Better In Him
War of Two Natures: To truly understand your nature as a Christian, and to better know yourself, you must first realize there is two natures inside of you. One is the spirit and the other is the flesh. “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. 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. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law. Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. Let us not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another.” — Galatians 5:16-26. To follow the spirit is a choice. We make these choices every day. If you want to better your life and feed your spirit you must first understand who and what you are. This knowledge comes with the understanding of what Christ accomplished for us on the cross and the new spirit we are given when we accept Him in. However, we are still bound in our earthly bodies and have another nature, that of the flesh, and flesh is set against the spirit. Additionally, this is why we as Christians look forward to the day when our bodies will be transformed and the nature of the flesh will be no more. Hence why we say — We are risen in Him. To have this knowledge is a necessary foundation, for, without it, one would be confused as to why they, as Christians, continue to do wrong.
Only Broken: In the church today, there seems to be too much emphasis on the broken nature. Certainly, people need to know they can come unto God just as they are, but to grow they must actually challenge themselves to make the right choice to follow the spirit and not the flesh. If a church only preaches the brokenness of man and the acceptance of the flesh, then it fails the flock. Just like raising a child...you forgive a baby or a toddler for an emotional outburst, but as that child grows older it becomes more and more immature for that child to commit the same error. If the parents don’t teach him/her that this is unacceptable, the child will become emotionally stunted and continue to act out. It’s the same principle in delivering sound teaching — If the church continues to coddle believers with an acceptance of the flesh, then it will spiritually stunt believers who are a part of that church. It will produce Christians who believe that everything is okay and God will accept it. This will lead to a lot of hardships. But the blame doesn’t only belong to the church leaders, just as culpable are the believers themselves. For if they do not seek out and learn the Word of God on their own, then they walk about never knowing who and what they are. "I have considered my ways and have turned my steps to your statutes. I will hasten and not delay to obey your commands." — Psalms 119:59-60
Right Reasons: In the quest to better yourself and walk the right path, make sure you are doing it for the right reasons. If you walk about as a “holy person” to gain praise from others, you become just like the scribes and Pharisees — self-righteous. But to truly walk in the light of the spirit, do it for yourself and for God. The Lord detests making a mockery of His commands by using them as an occasion for pride. We all fall short, but to those who seek wisdom and strive to walk the narrow path, they will reap eternal rewards. Examine your own actions and be humble. “For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But each one must examine his own work, and then he will have reason for boasting in regard to himself alone, and not in regard to another. For each one will bear his own load.” — Galatians 6:3-5
Challenge: Challenge yourself every day to walk in the light. You live in the world, but your path is different from the world. When you realize this, it gives you a whole new perspective and purpose. Wisdom and peace come to those who shift their view from the temporal to the eternal. The road will be narrow, but God is always with you. Stay strong and stay the course and your days will be good on this earth. “You will make known to me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.” — Psalm 16:11
In Him,
Tim and Will