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THE  BATTLEGROUND

5/5/2021

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May 5, 2021                                                     THE  BATTLEGROUND
Philippians 4:6-9 “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your request be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things. The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace shall be with you.”
Without any doubt, we need to absorb the truth of these verses. We live in a day when, anxiety, worry, fear, loneliness, addictions, broken relationships, and depression, seems to be more the norm rather than the exception. The good news is that as believers, we do not have to live according to the ‘day in which we live’ or according to the ways of the culture-that really is great news for us. God does not leave us alone to figure it out, but gives us specific instructions on how to know and experience the peace of God no matter what is taking place in the world around us. (Let me say up front-we are here to have influence in the culture; we are not to ‘bury our head in the sand’. Our having the peace of God is an influence on the culture.)  The way to experience the peace of God is clear; prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving to God is the antidote for anxiety and the like. We have the power to lay aside the things that would rob us of the peace of God. As we truly trust God and pray to Him, and give thanks to Him from the deepest part of our being, we will experience “the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension,” and the peace of God will guard our hearts and minds. Having the peace of God is not dependent on circumstances; nothing or no one can rob us of His peace when our hearts are turned to Him. We have an important part in the process, yet all too often this is where so many err. We must own our thoughts-we determine what we think about-and that is a powerful truth. There is no end to the ills of society, to the problems all around; if not alert, we will find our minds dwelling on these things-and that is our undoing. Paul gives us a rather narrow list of things that we are to let our minds dwell on. (Again, we are not exempt from problems and we must deal with unpleasant issues-but we are to do with the peace of God ruling in our hearts.) We are to set out mind on what is true, honorable, of good repute, what is pure and lovely, what is excellent, and anything worthy of praise. The battle is won or lost depending on where we set our mind; that sounds rather simplistic, but that is the battleground. The key point we must not miss is that we must have our mind submitted to the Spirit; we must not let our mind choose what it thinks about; our mind is to serve us. If we take the bridle off the mind, we lose the battle. Yes, it is possible to “be anxious for nothing” and it is possible and to experience “the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension.” Some say we are born either with a positive mindset or a negative mindset and that is how we live; we are born with certain tendencies, but the truth presented above is for every believer.
Proverbs 23:7 “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.”
Romans 12:2 “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”
Blessings, Buddy
 
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AND  SUCH  WE  ARE

5/3/2021

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May 3, 2021                                           AND  SUCH  WE  ARE
1 John 3: 1-3 “See how great a love the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called the children of God; and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we shall be. We know that, when He appears, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him just as He is. And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.”
These verses are packed with life changing truths; to understand, to believe, and to embrace what is written will impact our life-our core being-in a dramatic way. We can causally read these verses and agree that they are really good verses, but somehow not allow the truths of what we read to penetrate our spirit and our heart. John begins by telling us to “See how great a love the Father has bestowed upon us.” We must ‘see’ the love God has for us; we can talk about the love of God and read about it, but nothing really happens until we ‘see’ the love God has for us personally. We may see the fruits and evidences of the love of God with our physical eyes, but the primary ‘seeing’ must be in our heart. Out of His love for us, we are His children. We cannot yet fully grasp what it means to be a child of God, but what we can understand of it certainly is a life changer; it changes our perspective of life at the core. Knowing beyond any shadow of doubt that God is our Father eliminates worry, fear, and doubts and gives us a secure hope. We should not be surprised that the world does not know us or understand us because it does not know God-we are indeed marching to a different drummer. We are His children now, but awesome things are coming-change is in air! We do not know just what we will be-but it will be fantastic. When He appears-and that could be any day now-WE WILL BE LIKE HIM! And WE WILL SEE HIM JUST AS HE IS! No human being has ever seen God AS HE IS-but we will. (Perhaps Adam and Eve saw God.) Somehow, this reality of us seeing God as He is and knowing that we will be changed-that we will become like Him-causes us to purify ourselves. (God does cleanse us, but we also must make the choice to lay aside what is impure.) Note: it is not suggested that we should purify ourselves-we will purify ourselves when we see what is in store for us. This purifying ourselves implies that we will have a desire to live holy, to rid ourselves of anything unlike Him. We know our Father now, but we are going to meet Him face-to-face!! We must be dressing ourselves up for this visit. As His children, we now resemble Him, but we are destined to become like Him---‘Like Father, like son.’ The key question for us is, is our hope fixed on Him? If it is, then proof of that is that we will be purifying ourselves just as He is pure-we will be getting ready to meet our Father, face-to-face.
2 Corinthians 7:1 “Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.”
Blessings,
Buddy
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A  REMINDER

