Turn From Excess

Excess of any kind will lead you astray; turn from it and toward the will of God. You are to rid yourself of your former way of life and put on a new self, one created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. Do not live the rest of your life for unholy desires, but rather for the will of God. If you are guided by the Spirit you will not obey the lusts of the flesh and temptations of evil. Act like Jesus and find yourself satisfied in higher and long-lasting ways. Turn from excess.

Let us live in a right way, like people who belong to the day. We should not have wild parties or get drunk. There should be no sexual sins of any kind, no fighting or jealousy. Romans 13:13

So I tell you: Live by following the Spirit. Then you will not do what your sinful selves want. Our sinful selves want what is against the Spirit, and the Spirit wants what is against our sinful selves. The two are against each other, so you cannot do just what you please. But if the Spirit is leading you, you are not under the law. The wrong things the sinful self does are clear: being sexually unfaithful, not being pure, taking part in sexual sins, worshiping gods, doing witchcraft, hating, making trouble, being jealous, being angry, being selfish, making people angry with each other, causing divisions among people, feeling envy, being drunk, having wild and wasteful parties, and doing other things like these. I warn you now as I warned you before: Those who do these things will not inherit God’s kingdom.  Galatians 5:16-21

You were taught to leave your old self — to stop living the evil way you lived before. That old self becomes worse, because people are fooled by the evil things they want to do. But you were taught to be made new in your hearts, to become a new person. That new person is made to be like God — made to be truly good and holy.  Ephesians 4:22-24

Since Christ suffered while he was in his body, strengthen yourselves with the same way of thinking Christ had. The person who has suffered in the body is finished with sin. Strengthen yourselves so that you will live here on earth doing what God wants, not the evil things people want. In the past you wasted too much time doing what nonbelievers enjoy. You were guilty of sexual sins, evil desires, drunkenness, wild and drunken parties, and hateful idol worship. 1 Peter 4:1-3

Lead Serve Love: 100 Three-Word Ways to Live Like Jesus can be purchased for Kindle here.

Want to read more of Gregory E. Lang’s devotions? Dive into Letters to a Friend: Simple Lessons in Christian Living, here.

The post Turn From Excess appeared first on Gregoryelang.