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The Twenty-Fourth (Motivation)

I hope this newsletter finds everyone well! This week we're talking about motivation. Specifically we're talking about our motivation, where it comes from and where it's driving us.

One of the things we need to be careful of as we go through life is making sure we know what is driving us day to day in various situations. Is it our own personal desires, is it our spirit, or is it the Holy Spirit? There's multiple verses that talk about walking in, or according to, the spirit (Romans 8:1, 8:4, Galatians 5:16, 5:25). Now when you take a look at those verses, if you're reading the KJV don't get too hung up on the capitalization of the word spirit. The Greek used for spirit is pneuma, as I've discussed in previous newsletters. While the capitalization usually indicates a reference to the Holy Spirit, those verses use the words hagios pneuma, where hagios means holy, or pneuma theos, where theos means God.

So in this case, the verses are talking about a person's spirit, and it's making a clear delineation about being motivated by our spirit rather than our body (flesh) or even our soul. Remember, our soul is what was created was created when Yehovah created man's body, combined it with his spirit, and breathed into it the breath of life (Genesis 2:7). It has the ability, if we let it, to drive or motivate us (Deuteronomy 12:15, 12:20, 21, 13:6, 1 Samuel 2:16, 20:4, 23:20, 2 Samuel 13:39...), it has our emotions (Judges 10:16, 1 Samuel 1:10, 30:6, Job 7:11...) and if it leaves us we die physically (1 Kings 17:21,22, Job 27:8). However, we have control over it (1 Chronicles 22:19), and we're told to love Him with all of it (Matthew 22:37, Mark 12:30).

The flesh also has the ability to drive or motivate us (1 Peter 2:10, 11, Romans 8:1, 4, Galatians 5:16, Matthew 26:41, Mark 14:38). However, we see we're also told not to let it.

A key thing to identify then, is where we are making our decisions from: spirit, soul or flesh. We've talked about the "litmus test" for flesh vs spirit (Galatians 5:19-23), so there's a good place to start! As you come to each thought or decision, check it against these lists to see what the driver is. As you do this, you will start to move away from the motivations of the soul or flesh and move into doing more of the motivations of the spirit.

This will strengthen your walk in the spirit, and the spirit is our link to the Holy Spirit. Romans 8:9 tells us that if the Holy Spirit dwells in us we are already in the spirit. We just need to start listening! And if we are led by the Holy Spirit, we are sons of God (Romans 8:14). This is how we operate in harmony with the body of Christ and use our gifts to His glory.

Need more help figuring out how to walk in the spirit? Look to the perfect example: Jesus. He walked in the spirit and was led by the Holy Spirit continuously. In fact, we are told to walk as He walked (1 John 2:6). So take a read through the gospels and see what He did and how He acted. I also want to point out something a wise man, and brother in Christ, recently pointed out to Sara Gene and I. It's something that I think gets overlooked quite a bit, and it's the compassion of Christ. One of the drivers, or motivations, of Jesus was His compassion for those around Him. It moved Him to be a shepherd (Matthew 9:36, Mark 6:34), to heal (Matthew 14:14, 20:34, Mark 1:41), to feed (Matthew 15:32, Mark 8:2), to forgive (Matthew 18:27), to deliver from demons (Mark 5:19, Mark 9:22), to resurrect (Luke 7:13), and to receive those that were lost (Luke 15:20).

So I encourage you to reflect on the things you do day to day and the decisions you make. Check them to verify you are walking in the spirit, and listen or feel for a movement to see if the Holy Spirit might be leading you another direction. Don't be discouraged if you don't hear or feel that. Pray about it, and ask for it (Matthew 7:7-8, Luke 11:9). It is amazing and wonderful to serve a living God!

Shabbat Shalom and God bless you!

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