For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. Galatians 5:17 (NASB)
In our Adamic nature, we don’t have the natural desire towards God and towards holiness. Our default position is towards sin and the world. Our natural man cannot please God and cannot, however hard he tries, live according to the commandments that God has set in His word. The carnal man is opposed to God, and the carnal man and the Spirit are always warring for dominion in the life of the believer. The enemy of our souls is devious that at times even though, we in our natural eye we believe all is well in our souls, deep within our inner world of the heart, our hearts and minds are entangled with the world making it impossible for us to draw near to God in spirit and in truth. We can see this evident is our spiritual sluggishness and our lack of desire towards God or the things of God. Though we may do all the external obligations of our religious duties, nonetheless our hearts are far from Him.
From birth, we have been taught to trust our senses, what we see, touch, taste and smell. So now even as we walk on the narrow path we all to often measure our spiritual growth and development on our works. How much am I doing or giving to the ministry? How much time do I spend in prayer and bible study? How well do I behave towards those that hate me? These should not be our focus as they are the fruit of intimacy with God. These things become natural produce that is birthed from a place of union, developed in communion with God. They are not the means or the ends they are merely the character of Christ living in and through us as we give the Holy Spirit the access to our whole beings for Him to dwell and manifest His life through us. So how do we cultivate the desire towards God and holiness, above the dictates of the flesh and the systems of this world?
Our first step is repentance, yes repentance, even those of us who have believed for decades we have to keep coming back to God acknowledging our rebellious independence from God and our tendency to do Gods will in our strength and power. We have first to examine our lives in light of scriptures and see the person God is calling us to be and the life we are actually living. We have to be brutally honest, examining the way we use our time, money and words. Questioning our thought lives and our motives and with this, we have to humbly come before our father seeking His grace that He is so willing to give.
To be continued…..
Dear Heavenly Father, we come to you today acknowledging our total dependency on you. Lord without you we can do nothing. We pray for Your Grace, Mercy and strength. Forgive us for any way we have strayed or done things according to our own purpose, fleshy passions and desires. Lord, we pray for the Grace and strength to live our lives in a manner that glorifies you. Give us the power to live holy lives. Give us a new heart and a right spirit in Jesus mighty name we pray. Amen
Much Love in Christ,
Your sister,
Ruth