* A savings account that allows me to withdraw as much as I desire but never gets smaller.
* A car that only needs to be filled with gas, oil, water, and air once.
* A house where the grass stays green but never needs to be cut, where the paint will change to any color I desire, without using a brush, and the rooms would grow or shrink as I see fit.
* A wife that knows I am always right, that loves to watch sports on TV and that thinks shopping is a waste of time.
* Children that love to put things away, that leave home at 13 to college with a fully paid scholarship.
* A church building that never needs maintenance.
* A congregation that always agrees with me.
* Ice cream that tastes like it is from heaven but causes you to lose weight!
I bet your list would be exaggerated also. We all have wants; there is nothing wrong with having wants, however, there is a more important question… "Do our wants have us?”
We saw how David’s and Hezekiah’s mindset impacted their actions, now let’s endeavor to use those lessons in application to our life. If we control our thoughts we can control that fallen nature (Flesh) we have had since birth and that continues to battle for control after we have received a new nature created by the Holy Spirit when we entered into a relationship with our Lord.
Gal 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
All the will power in the world is useless if you cannot control “Self!” Believe me, I know from experience. When we become a child of God “Self” is given a new nature by God. This is where the battle lines are drawn. God does not “fix” the fallen nature we have. Instead, He places in us through the Holy Spirit a new nature that loves Him. The fallen nature remains, but cannot command us, yet we can yield to it. Understanding how this works is essential if we desire to empower our mindset to control which nature “Self” obeys.
In this devotional, we will identify the struggle, and in the following devotionals, we will look at Scriptural examples of how to live in the new nature.
In Rom 7 the battle is illustrated as Paul shares how these natures interact with who he is.
Romans 7:14–25…The trouble is with me, for I am all too human, a slave to sin. I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate…I am not the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it. And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t. I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. But if I do what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it. I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin.
No…Paul is not schizophrenic; in fact, he is one of the more balanced individuals that ever lived. We are human beings, with a nature that controls us, at salvation a new nature is created (regeneration). How we think will determine which nature is driving our life.
Romans 8:6–8 So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will. That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God.
Galatians 5:17 The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions.
The So What: Please take some time to meditate on this struggle. Do you do things you really do not want to do? How does that make you feel? Do you sometimes feel that you will never be able to control “Self” in your life? What do you believe is the “open door” that allows your “Flesh” to gain control?
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