In Romans chapter 7 verse 14 through to chapter 8 verse 2 the apostle Paul describes the struggle he and we as Christians face. Our spirit is born again but not our soul and body (John 3:1-6). We are instructed to renew our minds with God's word (Rom 12:2) and discipline our bodies (1 Cor 9:27). In Romans chapter 7, Paul laments that his spirit desires to do good but his mind and body tend toward sin and carnality.

However, as born-again Christians we have the Holy Spirit in us (1 Cor 6:19) and the word of God. Paul teaches us in Romans Chapter 8 verse 1-2: "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death".

Paul is saying that as Christians God does not condemn us because our new life in Christ has set us free from the spiritual death that resulted from our old life of sin. As we strengthen our spirit by allowing the Holy Spirit to bring us revelation of God's word (John 14:26), we can bring our soul and body into subjection to our spirit, directed by the Holy Spirit and God’s word. We as Paul, can walk in victory, the: “Life in Christ Jesus”. The power of the Holy Spirit enables us in this process (Rom 8:11); he helps us to change (Gal 5:22-23). We cannot change in our own strength.

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When it comes to humility Jesus is our example. In Philippians 2:5-9 (KJV) we have the description of how Jesus gave up all the privileges of heaven and came to earth and: "took upon himself the form of a servant". In verse 5 of that chapter we are told to let Jesus be our example in humility.

We have another great example of Jesus humbling himself and becoming a servant in John 13:14-15: "If I then your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you”.

We also learn very clearly from these verses that we need to do the same thing for our fellow believers; in fact, the command is stated twice! “For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). Enough said!

If we want to be like Jesus and be obedient then we must serve one another. For some people serving comes naturally; they have a servant’s heart, others of us have to work at it a little harder. Nevertheless, there is great blessing in serving others, because: “when you do it unto one of the least of these my brethren, you do it unto me”, (Matt. 25:40).

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 “The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple” (Ps 119:130; KJV). “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path” (Ps 119:105) We all need specific direction and guidance in our lives and according to these verses one of the ways in which God can lead and direct us is through his word. As Christians, prayerfully reading and studying the word will allow the Holy Spirit to bring illumination and reveal things to our spirits that would not be possible to the natural mind (John 14:26).

Keep reading the word, even in the dry times. God promised that: “So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it” (Isa 55:11).

In addition to studying the word we can pray for guidance. God can speak directly to our spirits in a: “still small voice” (1 Kings 19:11); an idea, a scripture or words that well up silently in our spirits with a sense of peace and assurance (James 3:17). If we are unsure as to what God is saying we need to seek counsel from our Pastor or someone who is a mature and seasoned Christian (Pr 24:6).  

If we are praying for guidance and are still unsure which path to take, then we need to keep doing what God told us last until we have an assurance that it's time to change direction.

Always remember that God does have a plan for our lives and it's a good one; we just need to discover it (Ps 139:16).

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Paul said, that when he preached, he didn’t not do it in his own wisdom but by the power of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 2:4). In other words, the Holy Spirit gave him the words to say and when he spoke God’s word, the power of the Holy Spirit was released to change people’s lives and to heal them.

In John 6:63, Jesus is recorded as saying that it is the Spirit that brings life and that his words were spirit and life. The Bible is God’s word, inspired by him through the Holy Spirit (2 Tim 3:15-17). The Holy Spirit reveals God’s word (the Bible) to us (John 14:26). The word in our mouths is God’s: “sword of the Spirit” with which we can defeat all the attacks of satan on our lives (Eph 6: 17).

For us to have the power of God’s word to affect change and cause satan to flee from us (James 4:7) we must have the word living and abiding in us (1 Peter 1:23). This means we need to spend time to get the word down into our spirits so that it comes out of our mouths automatically when we need it. Now here is the rub. We need to make God’s word our priority, there are no short cuts.

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 “But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine” (Titus 2:1; KJV). The word, become, suggests our conversation be fit or proper for Christ men and women.
 

The apostle Paul goes on in the second chapter in his letter to Titus to describe some traits of godly living, listing them as: sobriety, temperance, holiness, love, patience, faith, discretion, chastity, loyalty, sound speech, honesty and obedience. Do you get the picture?   

We are supposed to be easily identified as Christians by what we speak and how we live.

Paul tells Titus our lives should adorn or be ornaments to the things of God (v10). In verse 12 Paul teaches us that God’s grace has trained us to have nothing to do with ungodliness and worldly desires and to be self-controlled and upright. This does not allow us to cheat, be dishonest, tell white lies, gossip etc.

In 2 Timothy 2:22 Paul further preaches that we should grow up as far as sin is concerned; in fact, he says to flee sin and pursue being like God in our thoughts and actions. We should aggressively seek to walk in faith, love and peace with all of our brothers and sisters in Christ.

This is kingdom living, this is aiming for perfection or maturity (Matt 5:48). I know it seems almost unattainable, but notice above that Paul said to Timothy to pursue godliness.  It’s good to have something to aim at; we’ll miss the mark from time to time but that’s better than aiming at nothing. Paul also said of himself that he was not perfect but he pressed on toward the goal (Phil 3:12).

Remember that God is always with you and that his word and power will always enable you to do what he expects of you (Phil 1:6).

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