God is in the business of
changing people's lives. Change is wrapped up in the spiritual truths of
salvation, repentance, and transformation. For it is God that worketh in you to
will and to do of his good pleasure – Philippians
2:13. When we accepted salvation in Christ, God created within us a
new creation ... his gift of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, behold old things are
passed away, all things are become new – 2
Corinthians 5:17. When God changes us, it doesn't look like the changes
that the world inflicts upon us .... the world puts us through mental,
emotional and physical changes, (for you Linda Ronstadt “Poor, Poor, Pitiful Me”
fans) sort of like a Waring blender. However, transformation in Christ
means to put off the old man of the sinful flesh and put on the new man of the
spirit – Colossians
3:9-10 &
Ephesians 4:22-25. Jesus said, any man that follows
me must take up his cross and follow me – Luke 9:23 & Matthew 16:24 ... for my yoke is easy
and my burden is light Matthew 11:30.
As we turn to Him and away from the God-rejecting world-system, and as we
turn from sin and unto the righteousness in Christ, we all with open face
beholding as in a glass the glory of the lord are changed from the glory of the
flesh to the glory of the spirit – 2 Corinthians
3:18.
In Romans 7, Paul laments,
"in the flesh... I do I don't do what I want to do, but what I don't
want to do, that I do... O wretched man that I am! Who shall
deliver from this dead body?" However, in the very next chapter, Romans 8:1-4, the scripture says we're
doing better than we deserve: “There is
therefore no condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus who walk not after
the flesh but after the spirit. For the spirit of life in Christ hath made me
free from the law of sin and death. 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, condemned sin in the flesh that the righteousness of the law
might be fulfilled in us who walk not after the flesh but after the spirit.”
Ambition is from the word
"ambivalence." It means to be torn between conflicting desires:
to walk according to the flesh or according to the spirit. James 1:8 says, "A double
minded man is unstable in all his ways." Therefore turn your eyes upon
Jesus and the things of the world will become strangely dim in the light of his
glorious grace. Galatians 6:8
says, He that soweth to his flesh shall
of the flesh reap corruption, but he who soweth to the spirit shall of the
spirit reap life everlasting. Walking in the Spirit of God in Christ
strikes a fine balance between living in both reason and passion according to
the Spirit. When we set our affections on things above, when we
delight ourselves in the Lord, when make His desire our desire, when we align
our heart with His heart, only then will He give us the desires of our
heart.
God uses the path of death
to lead us to the fork in the road. He uses addiction, self centeredness,
strife, contention, bitterness, envy, discouragement, and disappointment to get
us to the point that we need to take the alternate path. This is the
definition of “repentance”. Repentance means to turn from the pride of
self, to surrender the Right to myself and my carnal desires, and to turn my
eyes upon Jesus. The point of repentance is the inflection point: to
change direction. To turn away from the wretched man that I am and toward the One
who is faithful and just to forgive our sins. For God sent not his son to
condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved – John 3:17. Though your sins be as
scarlet, they shall be as white as snow – Isaiah
1:18. Did we in our own strength confide our battle would be loosing, were
not the right man on our side, the man of God's own Choosing. Doth ask
who that may be? Christ Jesus it is he, and He must win the battle – “A
Mighty Fortress is Our God” by Martin Luther. The "come to
Jesus" moments in life are precious moments where we turn from darkness
unto the light.
Every moment of this life is
a moment of decision. We have been given the ability to choose our direction,
moment by moment. God always gives us the choice to choose either life or
death ... life is only through Christ. Each moment is a "come to Jesus
moment." Therefore, let’s set our affections on things above and come to
Jesus ... and live!
May God richly bless you!
Your brother in Christ, Michael
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