Flesh or Spirit

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Flesh or Spirit

5 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. 6 The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. 7 The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. 8 Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God. Romans 8 5:-8

This is the USA today. We are consumed with fulfilling the desires of the flesh.  From an early age, we are taught to seek our own fulfillment.  From plastic surgery to the next mood altering drug. We preach self-expression, self-actualization, self-development, self-fulfillment, self, self, self. The antithesis of living for the flesh is living by the Spirit of God and living to please Him. Why should we live by the Spirit of God and not fulfill to our selfish desires? It is the only way to receive the desires of your heart and not the desires of the flesh.  The desires of the flesh are fleeting, empty and temporal. The desires of the Spirit are permanent, pleasing, fulfilling and uplifting.  

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Would You Go?

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Would You Go?

1 The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. 2 “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”4 So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Harran. Genesis 12 1:4

Seventy-five years old! I am sixty years old. I have absolutely no intention of starting over in a land I have no knowledge of. I have no intention of starting over in a land I know.  At my age, you start thinking of downsizing not starting over. Even with all the promises of God, at age seventy-five would I pack up my family and go? Would I hit the road without a roadmap or destination? Solely based on the belief, I have heard the word of God. If God were to tell me that now would I go? The point is, He is.  For some of us, He is asking us to do exactly that. For others, He is asking you to do something else but be assured He is asking something of you.  For me, He has a particular call right where I am. It requires just as much faith for me as it did for Abram. The promises, blessings, and protections are the same. Will we acknowledge the call will we pack up and go whether figuratively or literally?  "So Abram went" will you go? Will you go forth and receive the blessings that are promised to you in the promised land of God's calling?

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Who is The Liar?

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Who is The Liar?

22 Who is the liar? It is whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a person is the antichrist—denying the Father and the Son. 1 John 2:22-23

This is one of those uncomfortable Bible verses we would rather not confront. We would prefer to keep it quiet. It is unsettling, uncomfortable to think that anyone who denies the deity of Christ is diametrically opposed to God.  We want to believe that those who are our family and friend's can somehow be accepted by God while they are in direct opposition to Him.  We want to believe that there is a provision we are not aware of that will allow them to be with God. We want there to be a way that is not consistent with His word that will allow them to be saved. However, my friends, there is no other way. We will all, friends and family face God on judgment day and those that have denied Christ will be denied by God.

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The Spirit of God

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The Spirit of God

 

16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. Galatians 5:16

This exhortation, suggestion command is very difficult to follow.  Primarily because we have delegated the spirit of God to a vague window of existence.  We acknowledge His existence, but we deny His involvement.  We know that He existed before the world began because the Bible in Genesis has him hovering over the earth. Genesis 1:2 We know we were promised the Holy Spirit by Christ.  Acts 1:4 We know that He lives in us. 1 John 4:4 I could go on and on with biblical reference about the person and the work of the holy spirit. But would it make a difference? To be lead by the spirit of God and to walk in the Spirit of God requires more that acknowledgment and acceptance. It requires obedience and submission.  Without the outpouring of the Spirit of God Christianity may have died on the cross with Christ. This is why Christianity is under attack now. Because we have denied the power of God through the Holy Spirit of God. Without the Holy Spirit alive and influential in our lives all we do is thrash about. Without any ability to influence the world around us.

6 Then he answered and spoke unto me, saying, “This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying, ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ saith the Lord of hosts. Zechariah 4:5-7 

A Spiritless Christianity is a powerless Christianity. 

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Christianity is Not Free.

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Christianity is Not Free.

15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 1 John 4:15

There was a time not so long ago when making this statement was not offensive or at least threatening.  That period of time was an anomaly as Christians have been martyred for centuries. There are people being killed, imprisoned and tortured for believing "that Jesus is the Son of God."  Our beliefs are being challenged in every arena of life not because they are wrong. But because they are true. The truth is not a barrier or an impenetrable wall of defense. It is a light in the darkness under assault from forces which are determined to snuff it out. If you are like me and believe that "Jesus is the Son of God" expect opposition. Currently, the opposition in the USA is in the form of ridicule and disrespect. As is happening now, we are being instructed to keep our mouths shut to speak of Christ in private quarters only. Unless there is a revival orchestrated by God. The next generation of Christians in this country will be the first to experience all-out persecution on our shores. 

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When I was a Child

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When I was a Child

¹¹ When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things. ¹² Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely. 1 Corinthians 13:11-13 (NLT)

I have always wondered how do you know that? We hear of conclusions based on supposed facts. For instance dog behavior. You have a dog expert, and he or she explains how a dog behaves. As if they had a conversation with the dog and the dog told them. Or in a crime drama, the pursuer determines without question why the serial killer, killed. The pursuer identifies some perceived injustice done to him in his childhood.  The fact of the matter is that we make decisions and come to conclusions based on limited and flawed data.

That is what this verse is saying, we do not have all the facts. We are as children not completely aware of our surroundings. We behave as if we have a complete picture of God as if we understand the laws that correspond to His existence. Yet, we don't. He has not revealed all of Himself to us, He has revealed as much as we can understand. There will come a time when He will reveal Himself to us. It will not be at this present time in this body or in this reality.

How do I know that you might ask? Because I believe in the Bible as the word of God and it promises us as much.

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One Body

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One Body

For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. 1 Corinthians 12:12

What this verse is saying is that it takes all of us to make up the body of Christ. Are we the body of Christ? Are we working in unity to contribute to the growth and function of the body of Christ? Or are we still behaving as independent agents? When the world looks at us, do they see the face of Christ or the ambitions of man? Do they see the love, leadership, passion, forgiveness, and the salvation of Christ? When the world looks at us, they need to see Christ, not anything else. Only as a unified body will we be able to show the wondrous glory of God. Only when we come together and use the gifts He has entrusted to us will we be able to represent Him as the body of Christ. 

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