WOW It has been twenty-two years, since I’ve given my life to the Lord! Where has the time gone!? It’s just amazing to me reflecting on how much the Lord as changed ME and my life! Well, I certainly will not begin to tout as though I have arrived however, in the process of looking at the areas I need improvement on I had to really take an assessment on how far He has brought me.
I have been delivered from false doctrine and religious manipulation. I have been delivered from natural and spiritual fornication! I have been delivered from a root of bitterness and unforgiveness! I could go on and on! Having this testimony does not by no means imply that I have “arrived” No! – simply put – He is definitely NOT done with me yet! I am simply giving the Lord the Glory that goes all to Him. So I am mentioning all of this?
Well to be perfectly transparent with you, with all of the glory God gets out of my life by said deliverance, there is a deeper level of deliverance that He requires. We must seek it, get it and maintain it. It is just not enough to hold on to the obvious progression in the Lord, but as a mentioned in a previous post we must always take another look at our relationship with God. This is imperative because if done correctly, we will find the little things we’ve let creep back in and hinder or dare I say break that fellowship with God. I am reminded of a scripture that says,
Catch the foxes for – the little foxes that ruin the vineyards for our vineyards are in bloom. Song of Solomon 2:15 (HCSB)
This simply means that there are little things that come in to ruin or destroy the fruit that we as Believers should be producing. One bible study reference suggest that those things that ruin our fruit are the sins of the Spirit, which are things that go unnoticed if we are not paying attention. They are listed in study in three categories (Dixon, 2015):
- Secret Sins Hidden in our Heart – jealousy, pride (Psalm 51:10)
- Things we Say/Speak – (James 1:19, Psalm 141:3)
- How we behave or act – (Galatians 6:10, Ephesians 4:3)
Wow! That’s something! Usually, we focus on what we consider the obvious sins or the aka “big sins” and totally miss the fact that we treat others badly, have a ferocious mouth or have a tad bit of jealousy toward someone. The truth of the matter is these are detrimental to our spiritual growth. If we are honest with ourselves we are certainly guilty of any of those issues.
Guess what? There is always good news! There is a weapon we can use to kill those “little foxes” and of course it is found in His Word! God’s Word tell us that the way we should deal with the lust of flesh is to ensure that we are walking in the Holy Spirit. Paul wrote to the Galatians in order to not to fulfill the lust of the flesh we are to walk (continually) in the Spirit.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 g]”>[g]gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. Galatians 5:23-26 NKJV
We must acknowledge ALL of the areas that are detrimental to our spiritual growth and cultivate the spiritual areas that will lead to a solid relationship with God through Christ Jesus.
Until Next Time….
Thr33
*Dixon, F. (2015, December 15). Study 5 THE LITTLE FOXES THAT SPOIL THE VINES. Retrieved August 8, 2020, from https://www.wordsoflife.co.uk/bible-studies/study-5-the-little-foxes-that-spoil-the-vines/
If My Words Could Speak 