4/30/2021

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May 1, 2021                                            A  REMINDER
2 Peter 1:12-13 “Therefore, I shall always be ready to remind you of these things, even though you already know them, and have been established in the truth which is present with you. And I consider it right, as long as I am in this earthly dwelling, to stir you up by way of remembrance.”
In the last blog, Becoming Partakers, we looked at the verses preceding the verses above where Paul encouraged and instructed the believers to work with God as He worked in them and to take on the qualities that Paul listed. He went on to say that by partaking of the promises of God, they would be neither useless nor unfruitful. I think that we are of the opinion that if we know something, that is sufficient; we may even feel a bit frustrated when reminded of something we know. However, it is a blessing to be reminded because we can sometimes forget the basics or be distracted from foundational truths; if not alert, the cares of this life get us out of focus. You would think that once we get to know God, we would always walk in His ways. The truth is, we need to be reminded and to remember on a regular basis what God has done and what He is continuing to do in us, and to be partaking of His promises. We may know the promises of God and we may know that He wants to complete His work in us in order that our lives reflect His character, but beyond knowing, we must be engaged in what He is doing in us-remembering and responding to all He has said in His word. For example, we know that patience is a Godly quality that we are to add to our life-but if we are an impatient person, then we must realize that we are not responding to what He wants to do in us-in other words, we are not doing our part; we are actually saying ‘no’ to God and ‘yes’ to our ways. I realize that this may sound like a ‘work ethic’ mentality, but it is not that at all. We must understand that it is only by the mercy and the power of God that we can live the Christian life as depicted in the word of God, BUT, He does not ‘zap’ us and make us live the life He has for us; we have a role to play, and that role is to embrace what He says and to adjust our lives to His ways. We cannot use as an excuse the logic that says ‘That’s just the way I am made’ when it comes to adjusting some area of our live that is not in keeping with His ways and what His word teaches. So, let us welcome being reminded by the Holy Spirit and by others and then take the appropriate action.
2 Thessalonians 2:15 “So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter.”
Hebrews 3:13, 10:24a “But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called ‘today,’ that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.”   “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works,”
Blessings,
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BECOMING  PARTAKERS

4/27/2021

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April 27, 2021                                  BECOMING  PARTAKERS
2 Peter 1:3-9 “seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises in order that by them you might become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust. Now for this very reason also applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge; and in your knowledge, self-control; and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness; and in your godliness, brotherly kindness; and in your brotherly kindness, love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins.”
It’s both: God is the one who transforms us and gives us a new nature, but we also have a part in the process; we can work with Him as He works in us, or we can choose not to do so. The whole process of being transformed and maturing in the faith starts with a desire to know Him-and even that desire comes from Him. If the desire to know Him and learn of Him is there, then we must increase in our knowledge of Him through reading and studying His word that He has given us. Once we start the journey of getting to know Him, amazing things happen; we discover that His ways are awesome to say the least, and we can spend a life-time of learning and experiencing more and more of Him. It’s like discovering a new world. We discover that he has “granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness.” There is much that ‘pertains to life;’ we constantly face challenges, difficulties of all types, and we also experience good days and success, but no matter our circumstances, God sustains us and equips us for whatever we face. God has given us many “precious and magnificent promises,” and as we embrace these promises and receive them personally, as we partake of them, we discover that God has placed within us a divine nature-a nature like His. This new nature is the ‘game-changer.’ We now view the world and those around us with a new perspective; our response to circumstances is different; our thought life is different; and simply put-everything is different in a much better way. This is not to say we will not face trials-but we now go through the trials with the strength and power of the Holy Spirit. The call for us today is for us to realize we have a part to play and for us to be diligent in applying the qualities listed in the above verses-and we can do that because God has made it possible for us to do. The point is this: let us not be lackadaisical in the things God has called us to be about, let us not be unfruitful or blind or shortsighted concerning the things of the Lord. We can live a supernatural life even here in a dark world and in the daily routines of life-what we do and why we do it is crucial. May we cast aside anything that hinders our walk with the Lord.
2 Peter 1:10-11 “Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble; for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you.”
Blessings,
Buddy
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WHAT  IT  LOOKS  LIKE

