Keeping the First Things First - a 3-Day Devotional With Consumed by FireExemplo

THE WORK OF THE SPIRIT

“I give it all, my life an offering. My heart is yours, so have your way in me.”

So I hope we’ve discovered that we’re not dirty, aren’t unclean, and aren’t carrying around the label of “sinners” anymore. We are the righteousness of God in Christ. Period.

“Therefore if anyone is in Christ [that is, grafted in, joined to Him by faith in Him as Savior], he is a new creature [reborn and renewed by the Holy Spirit]; the old things [the previous moral and spiritual condition] have passed away. Behold, new things have come [because spiritual awakening brings a new life]. He made Christ who knew no sin to [judicially] be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we would become the righteousness of God [that is, we would be made acceptable to Him and placed in a right relationship with Him by His gracious lovingkindness].”

2 Corinthians 5:17, 21 AMP

Wow. What a wonderful, powerful, and doesn’t- make-any-sense kind of EXCHANGE Jesus made with us. It’s as if He says, “I’m gonna take all of YOUR SIN and give you all of MY RIGHTEOUSNESS.”

So we can’t earn it (Ephesians 2:8-9).

I’m not “trying” to be righteous; I just AM righteous. It’s what He MADE me, to no credit of my own.

So how does one LIVE righteously? Great question. I’ll tell you again that living righteously will ALSO be to no credit of your own. All you can ever bring to the table of grace is your SURRENDER.

In Galatians 5, Paul unpacks how a believer lives righteously. First, he opens up chapter 5 by instructing us not to get tangled up in the do’s and don’ts and not to become a slave of a checklist again. Why is this? Because he would also write in 1 Corinthians 15:56 that the law (the do’s and dont’s mentality) actually gives strength to sin.

So you can’t stay focused on not sinning all the time and expect to have victory over sin. You’re either going to live under the weight of the law’s demand (and never satisfy that demand) or live in the freedom of the Spirit of God, in Christ Jesus. So now, our focus is on our new identity (righteousness).

We’re putting all of our confidence in God's love for us. We put no confidence in our flesh, performance, or human effort. The fruits of the Spirit are alive in our lives because of the work of the Spirit. He’s the one who is even empowering our self-control.

“For we who worship by the Spirit of God are the ones who are truly circumcised. We rely on what Christ Jesus has done for us. We put no confidence in human effort,”

Philippians 3:3 NLT

So, when it comes to prioritizing and “getting your life in order,”; the Holy Spirit has taken on the total responsibility of being your full-time helper… And He’ll never leave you or forsake you. He is committed to helping you keep the “first things first” in your life. All He wants from us is our surrender. Lean into His leadings and promptings, don’t resist and fight them - and I am confident He will complete what He started in your life.

PRAYER

Father, I thank you for the work that you are doing in and through me, by the direction, leadings, and promptings of the Holy Spirit. I have come to the end of myself, and I take no credit or glory for the good you do through my life. Thank you for re-teaching me. Thank you for being patient with me when I mess up. Thanks for choosing to forget all of my wrongs and helping me get back up to the next right thing. I know it’s not by my strength but by the Spirit of God in me. I surrender to your work and give you complete control of my life. I surrender every desire that wouldn’t look like the new nature in Christ that you’ve given me. In the precious name of Jesus, so be it.

SCRIPTURES

2 Corinthians 5:17,21 AMP

Ephesians 2:8-9 NLT

Galatians 5 (the whole chapter) NLT

-highlighted verses 1, 4, and 16

1 Corinthians 15:56-57

Philippians 3:3 NLT