God has a good plan for you and He has also provided the resources to make that plan a reality.
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If our desire is to enjoy the good life that God planned for us, then we would have to take advantage of the resources that God has provided us and that includes training for godliness through the help of the Holy Spirit.
What is Godliness?
Godliness is not a state of perfection of flawlessness but a strong desire to please, honour and serve God because we love Him. It is not an act of righteousness or kindness but a dedication to God and His ways that results in actions that please God. A godly person is one that has a strong desire to please God and continuously strives towards perfection even when he knows that he is not perfect in his actions.
Godliness is not a state of perfection of flawlessness but a strong desire to please, honour and serve God because we love Him. It is not an act of righteousness or kindness but a dedication to God and His ways that results in actions that please God. A godly person is one that has a strong desire to please God and continuously strives towards perfection even when he knows that he is not perfect in his actions.
Righteousness is Not the Same as Godliness
In choosing to live the godly life, the first thing is to recognize the difference between godliness and righteousness. Righteousness is God’s gift and godliness is man’s responsibility towards that gift. While righteousness is complete in Christ, godliness requires training to be complete. If godliness were a free gift from God like righteousness, the scriptures would not tell us to train ourselves towards godliness (1 Tim 4:8). This means that it is very possible for one who has received the gift of righteousness to still live an ungodly life. As the scriptures reveals, everyone who lives an ungodly life will not be part of the kingdom of God whether those people are in the house of God or outside it.
In choosing to live the godly life, the first thing is to recognize the difference between godliness and righteousness. Righteousness is God’s gift and godliness is man’s responsibility towards that gift. While righteousness is complete in Christ, godliness requires training to be complete. If godliness were a free gift from God like righteousness, the scriptures would not tell us to train ourselves towards godliness (1 Tim 4:8). This means that it is very possible for one who has received the gift of righteousness to still live an ungodly life. As the scriptures reveals, everyone who lives an ungodly life will not be part of the kingdom of God whether those people are in the house of God or outside it.
"For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God". (Galatians 5:13,19-21)
Not using our freedoms to do what we please is not what we do involuntarily. It is something we train hard to achieve because the default for everyone is to choose the path of least stress and do what makes us feel good. This is what training for Godliness is all about.
Training for Godliness
The most beautiful thing about training for godliness is that God has made the necessary resources available to us and given us a trainer in the person of the Holy Spirit. We cannot use a 'do-it-yourself' approach to train for godliness. We need the help of the help of the Holy Spirit.
I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. 24 And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. (Gal 5:16-18,22-25. See Romans 8:1-11)
Many of the satanic forces that puts the godly life a tension are impossible to defeat with human strength and means. We need supernatural strength from the Holy Spirit that God has placed with us who believe.
Your Most Important Asset
Our most important asset in training for godliness is our freedom to choose. Victory over satanic influences and habits rests largely on our freedom to choose or refuse to follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit. God does not force us to do things even if they are the right things and they are best for us. As free as salvation is a man would still have to choose to believe before he can be saved
Our most important asset in training for godliness is our freedom to choose. Victory over satanic influences and habits rests largely on our freedom to choose or refuse to follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit. God does not force us to do things even if they are the right things and they are best for us. As free as salvation is a man would still have to choose to believe before he can be saved
God has a good plan for your life. Choose God's plan for you. It is a very good plan. That plan was put in place before we were formed in our mothers' womb. The day we accept Jesus is the day we start to walk in in harmony with this plan. The day we submit to the Holy Spirit's guidance is the day we start to train in earnest to fulfill that plan. Refuse to allow Satan to mess up that plan particularly because you have what it takes to stop him.
Whether we choose or refuse to follow the guidance of the Spirit, one thing is certain: our choice will cost us something. If we choose godliness, it will cost us pain at the beginning and pay us with pleasure in the end. But if we choose ungodliness, it will pay us with pleasures at the beginning and cost us pain in the end. Yes, God did not say that the godly life was a pleasure trip all the way. He said training for godliness will be a rewarding exercise in this life and in the life to come.
I pray that you would choose godliness and learn to listen to the instructions of the Holy Spirit as He guides you through life. This will be your best choice because you know that though godliness may be undesirable at first it will always be profitable in the end.
Pastor Peter Okaka
Freshwater Christian House
Kitchener Waterloo Ontario
#Godliness
Freshwater Christian House
Kitchener Waterloo Ontario
#Godliness
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