Proverbs 5:21-23,
“For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD, and he pondereth all his goings. His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden with the cords of his sins. He shall die without instruction; and in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray.
God sees everything man does, even in the secret parts of the heart and mind, God sees it sees it clearly! When we follow after sin, we are held captive; it’s as if we have ropes tossed about us and they’re being pulled ever so tightly against our will to repent of the sin, so we continue to sin easier each day. If we allow this, we will die in our sin because of our lack of self-control; and be lost to the blessings we could experience with repentance.
Remember the prodigal son who chose to follow his lusts and took his inheritance and squander it in sin and free living? He found himself in squalor with the pigs before he could humble himself and return to his father in repentance (see Luke 15:11-24). Here is what God’s Word says about our old nature; Roman’s 8:6-8: Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him”.
Believers, we have been redeemed; the life of the flesh was cast upon the cross of Jesus Christ; by our union with Christ through faith we are secure! Are we walking in the flesh or in the Spirit? Have held onto the old nature or are we exercising the freedom of the new nature given to us by grace? God will not be tested by our unwillingness to submit to righteous living. He will chastise those whom he loves.
Having the Spirit of Christ dwelling in us means we must turn our minds to the mind of Christ. We must cast off the lusts of the flesh and quit dabbling in sin. We cannot continue to allow our sinful nature to control our minds; we must allow the renewing of our minds to be controlled by the Spirit (Romans 12:1-3).
Prayer: Father, your mercies are beyond our comprehension, yet you are waiting to restore relationships with your people if we will but humble ourselves and repent from our foolish sins. LORD, we present our bodies this day as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable before you because of your Son’s great price paid on Calvary. LORD, teach us how to resist this world so that we are not conformed to its way of thinking. And transform our minds through your Word so that we abide in you. LORD, take our lives and make them yours, clean our minds and hearts of the old nature and renew a right spirit within us. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.
Abiding Still,
Connie Renfro ©
No comments:
Post a Comment