⏱ 7 min read

• Today, we’re super blessed to have an anointed woman of God and dear friend, Deaconess Denise Samuella Oppong, share with us from Galatians 5🤗🤍
• You will be super blessed by this powerful word!📖🔥 God bless you and looking forward to your lessons also.

What’s your Mix Ratio?

If you’ve ever had an experience with Kool-Aid, “sheeiii”! You were a “D-bee”. Kool-Aid is a popular American brand beverage which comes in the form of a powder-base concentrate mixed with water to create a sweet, flavoured, fun drink of your choice.

• Full of all the sugars and flavour, it provided all the excitement and fulfillment your taste buds craved for. However, the struggle of too much water was very real.
• The base will get too diluted and the original desirable flavors will be lost to the plain taste of water – although providing a healthier mix. 
• In fact, I recall some will secretly feast on the raw base for the extra zinger, despite being injurious to their health!

Our original fleshly nature or desires can be likened to the original sweet and favorable base concentrate of Kool-Aid.

The human nature outside of Christ can actually be very desirable and satisfying, without boundary, permitting one to achieve and experience any and everything at your will despite being very injurious!

The water used in preparing the mix is also likened to the Holy Spirit. The inclusion of the water provides a healthier mixture for daily consumption, but at the expense of the sweet and desirable original base flavors.

• The question is can we examine our mix ratio daily? How diluted are you from your old nature by the Holy Spirit?
• Is your daily mix ratio injurious to the Body of Christ? Or are you being translated into the nature of Christ; which is likened to healthy pure water, rid of any flavouring.
• What really controls your actions and inactions as an ambassador of Christ?

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. - 2 Cor 5:14-21

Freedom Is Not Free

In Galatians 5:1-15, Paul explains the liberty we have in Christ, and the righteousness we have by faith through the work on the Cross. However, he cautions that the liberty we have should never be assumed as an opportunity for the flesh.  What is really expected of the Christian is to exercise this faith and hope of glory through LOVE.

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.  For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

It is very interesting and humbling to note that the liberty promised us in Christ can actually be curtailed when abused by deliberately walking in the flesh rather than honoring the gift of salvation through LOVE.
The liberty we have in Christ is to be constrained by the very show of LOVE on the Cross.

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 5:19-21

The Cool-Aide

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. (Heb 4:14-16)

Jesus, knowing the struggle of the flesh we face here on earth, when leaving promised as a Helper – the Holy Spirit. Yes, Jesus left behind a Cool-Aide! A helper meet for every struggle you face with the flesh.

• Paul in Gal 5:16-18, provides the surest and only way to suppress the old nature. 
• Recognizing and accepting the help and friendship of the Holy Spirit is crucial to our walk with Christ.
• Less of me and more of You! until I am transformed into the image of Christ.

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.

This should be the daily goal of every true ambassador of Christ: to crucify daily the flesh with its passions and desires and to bear fruits which reflect the Spirit of Christ.

This is the true liberty in Christ: to honour the Gift of Salvation, be reconciled in nature to Christ, and to be empowered to continue in the ministry of reconciliation.

"The Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord." - 2 Corinthians 3:17-18 

The Holy Spirit is a Person (John 16:13) and you must develop a daily personal relationship with Him so you can be alive to His promptings.

• He is your friend from God who will help, guide, teach, comfort, empower, transform and bring you to a place of rest in Christ.
• He’s as real as the words you are reading now and I admonish you to take every advantage of His Gift to aid you walk in LOVE.

And hey remember, it’s a gradual process; a daily assessment and adjustment of your mix ratio. Keep diluting, and the fruits of the Spirit will keep manifesting.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. - Gal 5:22-23

You’ve got The Cool-Aide on your side, call on Him now! ~ Deaconess Denise Oppong

Hey, you're blessed and highly favoured and dearly loved! Do share your lessons from Galatians 5. Remember to tag us and your friends on 📲:
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