FLESH FOILED

Have you thanked Him?

Have you praised Him?

Have you made it your priority to agree and cooperate with Him today?

Have you taken that deep breath and listened for what He has for you today?

1 Timothy 2:1 (The Message)
1-3The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know.

I don’t care that I have that designation of Pastor before my name or Christian sometimes after it, there are days when what goes on inside my head and the choices I make look neither “Pastory” nor most certainly not “Christian”.
I really don’t like those days.

And GOD says that “not liking” them is a good start; that it is a good thing that those kinds of days and moments bug me.  For it is the Holy Spirit pointing out the mistakes and that is needed.

John 16:8
When the Helper comes, he will show the people of the world how wrong they are about sin, about being right with God, and about judgment.

So I am glad for the cold splash of water the Holy Spirit often provides when my flesh gets fired up, but the daily struggle remains.

Does it for you?

Recently I have been really wrestling with my flesh.  Truth is I know my flesh can surface at any time in many different ways. For there is one thing that is universal and the goal of the flesh; and that is to elevate SELF. And for me THAT is the ultimate struggle. 

I mean I can always tell when my FLESH is trying to gain the upper hand because my decisions, thoughts and actions start to revolve around ME.  They prompt me to seek to be heard or noticed or they push me to cater to me.  And that is never a good thing.

And the reason I am being open and honest about this struggle is because in recent weeks, I know I am not alone in the conflict.
There have been more times than I care to reveal when dear friends in our program, dear friends of the ministry have been overtaken and completely scorched by their own flesh; its desires and allure.
That is why Jesus was so concerned about the flesh.  Jesus knew how challenging the battle between SPIRIT and FLESH would be and HE offered serious warning!

Matthew 26:41
Keep alert and pray. Otherwise temptation will overpower you. For the spirit indeed is willing, but how weak the body is…

What He says is most certainly true.  The flesh can crater the most stout of wills.  Worse yet, we often quickly discover that not only does the flesh wants its way, but also it becomes indignant if others do not agree with it.  I have seen that first hand this week as I have witnessed dear friends turn against one another; the fallout of a fleshly battle lost.

Simply put the FLESH is faulty and can’t be “fixed or improved”.  In the words of someone who likely succumbed once or twice to its power, “it is what it is.”

But there is a good side to today’s little thought.

Thankfully God can successfully deal with the flesh, and He has done this by eliminating its power. Jesus has overcome the power of every fleshly action that we struggle against. 

That is AWESOME news!

1 Corinthians 15:57
How we thank God for all of this! It is he who makes us victorious through Jesus Christ our Lord!
When we pray and confess our need for Christ, He comes to us and abides with us through the power of the Holy Spirit. We are then no longer under the rule of the flesh. No longer are we reduced to pushing, planning, and plotting to be noticed or left to helpless cater to our whims and urges.

That is not me talking.  That is GOD confirming!

Romans 6:14
Sin can’t tell you how to live. After all, you’re not living under that old tyranny any longer. You’re living in the freedom of God.
The very best is ours because we belong to almighty God. And His love for us is everlasting.

So what should we do?

Romans 6:12
…you must not give sin a vote in the way you conduct your lives. Don’t give it the time of day. Don’t even run little errands that are connected with that old way of life. Throw yourselves wholeheartedly and full-time—remember, you’ve been raised from the dead!—into God’s way of doing things.

And when the FLESH does get the best of you, trust the TRUTH!

Psalm 32:5
…let it all out; (SAY) “I’ll make a clean breast of my failures to God.” Suddenly the pressure (WILL BE) gone—guilt dissolved, sin disappeared.

Flesh foiled.


Have a blessed day.
I love you all!
Freedom Church