Shalawam(Peace) Mashpachaah(Family),

 

  This weeks Blog & meditation is one that is very dear to my heart(Mind).  This blog is intended to assist in self awareness, and practical application of “The Fruits Of The Spirit“, while combating “The Lust Of The Flesh.”  I used this meditation continually during my spiritual walk(and still now).  Unconsciously this meditation brought me unto baptism of the mind, renewed my thoughts, transformed my desires, and focused my eye for singularity – It’s a meditation that all those who seek deeper understanding, purpose, spiritual realization, and self actualization in Christ(HaMashach/The Anointed) must undergo.  A quintessential step of baptism, and prerequisite to being physically baptized.  Once I made the commitment to be physically baptized, I became aware/conscious of this meditation…  Due to the craftiness, and relentless attempts of the adversary to subvert our paths in Christ, this meditation is essential for discernment.  It gives great insight into our carnal desires, provides ways to overcome our temptations, wicked inclinations, while keeping us from the stumbling-blocks meant to prevent our acceptance of the water baptism.

Romans 12:2  And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Ephesians 4:23  And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;

Colossians 3:10And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:

As discussed in my former blog What is Meditation & Musing???, in every thought our minds are acting out one of the three functions in “The Meditative Process” (Concentration, Contemplation, Meditation).  So to even decide to be baptized, or become more spiritually aware.. You unconsciously had to operate in what Christians like to call “The Fruits Of The Spirit” (there are 9 of them).  Your unconscious operation in “The Fruits Of The Spirit“, is a result of the “The Meditative Process.”  So lets dig deeper in this meditative exercise on how to walk in the “Spirit“, and overcome the “Flesh.”

Most of us are already familiar with the 9 “Fruits Of The Spirit”which are: Love(charity), peace, joy, gentleness, goodness, faith, long-suffering, meekness, and temperance… But did you know there are 17 Lust Of The Flesh, which continually oppose those 9 Spiritual Fruits, in-order to prevent and subvert the purpose of the spirit?  That though we all unconsciously carryout the fruits of the spirit on a daily basis… When we aren’t carrying them out, we’re occupied in fulfilling fleshly lust.   This isn’t matter of opinion, but of fact according to scripture.

The Meditative process consist of three stages of thought (Concentration, Contemplation, Meditation), and awareness of proper breathing  That’s it! It’s that simple!  Understand that your mind goes through these stages daily; within all your thoughts framing everything you think upon whether good or bad, detrimental or conducive.  — What is Meditation & Musing???

As quoted from my prior blog, just as the three stages of thought are always processing thoughts (whether unconscious, or conscious, detrimental, or conducive, healthy, or deadly), the characteristics of the flesh, or spirit are driving those thoughts (be it conscious or unconscious.)  We must meditate on the word of the Most High God day and night in-order to instill the counsel of the Lord in all our thoughts!- We must solidify the spiritual fruits within us, the only opposing force to our fleshly desires, because without them… We’re left to our own imaginations which are continually evil.

Genesis 6:5  And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

Jeremiah 17:9  The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

Pro 19:21  There are many devices in a man’s heart; nevertheless the counsel of the LORD, that shall stand.

1John 3:20  For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.

 

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  We begin our meditation as always with breathing, focusing on posture, presence, and  precepts(See former blog linked in above quote for starter tips, if you haven’t read it already) … So start with 7 consecutive breaths, becoming present and aware of your thoughts, and body pain or tension(good time to be aware of this, cause we often don’t take the time to realize we aren’t functioning as we should.  Just make a mental note if you realize anything & continue the meditation)  Don’t concern your self too much with the random thoughts because we’ll now begin to replace them by concentrating on the following precepts.  Just as in our prior meditations; memorize them verse by verse(If you need an idea on how to do so, read any of my prior blogs.)

Galations 5:16  This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.

Galations 5:17  For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.

Galations 5:18  But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.

Galations 5:19   Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,

Galations 5:20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,

Galations 5:21 Envying’s, murders, drunkenness, reveling, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

Galations 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,

Galations 5:23  Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

 

 

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Now that we’ve concentrated and focused upon committing Galations 5:16-23 to memory, we can enter the contemplative stage of the meditation.  In this stage we’ll begin to investigate and study what these precepts truly mean…  I will give you some light prompting study tips, to assist in guiding your study (but remember this is YOUR meditation! So study beyond what I provide here…)  When we begin this meditation, I told you that just as our thoughts are always being processed by one of three stages of meditative thought, our thoughts are also being driven by the “Lust Of The Flesh” or “Fruits Of The Spirit..”  That its an on-going unconscious battle and you must defend yourself against one, that you may maximize the other.  To bring more awareness to this battle, i’ll provide some of the definitions of the original words translated in the KJV Bible… That way you may review these definitions more deeply, and discern whether they apply to you, when they apply, and why (it would be wise to gather the rest of the definitions yourself, and contemplate their applications in your life.)  Keep in mind that in the contemplative/study stage your soaking up as much details, insight, and knowledge upon the precepts as you can get!  So gather definitions, find scenarios that fit the characteristic in the Bible (i.e if the characteristic is “Adultery”, find the story of David & Uriah), discover the laws pertaining to that characteristic, become thoroughly acquainted with how the characteristic operates and association of it with other characteristics (i.e if its emulation, is envy, wrath or even murder connected with that?)… Also consider in your mind the characteristic it wars against (i.e wrath, hatred both war against peace), consider both the poison and the cure, ect…  Below you’ll find a few definitions of the characteristics in the flesh, and a few in the spirit (all definitions are from the original word it was translated from in the KJV, provided by “Strong’s Concordance”)

 

LUST OF FLESH

Fornication (G4202)

πορνεία

porneia

por-ni’-ah

From G4203; harlotry (including adultery and incest); figuratively idolatry: – fornication.

