To be a student of Jesus and follow the leading of the Holy Spirit under the authority of the Father in Heaven requires us to tear off the flesh - and that, my friend, can be quite hard! What do you do when everything in you goes against God? How do you respond when He says “No!” but you want to do it anyway? Do not be angry! Do not lust! Forgive others even when they have broken your heart! Swallow your pride! Turn the other check. Do not worry about anything. Stop looking at the sin of another person and start paying attention to the log in your own eye! In verse 24 of Matthew 16, after telling his disciples that he must die, and cursing out Peter and casting him aside, Jesus said, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.” So you may be wondering, like I once did, “What in the world is Jesus talking about? “What does Jesus mean by “let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me?” Well, let me direct you to verses 16-26 in Galatians 5, where Paul talks to the people of Galatia about walking in the Spirit and tearing off the flesh. He said to them, “Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” You see, the flesh desires what it wants! The flesh desires the things that are in opposition to God. The flesh wants its own way and does not want to give in. The flesh desires to be like God - it wants to be superior over both God and men. The flesh does not like to be tested. The flesh does not want God to see the intent of it’s heart. The flesh prefers to hide behind deceit and pride, and shame and doubt. And the flesh prefers to point and blame instead of giving an account. The flesh looks a lot like the SELF. Self Gratification, Self Love Self Hatred, Self Concept The flesh is the SELF - a human being who is the object of its own reflective consciousness, instead of reflecting the image of Christ. Jesus said, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himSELF and take up “his” cross, and follow Me.” I ask you, What do you think Jesus means? What cross is He talking about? Perhaps we all have a cross to bear? I leave you with this - “Those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, or envying one another.” Galatians 5:24-26
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Archives
April 2022
|