4/24/2021

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April 24, 2021                                      WHAT  IT  LOOKS  LIKE
Romans 12:9-18 “Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor; not lagging behind in diligence, reverent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer, contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and curse not. Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation. Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all men. If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men.”
Often we debate, discuss, analyze, and theorize about what the scriptures teach and about how we are to live the Christian life. If not careful, gaining more knowledge of the God’s word can become our goal instead of having the goal of living out the gospel. If information does not lead to transformation, then we miss the central purpose and power of the gospel. The beauty of God’s word is that it challenges the most brilliant, but it is also understood by the most simple. It is indeed a miraculous book. It is the wise person who reads God’s word and allows it to transform him, and then put into action what he reads-it’s that simple. Our most basic response to the gospel should be that of obedience. Often, obedience to the scriptures precedes our understanding; if we wait to obey only after we understand, we will miss much of what God desires to show us. All of these commands in the verses above and many other verses as well, are straight forward, leaving no room for debate or misunderstanding. For example, we know what it means to be ‘devoted to one another in love’, or to ‘be devoted to prayer,’ or to ‘contribute to the need of others,’ to ‘be hospitable,’ or ‘not to be haughty’---and etc.  In this day of doubt and uncertainty, and all sorts of troubles, I find it refreshing to have the clear call of the gospel-a gospel that is do-able and life giving. In Matthew 18:3, Jesus said that we must become as a child if we are going to see His kingdom. I take that to mean that I am to trust and obey Him and His teachings without debate or without delay-that’s what trust is all about. We say we trust-but do we really? We act on trust and what we believe. I encourage each of us to simply read God’s word with the view that we will put in to action what we read. There are many other instructions, in addition to the ones above, in Romans chapters 12 and 13, and throughout the New Testament, that present a clear picture of what it looks like to live according to the ways of God. May we just do it-starting now.
Romans 13:11-14 “And this do, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now the salvation is nearer to us than we believed. The night is almost gone, and the day is at hand. Let us therefore lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us therefore behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealously. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lust.”
Psalm 119:105 “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and light unto my path.”
Blessings,
Buddy
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I  URGE  YOU

4/22/2021

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April 22, 2021                                            I  URGE YOU
Romans 12:1-2 “I urge you therefore, brethren, that by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”
2 Corinthians 3:2-3 “You are our letter, written in our hearts, known and read by all men; being manifested that you are a letter of Christ, cared for by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone, but on the tablets of human hearts.”
Our life matters; how we live matters; our life is a living letter to all. In a recent blog, the subject was that of presenting ourselves to God. From the above verses, we see that we are to present our “bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God.” We often think about and talk about out ‘spiritual’ life, and rightly so-our spiritual life is certainly important. However, if our spiritual life is in accordance to the word of God, our physical life will be a reflection of our spiritual relationship with the Lord; we must not in our minds separate or segment the spiritual and the physical. Presenting our bodies as a living and holy sacrifice is worship. It is a sacrifice in that we are choosing to place our affections and our preferences to the Lord rather than to ourselves-to what the flesh desires. We must resist the temptation to be conformed to this world; one way of doing that is by presenting our bodies as a holy and living sacrifice and by renewing our minds with the word of God. Presenting our bodies in this way is not something we can take credit for; it is only by the “mercies of God” that we can do so. This is a perfect example of us working with God as He works in us; God initiates or makes possible, and we respond. The miracle is that when we present our bodies as a living and holy sacrifice and as we renew our minds, we then begin to see and to know that His will is “good acceptable and perfect.” The normal pattern is that understanding the ways of God follows our obedience. It is a giant step forward for us when we realize that the life we live in the nitty-gritty of everyday life is a letter read by all. The crucial point is that our ‘letter’ reflects the character and the goodness of God and not something else. God writes His letter on the tablet of our hearts, and we have the opportunity to share that letter with all. Presenting our bodies as a living and holy sacrifice looks very practical; we express care for others; we bless others; we renew our mind; we love others and prefer others more important than ourselves; we give; we pray for others; we worship God; and we have hope and confidence in God. And we have all of this and do all of this only because of the mercies of God. If our ‘letter’ has not been that good of a letter in the past, we can start today with a new letter because God is a God of new beginnings and He is anxious to write His letter in our hearts is such a way that others will see what He is writing.
2 Corinthians 2:14 “But thanks be to God, who always leads us in His triumph in Christ, and manifest through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place.”
Blessings,
Buddy
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A  HOPE  THAT  IS  NOT  SEEN

