The Flesh

“Therefore, brethren, we are debtors not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh” (Romans 8:12).

“The flesh” is that urge within us toward total autonomy and rebellion, toward being our own little gods–accountable to no one, responsible to no one, obeying no one, respecting no one, and running our own little worlds to suit ourselves. It has inherent in us an element of self-centeredness and selfishness that keeps us from being completely and totally His.

The Lord Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega–The Beginning and the End. He demands submission to Himself and that means every area of our lives are to be submitted to Him. To leave a pet sin is wickedness when He died for every sin. Also a good God expects us to capture every thought and denounce the flesh and announce that your mind belongs to Christ. The flesh does not run you for we run it by the Spirit of God. We are to resist the devil and the improper advances made available to us. We are to master them and punish every sign of disobedience that rises as a vagrant soldier to cut us down.

Persistence and patience is what I get to do. For we are never free from an attack of the the world or the flesh. Don’t lay down your armor until you get home. There is no vacation when it comes to the exterior foe–the world, the interior foe–the flesh, and the infernal foe–Satan. But we have won in Christ, for what He has once delivered for us now, I must and have the privilege to deal with my interior life moment by moment and hour by hour. It is possible and plausible. Praise His name!

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    “Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again” (Luke 24:7).

    The Lord Jesus was judged upon a cross that was planted in His heart. He grew in statue and wisdom having searched the Scriptures and found favor with God and with men. The Scriptures and His life with sinful men proved the necessity of a Savior for their sinfulness and ignorance, while viewing the utter hopelessness of mankind without God’s intervention.

    We are afraid of so much in this present evil world and fearful of the future ahead. We may not speak of this in sober words but inside there is great conflict that is hidden and controlled by a deafening low sound within the recesses of the soul. It’s there but we do nothing about it.

    We will find God’s pardon at the cross and we will see God’s peace at the tomb where He no longer is dead. He arose again and now all sinful men may find peace when they kiss the Son. The peace with God and the peace of God only comes to those who view God through the prism of His grace.

    Can we say, “The Son of man has been delivered into the hands of sinful men, and was crucified, and the third day He rose again?” If you can say that in the presence and power of the Holy Spirit then you have a peace that the world cannot give or take away. It is called God’s Peace which is none other than God’s Son the Lord Jesus.

  • Moving Away

    “Therefore, my brethren dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved” (Phil. 4:1).

    We as a society have been conditioned to believe in the big, the fast, the expensive and the far away.  Whatever is big, fast, expensive, and away is the life of joy and happiness.  I am convinced that if you have to move ten inches from where you are now in order to be happy, you never will be.

    Paul was in prison for Christ, yet he was content.  Joseph was indeed in a mess down in Egypt, yet he was aware that God was working.  John the Baptist had stumbled over the timeline that God had for him, but he was learning.  The Lord Jesus operated by faith and not by feelings, and never moved from where His true peace was located.

    One can live with joy in their present circumstances and still live with expectation.  Life becomes more precious and more special to us when we look for the little everyday miracles and get excited about the privilege of simply being human.

    There is a powerful story of a young man who was seeking God.  He sought out a wise man who lived in a nearby beach house and posed the question:  “Old man, how can I see God?”  The old man who knew God at a depth few experience, pondered the question.  At last he responded quietly:  “Young man, I am not sure that I can help you–for you see, I have a different problem. I cannot not see him.”

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