHOULD

 

DO WHAT YOU SHOULD

Gal. 6:4 Be sure to do what you should, for then you will enjoy the personal satisfaction of having done your work well, and you won't need to compare yourself to anyone else. For we are each responsible for our own conduct. NLT

What should you be doing with your life? Do you know deep down in your soul that God wants you to do something different than what you are now doing? Are you in the occupation you should be in? Are you living where He wants you to live? Are you behaving in a way that pleases Him? Are you striving to be at your best in what you are doing? In other words, does your living bring satisfaction to your soul, and to God?

If you can answer the above questions positively, then you won't need to compare yourself with others. It is enough to know that you are living rightly before God. Pleasing God is all that really matters in life. It is God to whom we will answer to. He is the one who will bless or curse our living. How we are doing compared to others is a dead end street. It gets us nowhere fast.

Each of us is responsible for our own conduct. Whatever the Lord requires of you is what you should be doing. You don't have to please anyone but God. Don't get hung up on the comparison game. It doesn't matter how you are doing compared to anyone else. All that matters is how you are doing in relationship to God's Word and His direction in your life.

And, don't let anyone discourage you from doing what you know the Lord wants you to do. People have opinions that may or may not be in agreement with what you know God wants you to do. Obey God no matter what. Persevere until you are able to do what you do well. Stay focused on the Lord and He will enable you to succeed.

Listen to God and only those who encourage you. It is then that you will find great satisfaction in what you do in life.

HELPING OTHERS

 

HELPING OTHERS

Gal. 6:3 If you think you are too important to help someone in need, you are only fooling yourself. You are really a nobody. NLT

There are some in the body of Christ who unfortunately set themselves apart from the rest of the body and don't respond to the needs of others. They deem themselves too important or busy to get involved. They get wrapped up into themselves and forget that they are but one part of the body. Or, they get so wrapped up into their personal responsibilities that they let others do their part of ministry. What they fail to realize is that in order to truly be a part of the body of Christ, we are intricately related to each other and involved in each other's lives. We need each other and must depend on each other. We are not isolated from any other part of the body. We must all function together as a whole in order to be who Christ created us to be.

Every member of the body of Christ is a servant to the other members. We are in the body to minister to each other's needs. We cannot lay claim to membership and isolate ourselves from any other part of the body. It is foolishness to act like we are a somebody when in reality our actions show we are a nobody.

Don't fall into the trap of idleness because you think you are a somebody. Faith without works is dead and so is knowledge without works. Your work is important, but so is every other member of the body. It is our mandate to love each other, and you can't love someone and lord it over them.

Helping someone in need not only blesses the person you help, it blesses you as well. There is a real joy in knowing you have made a real difference in someone’s life.

Ask the Lord to show you someone in need today and a way that you can help him.

PROBLEM SHARING

 

PROBLEM SHARING

Gal. 6:2 Share each other's troubles and problems, and in this way obey the law of Christ. NLT

We are to share our troubles and problems, not to keep them to ourselves. There are a lot of good reasons why this is necessary. The more we keep our problems to ourselves, the more isolated we become from intimate fellowship with other believers and God. Keeping everything in does nothing but weigh us down and wear us out. Without an outlet, our troubles can give us headaches and ulcers. We can become depressed and lose our sense of life being something worth living for. We can easily develop a mindset that life is a negative thing instead of a positive one. We can revert to blaming God for our troubles instead of seeking Him out for fellowship, worship, and help.

When we go into our self-imposed shells, we deprive others of the joy of drawing near to our hearts, taking our hands, and walking with us through our difficulties. We deprive them from being a blessing to us and growing in their own fellowship with the Lord.

Sharing is a good thing; it is the way of Christ. You cannot have the love of Christ at work in you without a giving spirit. We not only are to share the good things of life, but we are to share the bad things as well.

However, a word of caution is necessary. Be discerning in whom you share your troubles with. Not everyone is mature enough to handle what you need to share. You must be certain that you can trust those you share with to keep matters confidential and to be able to give godly counsel. If you don't want the whole world (or church) to know what's wrong with you, don't put matters into the hands of those who can't protect your heart.

Everyone needs someone to share their inner self with. Whether it be your spouse, a trusted friend, your pastor, a family member, or a counselor, we all need to talk about issues we face in life. Don't keep it in. If you do, the space your troubles and problems take robs you of the space Christ should have in your heart. If you are troubled today, seek out someone who can come alongside you and help you. You will be glad you did.

HELPING ONE ANOTHER

 

HELPING ONE ANOTHER

Gal. 6:1 Dear brothers and sisters, if another Christian is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself. NLT

Yes, it is possible for Christians to be overcome by sin. To overcome means to be overpowered by, to become a victim of. No one is so strong spiritually that they cannot sin. Paul says that when it happens, the rest of the body of Christ has a loving responsibility to help their fellow Christian be restored to a right relationship with Christ. We are very good at messing this up.

