“Those who live according to
the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in
accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.” Romans 8:5
A mind that is set on
a fleshly lifestyle has no interest in abiding by the Spirit of God. Christians who dabble in ungodly behavior
will reap the consequences of this ill-fated choice. We can only live according to the Holy
Spirit’s wishes if we continuously seek His mind and His will for us. The Spirit is a person, not an ‘it’. He is part of the Trinity that is Father, Son
& Holy Spirit. The Spirit was sent after Christ’s ascension,
just as Jesus promised He would. The
Spirit dwells in the hearts of the true and ardent believer. Living according to the flesh after receiving
such a gracious gift as forgiveness is like spitting in the face of the entire
Trinity.
There
is an immense contrast between following your old pattern of life and the new
one that is being charted for you each day.
The old man wants nothing to do with godly living, assuming it is way
too restrictive. The new spiritual man
wrestles with the old man constantly.
The one that gets fed will be the stronger and win out. If you watch, read and listen to things that
glorify anything but our Lord your spiritual man will starve. He must be fed the spiritual sustenance found
in scripture. We have been lackadaisical
about Bible reading. We need to once
again fan the flame that is nothing more than a glowing ember due to a lack of
diligence. Reading takes time. Prayer
takes time. Spending time with our Lord
takes time. But it takes a lot less time
than we’ve led ourselves to believe. Don’t
use time as an excuse, carve out a small portion of your day to feast on God’s
word. Your spirit man/woman will be
revitalized.
When
the Lord returns will He find a church that has been looking for His return or
a church that is busy doing things that have no kingdom value? We must focus on Christ and on spiritual
living. We must pursue what is pleasing
to God, not gratifying to our flesh. The
results of living a life in accordance with the Spirit of God are a life filled
with peace for today and hope for the future.
Until Christ’s Return, walk with the King and be a blessing!
Resources:
The Reformation Study Bible & The Asbury Bible Commentary.