4/20/2021

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April 20, 2021                                        A  HOPE  THAT  IS  NOT  SEEN
Romans 8:23-25 “For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pain of childbirth together until now. And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one also hope for what he sees? But if we hope what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.”
We have a tendency to get caught up in the present, in the here and now. We also have a desire for the world around us to be at least all most perfect, or certainly as it should be; it’s like we expect to have heaven on earth. This perspective and these expectations we have for what life should be like sets us up for disappointment. We will no doubt have some days when everything is great, but that is not the norm. For some reason, we have believed that if we come to Jesus, if we put our faith in Him, ‘everything will be fine.’ Sorry, but not true. As believers, we need to acknowledge and accept what the word says regarding this life and adjust our perspective regarding life on planet earth. Do not misunderstand, we should pray that His will ‘be done on earth as it is in heaven,’ and we should be kingdom minded even while living on earth. If our hope is tied to what happens in this world, we are in great error and we will be disappointed. The verses above tells us that the whole creation groans and we ourselves groan within ourselves. This knowing that things are not what they should be comes from God; there is something in us that knows something is amiss. We must understand that we have ‘the first fruits of the Spirt;’ we do not yet have everything God has for us-there is more to come-the unseen. This ‘more to come’ is to be the basis of our hope. We may need to shift our focus more on what is to come and accept the fact that the here and now life is not easy and always pleasant; we should be eagerly awaiting our adoptions as sons and daughters. God has paid a down-payment on us; He owns us, but has not yet taken us to His home. He uses the difficulties of this life in the transformation process. In years past, much of the preaching was focused on heaven and neglected the instructions of the gospel on how we are to live life in the here and now. In more recent years, the pendulum has swung back; today, we hear very little about heaven and everything about life today. We need to balance the two; we are to live our lives on earth in a way that pleases the Lord, but we must also have a living, vital hope in what is to come and to cling to the promises yet to come that God has for us. Let us not be surprised at the trials we face on earth-Jesus said we would have them; and let us not be distracted or discouraged when things are not like what we want. Let us put out hope and our trust in God and know that He will fulfill His promises and we one day live in His presence in His kingdom in heaven! That is our hope-a hope that is not seen with our natural eyes, but a hope that is sure. Yes, we groan within ourselves for what is to come-and that groaning comes from God.
Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”
Revelation 21:4 “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
Blessings,
Buddy
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MIND  SET

4/18/2021

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​ 
April 18, 2021                                            MIND  SET
Romans 8:6, 9-11, 13 “For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace,”          “However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. And if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who indwells you.”    “for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.”
It is a matter of life and death; not physical death, but spiritual death-and spiritual death is about as dreadful as physical death. In the New Testament, we often see the word ‘flesh;’ there are times when it is referring to a physical body, but in other cases like in the verses above, it is referring to that part of us that is totally self- centered, totally opposed to anything to do with God. The trouble with the mind that is set on the flesh is that it alienates one from the only life that satisfies our deepest longings-the life of God. In our culture, it is the norm to go about doing the things that make us happy-even often at the expense of others. The subtle thing is that having our mind set on the flesh does not necessarily look grotesque, but can look pretty good and pretty normal-we know how to ‘white-wash’ this mind set. But any way you look at it, the mind set on flesh robs us of the very life that God has for us. Even believers may, perhaps unaware, have their mind set on the flesh instead of the Spirit. Each of us, as believers, have the remnant of the old man, the flesh, and we have the new man that we are in Christ Jesus, and we have living in us the Holy Spirit who is desiring to reveal to us who we are as new creations. Our old man has been crucified –but we must recon it so. In the verses above we read “for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die.” This is not referring to a physical death, but a death to self-the flesh. The promise is that by putting to death the deeds of the body (flesh), we will live! Another awesome promise is that the Holy Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead will give life to our mortal bodies! Having our mind set on the Spirit even benefits our mortal bodies. Our mind-set is more important than we even know; we cannot afford to take it lightly. The mind set on the flesh is death-BUT the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace. Who does not want life and peace? Let us learn how, let us be disciplined, and let us make the conscience choice to habitually set our mind on the Spirit-on God. Throughout the day, we must take dominion over our mind and set it on the things of the Lord-and LIVE!
Romans 8:1-2, 14-15 “There is therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death.”        “For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God. For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!”
Blessings,
Buddy
 

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PRESENTING  OURSELVES

4/15/2021

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April 15, 2021                                      PRESENTING  OURSELVES
Romans 6:16-18 “Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, whether of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness? But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.
We will continue our discussion from the last blog, titled A CHOICE TO MAKE; the main point was that because the power of sin has been broken, when and if we sin, we do so by choice. As we read the verses above, we see that who we ‘present’ ourselves too is a critical issue for each of us. If one ‘presents’ himself to money, he becomes a slave to money-you do what you must do to get more money. The same thing could be said about presenting ourselves to be the most popular, the best dressed, the most admired, the smartest, the best—or whatever-we become slaves to that very thing. This is also true in spiritual matters. In Romans 6:19, we see that before these believers in Rome had accepted Christ as Savior, they had presented themselves to ‘impurity and lawlessness’-because that is all they knew.
But when they accepted Christ as Savior, being exposed to the gospel message through the teaching of Paul (vs 17), they became obedient from the heart and presented themselves to that message. Let us not miss the main point; as believers, we can ‘present’ ourselves to our old nature and be slaves to it and obey it, or we can present ourselves to the new creation that God has made us and become slaves of righteousness (vs 18), obeying and being led by the Spirit of God. The choice is clear. In verse 17 we see that these believers became ‘obedient from the heart’. That is important because if we are not obedient to the things of the Lord from the heart, then we are depending on our human strength and wisdom and commitment to do what only the Holy Spirit can do. I cannot explain how this happens, but when we, from our heart, present ourselves to the Lord, the Holy Spirit begins to enlighten us to the things of the Lord and gives us new understandings. In this process, we begin to discover and experience just what Paul is saying in Romans 6 and 7; we begin to understand that when we present ourselves to the Lord and to His teaching and instructions, the life we live begins to look like the life He has for us-we gladly and joyfully become ‘slaves of righteousness’ because that is what people do who have presented themselves to Him and to His ways. Actually, there is nothing better or more fulfilling in life than presenting ourselves to Him. Let us be reminded that God knows exactly what we need, He loves us and cares for us, He comforts us in the difficult times, and He has given us the Helper-the Holy Spirit. Why would we or anyone else ever hesitate in presenting ourselves fully to Him? 
Romans 6:22, 7:22 “But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and outcome, eternal life.”       “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death.”
Blessings,
Buddy
 
 
 
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A  CHOICE  TO  MAKE

4/13/2021

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April 13, 2021                                                     A  CHOICE  TO  MAKE
ROMANS 7:18 “For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the wishing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not.”           Romans 6:17-18 “But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.”     Romans 8:1-2 “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death.”
Romans chapters six through eight are loaded with truths that we must come to grips with if we are to mature in the faith; it would be good to read and re-read these chapters and ask God to reveal His truth regarding what we read. Let me say at the outset that I am convinced that misunderstanding what Paul is saying in Romans 7:14-25 is the one greatest error of the church today; if we misunderstand these verses, we will constantly feel that we are both fleshly and spiritual at the same and will feel that we are bound to sin. HERE THIS: Romans 7:14-25 was not Paul’s testimony; these verses are not a picture of the life he was living-they described his life he lived in the flesh, before he came to know the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus. Many today misuse these verses to justify their sin, saying that “Paul sinned,” “We all have a sin nature,”  “We are human, we can’t help but sin-we are not perfect.” (Do not misunderstand, I am not suggesting that we come to a place of ‘sinless perfection.’) There are dozens of scriptures that make it abundantly clear that what Paul writes in Romans 7:14-25 is not a description of the life we have in Christ Jesus; it is a description of a life lived according to the flesh. If the power of sin is not broken, then Jesus’ death and resurrection did not accomplish what we say it did. It is sad, but I have heard believers say that they cannot help but sin when certain circumstances arise. If there is a force or power in us driving us to sin and we are helpless-we are to be most pitied. Here is the crux of it: if we sin, we do so by choice-there are no valid excuses for sin. We must make the choice of walking according to the Spirt, or according to our flesh. The old sin nature has not been annihilated, but it has been rendered powerless if we walk according to the Spirit-that is the good news of the gospel. We do not have to sin! We have been “set free from the law of sin and death.”  When we are tempted to sin, we have the power to say no to that temptation: temptation is not a sin, yielding to it is. I John 2:1 tells us “My little children, I am writing you these things so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. (It does say ‘If’ we sin, but I know that we as believers will at times find ourselves guilty of some sin-but we have to know that we sin by choice.) The point is that as new creations, we have the victory over sin. If what I am presenting is new or if it contradicts what you presently believe-that’s ok, but be willing to re-think it and check it out in the scriptures. There is a lot more to explore on this subject, but I trust that this will awaken us and motivate us to search out the scriptures with an open mind with the goal of discovering our true identity as sons and daughters of God. Let us no longer walk according to our old nature; let us walk according our new nature-the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus.
Galatians 5:16 “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.”
Blessings,
Buddy
 
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    Buddy Fitzgerald

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