We can be good at pointing out the sin we see in others, but very bad at doing it in a loving way. So often we get on our soap boxes and berate a fallen brother or sister and pat ourselves on the back because it wasn't us. We chide others for doing things we would never imagine ourselves doing. We want to fix others without regard for what needs to be fixed in us.

When dealing with another person's sin, there must be a gentle and humble spirit that drives us. We must understand our own tendencies to wander from the right path. We must understand that if the tables were turned and we were in the other person's shoes, we too might have very well had been the one who had sinned. We must understand that it is only by God's grace at work in us that we are able to keep from sinning at all.

We have a loving responsibility to come alongside of each other and deal with our sins, but not in a condemning, self-righteous way. We should always deal with sin in our lives with the goal of restoration to Christ. We must care enough for each other that we don't make matters worse by taking a "holier than thou" attitude. We too are sinners and could very easily fall into the same temptation that caused our brother to sin.

Dealing with sin in others and ourselves should always be first bathed in humble prayer before God. We must first examine our own souls and deal with our sins before we attempt to expose the sins of another. And, when we do sin, we should not resist the efforts of restoration.

The true sign of a heart that is right with God is a humble and contrite heart. When our sin is exposed we acknowledge it and confess it, whether it is the Spirit of God or man who exposes it. As we wait before God with broken hearts, we become a holy people, a people after His own heart.

LET THE SPIRIT LEAD

 

LET THE SPIRIT LEAD

Gal. 5:25-26 If we are living now by the Holy Spirit, let us follow the Holy Spirit's leading in every part of our lives. Let us not become conceited, or irritate one another, or be jealous of one another. NLT

Are you out of formation? Are you letting the Spirit of Christ guide you in every area of your life? Be honest with yourself, are you in step behind the Spirit, or do you try to lead the way?

We often try to decide which parts of our lives we will let the Spirit lead us in. We try to maintain control over certain aspects of our lives. We like to do certain things or think about some things that we don’t want to let go of. We like where we are at and don't want to change. We know that it's not right, but we enjoy the momentary pleasures they bring. However, there is a price to pay.

If the Spirit is not in front of us leading the way, we will sin. We will continuously live with the guilt and shame of our sin, and we will never get victory over it. We will not only experience problems with God, we will experience problems with those around us as well. We will become proud of ourselves, we will become an irritation to those around us, and we will be plagued by jealousy towards one another amongst other things. In other words, we will be miserable.

Let the Spirit lead you through life. Let Him guide you into all that is true about you and change you. Let Him empower you so that you don't fall into the grip of your sinful nature. Let the Spirit be your guide so you don't lose your way. He will help you if you will let Him. Let Him guide you through the Word of God and teach you what it says. Let the Spirit keep you close to the heart of God and you will live in peace with both God and man.

DEAD TO SIN

 

DEAD TO SIN

Gal. 5:24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. NLT

The message is clear: if you belong to Christ, you will no longer be controlled and driven by sinful desires and passions. There will be an awareness of the wrongfulness of sinful behavior, thoughts, and attitudes. There will be a sensitivity to what pleases God and what doesn't. Granted, we grow into our awareness, but grow we will.

Without the help of Christ, we are slaves to our sinful nature. We will sin naturally. It is not something we can do anything about. Jesus changes our desires; He changes our character. His presence prevents our sinful nature from rearing its ugly head.

Our ability to resist the temptations to sin is directly related to our relationship with Christ. If you are having problems with sin in your life, you need to draw closer to the Lord. You cannot sin as long as He is near to your heart and in your heart.

Think about it for a moment. Whenever you sin, it's because the presence of sin is more powerful at the moment than the presence of Christ to you. The only way we can resist the urge to sin is to reclaim Christ's presence at the moment. Sinning is a choice and therefore a responsibility we can't avoid. You have no one to blame but yourself when you fall into sin. Satan has no more power over you than you let him have.

Don’t get me wrong. You will be tempted no matter how close you live to Christ, and you will stumble into sin from time to time. But, the closer you live to Christ the stronger you will become in your ability to resist what tempts you. Your desire to pursue temptation will wane as you stay closely connected to the Lord.

And, when you do fail, you will know it and flee to the Lord for forgiveness and renewed strength.

GODLY FRUIT

 

GODLY FRUIT

Gal. 5:22-23 But when the Holy Spirit controls our lives, he will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Here there is no conflict with the law. NLT

Every believer should be defined by these qualities of character to some degree. We are all different and we will major on different ones, but the transforming work of the Spirit will manifest itself in all of the above in us to some degree. There is no one who is controlled by the Spirit who will not take on these traits in their life.

If you do not see the fruit of the Spirit in you, then your heart is not right with God. It is impossible for us to live in faith and not show the evidence of that faith in our lives. We must be growing and showing the fruit of the Spirit in how we live.

Notice that we can’t pick and choose which one of these traits we will have in our lives. Fruit is a singular noun which tells us that all of these traits should show up in us. No one is going to do all of these well, but all will do all of these to some degree.

