The Lust of The Flesh

 Gal 5:16
This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. 

As a student of the word, I endeavor to find the meaning and application of scripture. Much has been written about the life of a Christian and what that looks like in this present world. We live in a different time and culture when we compare our present world to the days of the early church, but humanity has not changed. The lust of the flesh (to satisfy our human desires) is still present in each one of us. The fulfillment of this lust may manifest itself differently in each person. Self and gratifying its wants is at the core of fulfilling the lust of the flesh. The question boils down to this entity called “self”. As long as we live, we will never escape the humanity of our fallen nature. But we have been given the means to take ourselves off the throne of our hearts and put the Holy Spirit in its place. The work of entire sanctification, where our hearts are made holy by the power of the Holy Spirit, not our humanity, but our heart.  He provides the power in which we can allow the Holy Spirit to live and leads us into a walk that fulfills God’s plan for our life. The fulfillment of God’s plan is to love as Christ loved. This is made possible when we allow and choose the Holy Spirit to take control of daily actions and reactions. I believe it is possible to live a sinless life where the lust of the flesh is not fulfilled. As long as we walk in the Spirit, scripture says selfish lust will NOT be fulfilled. We still live in a vessel of clay, subject to shortcomings and imperfection. Mistakes will happen, and we still face temptations, but if we choose to let God have His way in our lives each day, His Spirit will give us the power to be what He desires us to be.

The Thorns of Carnality

 Matt 13:7
And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprang up and choked them.

The thorns in our lives that keep us from growing in our faith and grace take on many shapes. The main throne that keeps our roots from getting firmly established and grounded in the Lord is the thorn of carnality. Carnality is not a popular topic among many progressive thinking “Christians”. Many feel it is a thorn that can’t be removed, we just need to keep them from overtaking us. But scripture says, “The carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be (Roman 8:7). This thorn keeps many from growing and being all that God desires one to be. The carnal mind is pulled toward self and the desires of the flesh. It seeks to make sure that self is first and is cared for. Paul said we are to present ourselves a living sacrifice to God, fully surrender our heart, soul and mind to the will of God. Take self off the throne and put Christ first in our lives. This work of living sacrifice is also called sanctification. Allowing God to set us up apart, making us a holy vessel for His service. The Holy Spirit is given right away to move in us, and through us to accomplish the will of God. The thorns of carnality often spring up unaware and choke out the seed of the Gospel that was planted. The things of the world and the cares of life have a way of stifling Christians from growing to maturity. God’s desire is to remove the thorns in our lives so that we can be fruitful for the kingdom and live in harmony with the will of God

Wisdom From Above

 James 3:17
But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.

Wisdom is knowing God and applying God’s truth with gentleness and mercy. Standing for what is right in a harsh and judgmental spirit is not wisdom from above. Wisdom from above is given without guile or evil intent. It seeks to bring peace to a situation and not division. Wisdom from above is transparent, it does not seek to deceive or manipulate. The danger that faces Christians is that the influence of the world can impair our thinking and attitude toward others and life. The wisdom of the world is to look out for self, depend on human ingenuity, and the arm of flesh. Instead of depending on God to see us through, we try to figure it out ourselves. When we seek first the kingdom of God, we are seeking the wisdom from above. Each day we face situations where we need wisdom in the words we speak and the actions we do. May we pray that God will give us the wisdom from above to do what is right, full of mercy and good fruit.

Praises of Men

Matt 6:1 Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.

We all like to be recognized for a job well done. Appreciated by others when we go out of our way to perform a good deed. But Jesus says to take inventory of your motives. Are your works of kindness done for the purpose so that other will give you praise and applaud your virtues? Some extol their generosity and speak freely of the gifts they bestow to the church, or all the work they do for the church. All is good and God is pleased when we give and work to keep the church doors open, but we are to do so because it is in our heart to work for His kingdom. Let us guard our words and thought and heart against bringing praises to ourselves, and do all things for His praise and glory.

All Things Created

Col 1:17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

His name is Jesus. Before the world was created Jesus, one with the Father, and the Holy Spirit, created the heavens and the earth. All things were made by Him and for Him. He made man in His likeness. Man was made to have fellowship with Jesus, given a free will to choose to love and worship the Creator. Sin has warped the nature of man and put within man a desire to please the self-nature of the human heart. Jesus came to earth to redeem man from this nature, but man must make a choice to deny self and believe in the redemption power of Christ. Satans, the enemy of God, does everything he can to keep man from believing. the struggle to believe is real because sin reigns within the heart of man. The choice is still ours. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved…Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.”  We were made to live in Christ, but we must choose to do so.

Crucify the Flesh

Gal. 5:24 And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.

