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Come to think of it,
exactly where is here? It seems like this time of year is a time for
reflection. What did we accomplish last year? Did we do it right or was
there a better way? Are we at the place that God wants us to be? So many
questions! Too many to list when you get down to the bottom line. I have
good news for you, though. If you are asking those questions about your
relationship with God, you ARE in the right place! Asking the above
questions tells me that a person is considering God's ways and wanting
to please Him. Doesn't that take
meditation on the Word of
God? Certainly it does. Consider what God said in the book of Joshua.
Josh 1:8-9
8 This book of the law
shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day
and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is
written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then
thou shalt have good success.
9 Have not I commanded
thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou
dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.
(KJV)
The biggest problem we
have is putting the flesh behind us and living in the Spirit. It seems
no matter how much I want to serve and please God, something is always
trying to get in the way. I used to blame all of it on our "Enemy" until
I realized that I, too, am the enemy sometimes. Now, before you click
off to another website, let me explain. To be sure, Satan is a large
part of our
struggle.
1 Pet 5:8
8 Be sober, be vigilant;
because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about,
seeking whom he may devour:
(KJV)
He roams about doing
everything in his power to prevent us from serving God. But we, also,
prevent ourselves on many occasions. Paul, speaking in the book of
Romans, sums it up quite well.
Rom 7:18-24
18 For I know that in me
(that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present
with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
19 For the good that I
would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
20 Now if I do that I
would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
21 I find then a law,
that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.
22 For I delight in the
law of God after the inward man:
23 But I see another law
in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into
captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
24 O wretched man that I
am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
(KJV)
Don't be discouraged in
reading these things! There is salvation from them. God, in all His
mercy and grace, has provided a way for us to overcome the fleshly part
of our nature. Of course it requires some effort on our part and I
believe we should begin with the scripture quoted above (Joshua 1:8-9).
God expects us to be diligent in our study of His Word. We need to be
constantly mindful of the things of God. In our daily business, we need
to ask ourselves what would please God, and do those things. Include God
in every decision of life. He is our Father, after all.
Rom 8:1-4
1 There is therefore now
no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after
the flesh, but after the Spirit.
2 For the law of the
Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and
death.
3 For what the law could
not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son
in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the
flesh:
4 That the righteousness
of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but
after the Spirit.
(KJV)
We are not under
condemnation if we walk according to the Spirit, being mindful of the
things of God. He promises to provide everything we need for life and
godliness to help us through life on this earth.
2 Pet 1:2-4
2 Grace and peace be
multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,
3 According as his divine
power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and
godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and
virtue:
4 Whereby are given unto
us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be
partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in
the world through lust.
(KJV)
Praise God for His provisions! Be strong and of
good courage because God has provided the answer to all questions in
life. |