We should regularly examine our hearts to see what we need help with. The Lord will help us to become stronger in our weak points if we will but ask Him to and let Him work on us. We must strive to be honest with how we are doing. Otherwise, we will never improve the quality of our life in Christ. Admit to yourself where you have failed, confess it to the Lord, and with His help get to work on making your weaknesses stronger. There are nine fruit characteristics listed so there is enough to look at each day of our lives to see how we are doing.

Fruit does not grow overnight. The soul must be properly nourished. We must work at cultivating a healthy soil for it to grow in. We must diligently strive to keep the weeds at bay. If we work at it in cooperation with the Lord, we will produce much fruit for others to see and enjoy.

Fruit left on the tree does no one any good. It may be nice to look at, but if it never gets off the tree, what good is it? Likewise, spiritual fruit is meant to be tasted and used by others. The more we share our fruit with others, the better we serve Christ. Be a blessing to others and share your fruitfulness with others.

CONFLICTING VOICES

 

CONFLICTING VOICES

Gal. 5:16-18 So I advise you to live according to your new life in the Holy Spirit. Then you won't be doing what your sinful nature craves. The old sinful nature loves to do evil, which is just opposite from what the Holy Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are opposite from what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, and your choices are never free from this conflict. But when you are directed by the Holy Spirit, you are no longer under the law. NLT

News flash! If we live according to the life we have in Christ, we won't do what our sinful nature wants us to do! The more determined we are to live godly lives, the more resistance we will have against sin. We fall into sin when we let down our guard and listen to our sinful urges. We will not be overcome by sin when we are overcome by the life of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.

The Spirit gives us a desire for God and a desire to please Him. Our sinful nature does not want us to follow the Spirit's leading in us. Satan will do everything he can to drown out the Spirit's voice in us. We control the volume. We choose whom we will listen to the most, God or Satan. You will never get anywhere in your walk with the Lord as long as you listen to the voice of Satan. And be assured, the more determined you are to listen to God, the more determined Satan will be to drown out His voice. Satan is a master at distractions and we must be on our guard and not allow him to drown out God's voice.

There is a constant warfare going on in us to see who gets the airtime. Who are you listening to, God or Satan?

AT WAR WITHIN

 

AT WAR WITHIN

Gal. 5:17 The old sinful nature loves to do evil which is just opposite from what the Holy Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are opposite from what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, and your choices are never free from conflict. NLT

If you are not in the middle of a spiritual warfare taking place in you, you are not living rightly with God. The Spirit of Christ is constantly fighting against Satan for control of your heart. The two are on opposite sides and will never get along.

Satan wants to destroy you. He wants to suck the life right out of your soul. He will do everything that he can to keep you from doing what pleases God. His desire is to draw you as far away from God as he possibly can. He never has, and never will, have your best interests in mind.

On the other hand, the Holy Spirit always has your best interests on His mind. He desires to lead you closer to God. He longs to see you gain victory over sin so you can have a deeper fellowship with God. He wants you to know the truth so that it can set you free from Satan’s hold on you. He wants to teach you the deeper things of God so you will know them and live by them. The Spirit always is leading us out of darkness into the light of God’s glory.

God allows us the freedom to choose whether the Spirit or Satan rules over our hearts. We choose who will gain the upper hand. We choose whether we will pursue godliness or follow our sinful desires. We determine who claims victory over our souls.

Who is ruling your heart today? Are you helping or hindering the Lord’s efforts to rule you? Are you submitting to His promptings of your soul? Are you reading God’s Word and striving to live by it? Are you praying faithfully so you can hear the Spirit moving on your heart? We choose daily through the day who rules our soul. Let the Lord lead you victoriously through life.

A NEW LIFE

 

A NEW LIFE

Gal. 5:16 So I advise you to live according to your new life in the Holy Spirit. Then you won't be doing what your sinful nature craves. NLT

It really isn't all that complicated. In order to break sinful habits we need to develop godly habits. We need to exercise our souls in order to get them into good shape. We need to discipline ourselves to make our souls strong.

What we put into our minds affects our souls, so we need to be careful what we dwell on. We must deliberately strive to avoid being entertained by sinful behavior which means we need to be selective in what we choose to watch and read. We need to be careful what we listen to. We need to stay away from those places where sin is the main attraction. We need to resist the temptation to follow the crowd and not let others determine for us what sin is or isn't.

We need to be godly-minded if we are going to not cave into our sinful desires. In order to develop a godly mindset, we must consistently feed our minds with godly things. We must faithfully read and study the Word of God. When we do, we must allow ourselves the time needed to gain insights from God that will help us grow in grace. Reading the Word and never gaining new and useful insights does the soul very little good. The more we learn what God says, the more likely it is that we will live by it.

We need to be Spirit sensitive. It is natural for a soul who is seriously seeking God to be led by the Spirit of God. We get into trouble with sin usually because we get lazy about seeking God. We get too comfortable with where we are at and are led to believe that we are strong enough to resist sin's temptations and therefore we let down our guard. We must always keep our relationship with God the number one priority of our lives. We must pursue Him diligently so that we will want to not sin against Him. The Spirit of God will guide us through the Word of God into holy living as we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus.