Lord Jesus, you came to set us free from the law of sin and death. You came to give us freedom so we can live rightly and love others as you would have us. Why Lord do we so easily fall back into slavery to the flesh?
Lord, you list the works of the flesh as: 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. To me Lord that describes what our society today is full of, what we as a people are like. What a sad, unhappy way to live. May we recognize that living by the flesh is destructive to the soul and creates a chaotic, self-centered society out of which nothing good will come.
The fruit of living by your Spirit is positive and uplifting of others: love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. What a difference it makes in our life and society if we live that way. Why do we want to exchange what is good for what tears down and destroys?
Lord, we need a work of your Spirit in us to open our eyes to the destructive consequences of what we believe and follow. We need you to work in our hearts so we want to live by your Spirit instead of the sinful desires of our flesh.
Help us to understand that true freedom is the result of having the desire and ability to do what is right and good. True freedom is loving others as we love ourselves, True freedom only comes from loving you and submitting ourselves to your authority. When we submit to you as our Lord then we want to do what pleases you.
Lord, we are lost without you. We can’t do what is right and good apart from you. May we understand the law of sowing and reaping. May we see that when we sow to the flesh we reap destruction. When we sow to the Spirit we reap life in you. May life in you be what we want. Please do a work in us!