“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.” (‭Galatians‬ ‭5‬:‭16-17‬ ESV)

All,

This sticks out because there isn’t a neutral here. The more I dig into the Word, the more I realize how I can either be focused on self(flesh) or the Spirit, but not both at the same time. The Spirit wants what’s best for me period and the flesh wants what seems like the best for me at the time, but isn’t in the long run. Please pray that we and our friends chose to be controlled by the Spirit. Please pray about the man that you know well that would be a great co-facilitator for a CLC group. Please send me his name after you pray.

“Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods. But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more?” (‭Galatians‬ ‭4‬:‭8-9‬ ESV)

All,

This sticks out because of the slavery to the law. You may be able to say that “religion” is the new word for “the law” in Paul’s terms. I have a lot of friends that are very turned off by religion, but are ok with Jesus. I tell them I agree. I hope they desire to learn more about Jesus and build a relationship with Him. He sets us free. Please pray that we and our friends seek a relationship with Jesus and not a bunch of rules. Please pray for T.C. and Bradley’s group as there first meeting was today.

“Yet because of false brothers secretly brought in—who slipped in to spy out our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, so that they might bring us into slavery—” (‭Galatians‬ ‭2‬:‭4‬ ESV)

All,

This sticks out because of “freedom we have in Christ Jesus”. I love to create a checklist for myself to keep myself in check. However, if I’m not careful, the list grows and grows and turns into a legalistic prison of doing things just because it’s on the list. This creates a very “me-centered” mindset that takes me away from a “Christ-centered” mindset. The point is not that lists are bad, but anything can be warped into something not of Christ and will take our “freedom in Christ” away. Please pray that we and our friends desire a relationship with Christ and not a set of rules. Please pray for Cheever and Steven’s group as they are having their commitment meeting on the 24th.

Neal Creech
City Director, CLC
ncreech@clchq.org
Christianleadershipconcepts.org
Cell (404)217-4465