In Galatians 5, the Apostle Paul teaches on the importance of living under the unction of the Holy Spirit. If you have ever said the salvation prayer, it means that you have come into the life of Christ. Unfortunately, most believers struggle with understanding the works of the Holy Spirit and what happens to our lives when we let Him lead and dwell in us. For most people, all they have is the gift of being saved and not the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Yes, being saved is one thing and being baptized by the Holy Spirit is another. Once you become saved, you should desire and come into the baptism of the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit that will enable, empower and accomplish the works of God and His will in your life. Without the Holy Spirit, we are just a bunch of saved people walking the earth, waiting to make it to Heaven and still living in all our sufferings and bondages here on earth. That is not how God designed it. He wants Heaven to be fulfilled right here on earth and that is why we call forth His kingdom to come down on us daily.

The scripture below describes how living according to the standards of the world conflicts with living according to the standards of Jesus Christ and His Spirit.

Galatians 5:16-18 (NIV)
“So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever[c] you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.”

The laws which were given to guide us before Christ arrived on earth, were the kind of laws that only revealed the sins we commit but not able to remove that sin from us. Jesus Christ came to give His life as a gift of sacrifice, averting the anger of God towards us if we sinned. This new law is by GRACE, the unmerited divine assistance given to humans by God. It cannot be earned, it is freely given and already paid for by the death of Jesus Christ. Under this grace, God does not condemn us, He sees us through the eyes of Jesus Christ who is our mediator and our salvation.

Even though grace covers us, we also have our part to play to ensure that we are constantly in sync with Jesus and His Spirit. The fruits of the Holy Spirit is simply the character or the output that people will see in us when we are truly living by God’s standards. When we accept Jesus Christ and His Spirit, it’s like a great seed has been planted in our lives. Every seed as you know must grow and bear fruits. It takes you watering and pruning (everything a good farmer does), to ensure that the fruits are ripe, healthy and edible. In the next few weeks, we will chat about each fruit of the spirit mentioned in Galatians 5:22-23 and I encourage you to join me on this journey.

Galatians 5:22-23 NIV
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”

I pray for you this week that you will allow the Holy Spirit to come and dwell in you and you in Him. I pray that the yummy fruits of His Spirit will produce a mighty work in your life. I decree and declare that it is so and so it is in Jesus’ name. AMEN!

XOXO,

Lady Abena