Spiritual Diet

And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.

4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

-Matthew 4:3-4 (King James Version)

You know your body needs nourishment. You need food to keep up your strength. But, did you know your Spirit needs strength as well. It needs nourishment just like the body?

Prior to His temptation, Jesus had fasted for 40 days and nights. Obviously, He was hungry. The first way the tempter tempted Jesus was through food. Jesus was weak from fasting, and it would have been easy pickings for the tempter. Matthew 4:3 says, "And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread." That would satisfy His hunger. After all, who wouldn't be hungry after fasting for 40 days and nights? Anyway, Jesus replied, "It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." Our bodies need nourishment, but our spirit does as well. The problem is: Are you feeding your spirit good, healthful things? Or, are you feeding in junk food? We must be feeding our spirit a healthy diet of the Word of God. Are you? Think About It.

Spirit Work

Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: Of sin, because they believe not on me; Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.

-John 16:7-11(King James Version)

In these passages of Scripture, Jesus is teaching us about the Holy Spirit, and teaching us about the work of the Spirit. One thing to note before we study about the Spirit's work, is  found in verse 7. "Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you." The Disciples, no doubt, clung to Jesus. The time of His departure was at hand, and they were going to carry out the work Jesus started. They may have been terrified at this thought, yet Jesus promises them someone who will be with them. He calls Him the Comforter. Many of us who live in colder climates know that a comforter is usually a big, thick, heavy blanket that we use to protect ourselves from the cold weather. The Holy Spirit (the Comforter) will protect the Disciples so they can do the work they are called to do. This same Comforter will protect us as well. Jesus says that it is expedient for you that I go away. Why is it so important that Jesus goes away? Because if He doesn't the promised Comforter will not come. Now, the work of the Spirit is threefold.

We read in verse 8, "And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness and of judgment." Reprove means "convict or convince." The Spirit will do work in the world. Look at what He does:

• Convince the world of sin. We all need a Savior. The Spirit will convince us that we, indeed, fall short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23)
• Convince the world of righteousness. We can't attain the righteousness of God without Jesus, and without the Spirit, we will not realize our sin and our need to be right with God. To many of us try to make our own brand of righteousness. We proclaim things like, "Live for today." "It's my life and I'll live it like I want!" We can't make our own rules and expect God to bless it. (Rom. 10:3) We need to live in such a way as to glorify God. 
• Convince the world of judgment. Judgment is coming. One day, each and every one of us will stand before God. For those without Christ, they will be sentenced to an eternity in Hell. For those who have given their lives to Christ, to those who followed the convincing of the Spirit in regard to sin, and who followed the convincing of the Spirit in regard to righteousness, those are the ones will will enter into Heaven. You see, the world around us is evil, you don't need me to tell you that. It's those who put their faith in Jesus that will overcome the world.

Have you answered the convincing of the Spirit? Has the Spirit been calling your attention to your need for a Savior? Think About It.

This New Life

Therefore, God’s chosen ones, holy and loved, put on heartfelt compassion, kindness,humility, gentleness, and patience, ¹³ accepting one another and forgiving one another if anyone has a complaint against another. Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you must also forgive. ¹⁴ Above all, put on love—the perfect bond of unity. ¹⁵ And let the peace of the Messiah, to which you were also called in one body, control your hearts. Be thankful. ¹⁶ Let the message about the Messiah dwell richly among you, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, and singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, with gratitude in your hearts to God. ¹⁷ And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.
-Colossians 3:12-17 (Holman Christian Standard Bible)

Yesterday, we looked at the things that characterize your old life. Today, I want us to focus on the things that should characterize your new life in Christ. 

Verses 12-14 say, "Therefore, God's chose ones, holy and loved, put on heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, accepting one another and forgiving one another if anyone has a complaint against another. Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you must also forgive. Above all, put on love-the perfect bond of unity." These things are what should be evident in our lives. Look at this list: compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, acceptance, forgiveness and love. Are these found in your life, any of them? The words Paul starts off this section with teach us that these are what God wants from our lives, "Therefore, God's chosen ones, holy and loved, put on..." These are the things that symbolize the new person that you and I are. We are to take off anger, and put on heartfelt compassion. We are to take off sexual immorality and put on humility. Are you willing to do this?

