November 16, 2022 - Galatians 5:18-21

“But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses. When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.” Galatians 5:18-21 NLT

Holy Spirit, direct our lives. Lead us away from sin. When we read this list, we likely can try to brush most of it aside, saying that we don’t deal with most of these things. Jesus, then I remember all you said in Matthew 5 about the state of our hearts. You said when we are angry it is like the sin of murder, or if we lust after someone, we have already committed adultery in our hearts. There is so much that we can try to hide to look like good Christians, but you see the state of our hearts. You know what we really desire. You see our thoughts and know our struggles. You see the selfish ambitions, the jealousy, and the envy we try to hide away. You see the pride behind our humble looking actions. You see all the things that we put before you, which makes them idols in our lives. There are so many of these types of things that we try to hide away and pretend they are not there. You see the sins that we are committing and that we haven’t even recognized.

Lord, when we really look at all the things that we truly struggle with it can make walking a holy life hopeless. But that is where you come in. We praise you that you have made a way. Holy Spirit, we praise you that you will help us overcome. Please open our eyes to all our struggles and teach us how to defeat them. We praise you that with your help, we can overcome.

In Jesus name, amen.