Human
beings are slaves of whatever entity we obey: either Almighty God or the god of
this world - Satan. Allowing the devil to entrench us in sin leads to
destruction both now and for an eternity in the lake of fire (Romans 6:16).
Instead,
we enjoy life so much more as slaves of God in obedience and holiness. This
allows us to live in the Spirit rather than in the flesh, since God's Spirit
abides within us (Galatians 5:15-25).
Whoever
does not have God's Spirit does not belong to Christ (Romans 8:9). Yet, as we
totally surrender our humanity to Christ, He saves us and adopts us into His
family (Ephesians 1:5).
Satan continually attempts to draw us away from God
through our body and soul. He trips us up with a single temptation. Then, it is
easier for him to tempt us in the future to follow his will for us.
Yet, Christ in our spirit gives us a way to escape temptation
(1 Corinthians 10:13). As we ignore Satan's lies and keep our mind on Christ,
we are not tempted by his fiery darts and lies.
Our thoughts and emotions affect the decisions of
our will. The decisions of our will determine our behavior, which motivates
every area of our life: financial, relational, emotional, spiritual, physical,
etc.
When we walk by the faith of Christ in us rather
than by our human reasoning, we avoid so many of life's pitfalls and live in a
serene and victorious existence (2 Corinthians 5:7).
God gives us a free will both to choose His
salvation; and then to choose to live in His will, rather than to follow Satan's
or our own plans for our life.
By submitting to God's Spirit within us, we reap
the blessings of His will. He sanctifies our soul and fills our spirit with His
power, so that, as His Body, we bloom like a spectacular garden (Romans 12:1-2;
Jeremiah 31:12).
Prayer:
Father
God, we want
to present our bodies to You as a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1), to do Your
will and to live in Your ways all the days of our life. Teach us to submit to
the leading of Your Holy Spirit and draw us ever closer to Your presence within
us.
Thank You for Your Spirit, who abides in our midst
and fills Your house with greater splendor and glory than Solomon's Temple
(Haggai 2:4-9). Remind us that, as Your Body, we are perfectly joined together
with Jesus, the chief corner stone, into Your dwelling place (Ephesians
2:19-22).
Thought
for the Day:
As we walk
in God's Spirit, joined together by His love, we bloom where He plants us in His
garden. - 2 Corinthians 2:15