Tomorrow, I'd like us to focus in on why we must take off our old ways, and put on the new ways of God. For now, though, review the list of what characteristics should be found in our lives, and make sure these are evident in your life. Think About It. 

The Guide

¹³Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.
-John 16:13 (KJV)


Part of the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives is that "He will guide you into all truth." The Spirit will guide us in all truth. That word is interesting. Why? Because Jesus said, in John 14:6, "I am the way, the truth and the life, no man comes to the Father buy by me." Jesus is the truth, the Holy Spirit will guide us into all truth. The Holy Spirit will guide us to Jesus, to following Jesus. 

Jesus goes on to say, in John 16:13, "for He shall not speak of Himself; but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak,: and he will shew you things to come." The Spirit will speak to us about the things of truth, about God, about Jesus, about the path that we are to walk. The Spirit guided the writers of the New Testament. He told them what things to write, the eternal truths of God. The Spirit guides us into all truth because He speaks and shows us what He hears from God. 


Are you following the voice of the Spirit as He leads you to the things of God? Are you following the direction as the Spirit guides you into the ways of God? Think About It. 

What Are You Planting?

⁷ Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. ⁸ Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit.⁹ So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.
-Galatians 6:7-9 (NLT)


Do you ever get tired of doing things? Do you ever get tired standing up for what is right? Sure, we all have. In Galatians 6:7-9, we read some inspiring Scripture that will help keep us motivated to do what is right.


Verse 7 says, "Don't be misled-you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant." Paul is teaching us a valuable lesson here. We will always harvest what we plant. What he is meaning here is this: If you plant a tomato plant, you will harvest tomatoes. You will not harvest a pepper from a tomato plan. You will not harvest an ear of corn from a tomato plant. You can only harvest a tomato from a tomato plant. If you plant sinful, selfish desires into your life, that is what you will become. This is the basic principle behind the words, "Don't be misled-you cannot mock the justice of God." To believe that I can plant one thing and harvest another is to mock God. To say that I can plant the sinful selfish desires in my life, and the harvest will be the pure, holy life that God desires-that is mocking God. Why is that? Look to verse 8.


"Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit." We see two examples here, both starkly different, and both cannot be combined. If we live only to satisfy ourselves, our sin nature, we will harvest death from that sinful nature. If I live only to satisfy myself, looking at my own wants, needs and desires, that is what I will harvest, a self centered life. A life apart from God, a life that isn't producing the harvest God wants. But the flip side to that example is that if I live to please God, the harvest will be eternal life. If I live my life by doing what God has called me to do, by walking on the path that He has revealed, by giving my life to Jesus Christ, I will harvest eternal life. If I live to please God, I will not harvest things that will satisfy the sinful nature. If I live for the sinful nature, I will not harvest the things that please the Spirit. You have a choice to make. You cannot remain neutral. Are you going to live for the Spirit, or live for the self? 


Verse 9 says, "So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up." Paul is motivating us to live to please the Spirit. He says, "So let's not get tired of doing what is good." Sometimes we don't see the harvest as soon as we want to. But don't give up. Sometimes it may seem like God is not there to help us in our walk in the paths He has revealed. But don't give up. Paul says we should not get tired when doing what God has called us to do. What happens when we do? Then we must stand firm in our faith. We must seek Him, God will not abandon His harvest. What has been planted in you will one day be harvested, whether it is the things of the sinful nature or the things of the Spirit.


Paul writes in Philippians 1:6, "And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns." If you are planting the seeds of the Spirit into your life, then the work that God began will be completed. He will not abandon the work. God will continue His work of molding you into the person He wants you to be. We shouldn't give up doing what is good. The rest of Galatians 6:9 says, "At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don't give up." We will reap the harvest of blessing. Sometimes the harvest is reaped quickly, sometimes it is not. But we must not give up. At just the right time, we will reap the harvest of the good things planted in us. The choice is yours. Are you going to continue following and planting the sin nature, living for yourself. The harvest for that choice is death and decay. Or, are you ready to follow the Spirit, planting the things of God, and harvesting eternal life? The choice is yours. You can not ride the fence. There is no middle ground. Think about it.