1. 1. illicit sexual intercourse

      1. adultery, fornication, homosexuality, lesbianism, intercourse with animals etc.

      2. sexual intercourse with close relatives; Lev. 18

      3. sexual intercourse with a divorced man or woman; Mk. 10:11,12

   2. metaph. the worship of idols

      1. of the defilement of idolatry, as incurred by eating the sacrifices offered to idols

Lasciviousness (G766)

aselgeia

as-elg’-i-a

licentiousness (No restraint, Lawlessness, sometimes including other vices): – filthy, lasciviousness, wantonness.

1. 1. unbridled lust, excess, licentiousness, lasciviousness, wantonness, outrageousness, shamelessness, insolence

Witchcraft (G5331)

φαρμακεία

pharmakeia

far-mak-i’-ah

From G5332; medication (“pharmacy”), that is, (by extension) magic (literal or figurative): – sorcery, witchcraft.

1. 1. the use or the administering of drugs

   2. poisoning

   3. sorcery, magical arts, often found in connection with idolatry and fostered by it

   4. metaph. the deceptions and seductions of idolatry

Variance (G2054)

ἔρις

eris

er’-is

Of uncertain affinity; a quarrel, that is, (by implication) wrangling: – contention, debate, strife, variance.

1. 1. contention, strife, wrangling

(Above are just 4 definitions of the 17 “Lust Of The Flesh”)

 

FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT

Charity (G26)

ἀγάπη

agapē

ag-ah’-pay

From G25; love, that is, affection or benevolence; specifically (plural) a love feast: – (feast of) charity ([-ably]), dear, love.

1. 1. affection, good will, love, benevolence, brotherly love

   2. love feasts

Peace (G1515)

εἰρήνη

eirēnē

i-rah’-nay

Probably from a primary verb εἴρω eirō (to join); peace (literally or figuratively); by implication prosperity: – one, peace, quietness, rest, + set at one again.

1. 1. a state of national tranquillity

      1. exemption from the rage and havoc of war

   2. peace between individuals, i.e. harmony, concord

   3. security, safety, prosperity, felicity, (because peace and harmony make and keep things safe and prosperous)

   4. of the Messiah’s peace

      1. the way that leads to peace (salvation)

   5. of Christianity, the tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and content with its earthly lot, of whatsoever sort that is

   6. the blessed state of devout and upright men after death

Long-Suffering (G3115)

μακροθυμία

makrothumia

mak-roth-oo-mee’-ah

From the same as G3116; longanimity, that is, (objectively) forbearance or (subjectively) fortitude: – longsuffering, patience.

1. 1. patience, endurance, constancy, steadfastness, perseverance

   2. patience, forbearance, longsuffering, slowness in avenging wrongs

Temperance (1466)

ἐγκράτεια

egkrateia

eng-krat’-i-ah

From G1468; self control (especially continence): – temperance.

1.self-control (the virtue of one who masters his desires and passions, esp. his sensual appetites)

(Above are just 4 definitions of the 9 “Fruits Of The Spirit”)

 

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  We now enter the final stage of our meditation, which is of-course the meditative/reflection stage… As usual in this stage it requires no prompting of mine, i’m completely hands off!!  We’ve concentrated on relaxing ourselves, memorizing the precepts – We’ve delve deeper and contemplated the definitions of the attributes, laws that pertain to them, and biblical stories where they’ve been utilized or personified… Now we must use all the light that was gained in the concentration, and  contemplative stages- Use it to examine ourselves more deeply, in all aspects of our life how does this pertain to us?  What characteristics are we living out on the regular?  Are we walking in the spirit, or caught in the flesh?  What have we already overcome, and what can we improve on?  How can we use our understanding to remain in the Fruits?, ect… Allow your meditation to come alive, let the spirit work with your conscious on revealing your self to you without partiality.  Let Yashaya Hamashiach (Jesus Christ) reign in your mind.

 

I hope you enjoyed the blog, please stay tuned for further meditative blogs/ spiritual exercises –  If there was anything profitable, or good that you received of the this blog…ALL PRAISES TO THE MOST HIGH AHAYAH IN YASHAYA NAME!!  That’s strictly him, attribute none of his glory to me.   If this was offensive to you, and perceived as stumbling-block to faith… Salachya (forgive me) that sin is upon me and can be attributed to my own iniquity/shortcomings.  Thawadah(Thank you) for reading.   Please do comment, & share.   To subscribe or donate, see links at the bottom of the page ↓↓↓

Shalom(Peace)!