Jesus was crucified on the cross, died and shed His blood for our sins. We who have been forgiven of our sins and have accepted Jesus into our lives identify with His death. We also have been crucified with Christ. The life we now live is not ours, but it belongs to Christ. Our sinful affections and our lustful desires to live for self have been nailed to the cross. We no longer yield our members to the things that have been crucified. Those affections have been forgiven and put to death. Through Christ, we yield our hearts to live a life that is holy and pleasing to God. We our to be a reflection of Christ in how we act and live. As we walk in the light of Gods word, he leads us to a complete surrender of our whole body, soul and spirit. Our hopes, our ambitions and everything that we live for is brought to the foot of Jesus. The fullness of His spirit is manifest in the actions and reactions of our lives. The fruit of the  Spirit now rules without command in our hearts. 

Self Made Man

1 Corinth 15:10  But by the grace of God I am what I am:…

There is no such thing as a self made man in God’s kingdom. We are but dust of the earth and nothing but mud. The world give accolades to those who take account of their own life and by the might of their will and determination make themselves successful in the riches of this world. Such is admirable, but success in the eyes of God is not measured by popularity or the gain of material things. Many have come to realize that there is more to life than what appears on the surface. The greatness of a person’s life happens when God is given control of one’s life. It is the grace of God that truly makes us great in this world and the world to come. We may never be notices or have a large bank account, but God, who is rich in mercy has made it possible for us to be the person He desires us to be. We must be willing to give what we have to Him, and He will do the rest.

They Forsook God

Judges 2:12 …they forsook the Lord God of their fathers…

People are so fickle. As soon as things start going bad, they are ready to jump ship. The Israelites witness a mighty deliverance from their enemies by the hand of God. God wanted to do more for them, but their obedience came short. They were satisfied with the victories they had won and just wanted to kick back and take it easy. They started compromising with the life style of those they refuse to drive out. That is the way sin works in our lives. If we fail to fully conquer the sin in our lives, it will start to take control of the way we live. As Christians, we must let Christ crucify the flesh of our self will, and submit ourselves wholly unto the Lord. Sin will cause us to forsake the ways of God and turn to a life of serving self. Let us not stop short of letting the Holy Spirit complete drive out that sinful self. Let God sit on the throne of our life, making Him the King of kings, and Lord of Lord of our life.

The Mind Set of Jesus

Phil 2:5.8 “ Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus,… He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death—even the death of the cross.”-

The mind set of Jesus was always on serving others. He, who is the Son of God became human flesh to serve and die for humanity’s sins. The mind of Christ is to seek the will of the Father, to humbly submit to the needs of others, preferring others before self. This radical mind set is foreign to the philosophy of the world that promotes self gratification and self importance. Seeking to make a name, to make it to the top, climbing the ladder of power and popularity. Such is the mind of this world. Followers of Christ, that have the mind of Christ have picked up the cross, crucifying the flesh with all of its sinful desires that they may serve God and others as obedient servants of God. 

Conforming to the Cross

Phil 3:10 “that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death,”

Conforming to the cross of Christ implies that one also comes to realization that the sin of self must die. The Cross, the emblem to those who bare the marks that they belong to Jesus. “Pick up your cross, and follow me” are the words Jesus spoke to those desired to see God. The cross is not some magical amulet, that we carry around to ward off evil and danger. The cross is an emblem that reminds us that Jesus died for us, giving us the hope of eternal life. We too can take the way of the cross, giving up sin and the things of this world that are in opposition to the way God wants us to live. We go forth daily baring the cross of Jesus showing others that the cross is our hope and salvation. It is the cross, the blood of Christ that was shed on that cross that empowers us to live victoriously. We conform to the cross in our lives, so when others see us, they see Christ.

Pleasing Self

2 Corinth 5:15 “and that He died for all, that those who live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto Him who died for them and rose again.”-

Living to please self is an indication that one has not come face to face with the One who died for sin. Weather we realize it or not, we were all born into this world as sinners. We inherited the fallen nature of Adam, and the seed of sin is within us. The accountability of this sin nature is revealed to all men at some point in their lives. The law of God reveals to man the thing that are sinful and break the heart of God. Living life to satisfy the desires of the flesh and thinking only of oneself is at the root of sin. Unbelief in the One who died for sin is manifest in the way one lives their lives. When we come to Christ for forgiveness of sin, He takes our sin, they are nailed to the cross, and cast into the sea of forgetfulness. He begins to change the desire in our heart. We start to focus on the needs of others because that is what Christ did when He died for us. He died that man may live. God wants us to live a life of loving and giving. For those in live in Christ will no longer live unto themselves, but live to please the One who died for them.