Live By The Spirit (By His Grace, Run This Race, See His Face)

It's been over a week since my last post, and it's just 3 days to ORD!!! :D

I thank God for the opportunities he had given me, to share about His love and invite people to service/Christmas. A week back, before I went on my extended off/leave till ORD, I decided to step out to share and invite my IC, Encik and OC for Christmas. I'm so glad that I did, and I don't know if they read my conversion story but I pray that the Holy Spirit will prompt them to come to God this Christmas. God is also moving in the NS ministry and my LG. New brothers have been joining the ministry in the past few weeks and those who are already in my LG are coming to fellowship and serve together even more. Zheng Zhang is from OCS and has little weekend time, but he wants to join us more and seek God more. Another brother called Yi Jun started to join us too, though he was far from God for a period of time, he came back and is connected to our LG. There are other brothers like Wei Kang and Tjun Sern, who are keen to join us for fellowship and service in this December too :) I also pray for the other friends and section mates that God will prompt them to initiate or respond to come this December too

Before God started opening these doors of opportunities, I was reflecting on God's grace. Remembering how he found me and transformed me, how he guided me and blessed me, how he moved in the lives of others around me, and most of all for dying for my sins and rising again so that I can have salvation and this relationship with Him. It was also a time when I felt undeserving of His grace, for I fell short and still struggled in the flesh. But God showed me a double rainbow that shone over my house, just when I was a short distance away from home. He reminded me that he is always watching over me, and he did not come to destroy but to give life to me, and that his grace is sufficient and always flowing even when I'm weak or failing.

I believe that as we remember God's grace, knowing that it's not about us but about Him, His overflowing grace will cause our hearts to also overflow with His grace. He'll also open our eyes to see His grace in our circumstances, and even bring people to us, such that we can share God's love with them and invite them.

Also, around the same period that I reflected more on His grace, I experienced greater freedom from the flesh to live by the Spirit. His grace reminded me of where my true home is, of where my soul's yearning and true satisfaction lies, reminding me also that it's about Him and I want to love and glorify Him, it also reminded me that His grace is sufficient and at work for us when we look to Him. I no longer struggle as much in an area, even though the temptation ought to be greater in this season. I chose to live by His grace, to run this race, so that I can see His face.

I also go to Serangoon Gardens Country Club to swim from time to time, and I have free access to swim until I turned 21 this year. However, I still went there to swim until a staff questioned about my membership and made me pay a visitor fee for the swim. My dad corrected me on such a behavior when he found out that I didn't pay visitor fee even when my family membership as a child is expired. Though many people come to the club to swim without paying the fee, and though the pool is more luxurious than public ones, I've decided not to swim there anymore unless I'm willing to pay $5 per session.

Though I use the public pool now, I experienced this joy and liberty that comes from holding to integrity. There is joy and peace in knowing that this "small" (or big) decision is one that pleases God. And such small steps can draw me to walk more in step with the Spirit, to want to spend more time with God, to want to love and talk to people about God, and to live in the light.

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 you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

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. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.  (Galatians 5:16-25)

Jesus did not give us this grace, so that we can sin even more. No he came to die for our sins, so that we can be reconciled with Him, to enter his Kingdom to be his servants, yet heirs and sons. Those who live in continual patterns in the acts of the flesh will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies. (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)

God gave us the Holy Spirit as a deposit, a seal for our day of redemption. The Holy Spirit is our helper, the person who guides and empowers us. However, in our lives do we feel as though the Holy Spirit is speaking to us, that He empowers us and leads us? If we do not, we are not walking by the Spirit, but in the flesh. Our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, do we host and let the Holy Spirit reside in us?

I watched the sermon Grace To Become Who We Want To Be by Francis Chan today. He talks about how expecting the Holy Spirit to take away our sinful desires is like buying a treadmill last Christmas, and wondering why we have not lost a single pound. No, we have to go on the treadmill (walk by the Spirit), and not just leave it there. In Galatians 5:16-25 above, it mentioned that the Spirit is contrary to the flesh and are in conflict. Francis illustrated this by running on the treadmill while munching on Cheetos. No way right?? You either sit on your couch and munch on Cheetos, or you run on the treadmill.

Ok, so even then we may wonder why certain struggles stick to us and won't go. We wonder why we still fall to drunkenness, or why our marriage is filled with conflicts. They are there when we put the focus on "Me", when we ask God to bless us for our own comfort. However, when we ask God to bless and help us, because we want to glorify Him, because we want to spread the gospel to those around us, because we want to give and serve, God can move powerfully through this desire. When we live by a mission, to fulfill the great commission, it prevents us from omission and ending up pursuing the desires of the flesh. So even as we remember God's grace, let us walk by the Spirit, setting our mind on His mission, even in our daily affairs. Then we will experience greater freedom from sin, even more grace and more of the Kingdom of Heaven :)