The Flesh is Like an Oversized, Under-Inflated Beachball-- You can’t miss it. It’s easy to Throw Around, but it’s Very Difficult to Control. |
I am not talking about body type or weight. I am talking about the traitor at the gate. I am talking about what Jeremiah described as, "The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. - Who can understand it?" (17:9) Most Christians are inadequate and under construction in terms of their spiritual life. That is because there is too much flesh and not enough Spirit. This has to do with who governs their life. I’m sure we are all familiar with the Apostle Paul’s encouragement and exhortation to walk by the Spirit… be led by the Spirit… and be filled with the Spirit. But how do we do that? Many people automatically leap to the letter of the law as they spring into legalism. They recite a ritual or reinstate rules or regulations to keep. It may be the 'nasty nine' or the 'dirty dozen' and for some, it is the 'terrible twenty.' But Legalism is Lethal! Our flesh likes rules because we mistakenly think we are made good and are good by keeping rules and regulations. But all too frequently we find ourselves saying what Paul said in Romans 7: The good that I wish, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not wish. (WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?) The law can never control the flesh. Rules have a place in the Christian life. But fundamentally it is all about a relationship; a relationship with the Father, through the Son, empowered by the Spirit. (Eph 1:2-14) It is a Spirit-filled life, a Spirit-directed life, and a Spirit-controlled life that counteracts the flesh. As the Lord reminded Zechariah, It is not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit says the Lord. (Zech 4:6) Serving Him with you until He comes for us, Fred |