Watch the conceit and envy

 "Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit's leading in every part of our lives. 26 Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another."                                   Galatians 5:25-26  CSB

Soldiers when they first join the army, learn, among lots of other things, to march together properly. They learn to keep in step with one another. This can be difficult at first but after many times on the drill square (the reason it's called this, is because it us drilled into you until it is second nature). And this is what is needed as we learn to follow the Holy Spirit - we keep in step with Him as He leads us on. Notice what v25 says above 'let us follow the Spirit's leading.' The Holy Spirit is the source of your new life, so you must keep in step with Him, step by step as He leads us on in our new life.

Now this 'keeping in step' is the way that the Spirit teaches us how to live for God, and eventually, we get the feel of this kind of living and it is just natural to live this way. Yes, we have problems along the way. Do you realise that when you are living for Jesus, the devil is jealous and very angry. You are no longer in his camp and so, you become a threat because he doesn't know what you are going to do against him. Therefore, he goes into defence mode and after a while of assessing you, makes certain attacks to try to prevent you going any further. This could be anything, so keep alert.

When we begin to be successful for God,  we have to watch the risk of trying to please people and seeking the praise that they may give us. Everyone of us needs a certain amount of approval from others, but, if we go out of our way to increase this approval, we can become conceited and puffed up. This shows that we are not in step with the Spirit but our own conceited self. The Holy Spirit always points to Jesus, no one else. 

This also goes for having a spirit of envy. If we are not in step with the Spirit, we can become envious of other people who are receiving great accolades for their preaching and teaching, We can begin to resent them and be envious of all the praise they receive for the work they do. One person may preach a sermon and receive very little by way of encouragement and thanks. Whereas, another may receive screams of excitement and great waves of the Holy Spirit. It doesn't matter; we serve God not a congregation. We serve God, not the eldership. It is God we seek to please in all we do, no one else. Yes, we want to do a good job so that people are pleased but, that is all. As long as God is pleased - end of story.

So, watch the conceit and envy and keep in step with the Holy Spirit in your Daily Life with Jesus.

Lord Jesus, I have sinned and I ask you to forgive me and be my Lord and Saviour. Please come into my heart, fill me with Your Spirit and give me a brand new start today.

In Jesus' Name. Amen

Copyright 2023 Grahame Howard.                                 

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