Thursday, July 3, 2008

Dying to your flesh will stink

I love how Peter talks about in the Bible that he dies daily. Everyday we are faced with temptations and things that come our way. Christianity is a choice. It is not mandatory that we serve God nor how we serve God. Everyone serves Him to a different degree from not at all to entirely. When we choose to start walking with God there is a sacrifice that has to happen I believe if we want to see God's fullness in our life. We have to be like Peter and die daily to what the flesh wants in our life. This is something weather you have served God for 20 years of one you will still encounter what your flesh wants daily and have to make a choice.

For some reason Christians got it in their head that serving God was going to be so easy. The hard thing is that it isn't. There are daily struggles. When you live in the world you are constantly coming against opposition because you are going against God's will. When you choose to serve God you have every devil in hell fighting you. The good news is that we know the end of the story and we win. We have Jesus' strength to get us through any obstacle that may come our way if we look to Him and not to our way of doing things.

You think about Abraham. God called him in Genesis 12 and God just told him simply to go. Leave everything that he had ever known and God would tell him what to do from there. That would be so hard. Can you imagine what his wife said when he came in and said we are supposed to move I don't know why, but I just know that we need to go. That is one submissive wife. I love my home and being close to family. That would be so hard to just load up everything and just go. You have to know that you know that you know that you will hear God's voice.

This is how your christian life is. When you get saved Jesus has one request, "JUST FOLLOW ME". That means leave everything that you ever thought aside and follow Him and Him a lone. I love the scripture that says "I put my hands to the plow not looking to the right or the left I set out to do the work the Lord has given me". This is so good to me. When we start just looking at what and where God has us going we will be happy. You will be full filled. You will get to your destiny. When you are keeping in God's word your flesh will die daily. Then you will be a christian that makes an impact on the world. Why do I know that? Because the word says so in Genesis 12:2 It says that He will make you famous that He will bless you and curse those who curse you. With a word like that how can you not put down the life that you have lived. You have the promise of God's word behind you. That is better than any insurance you can ever buy!

I will tell you this. I was talking to a friend on the phone this week and we were talking about how nothing in this life happens with out a sacrifice first. God has a blessing He is waiting to give you, but He is waiting on your move first. Abraham was blessed. He had to make the move first. Jesus' disciples were blessed, but they had to follow Him. It doesn't come at no effort on our part. I believe Jesus is watching to see what we are willing to give up to receive our blessing. So girls it is time to let go and start to receive your blessing!

What am I going to have to let go of you may be asking? Bad friends, music that you wouldn't listen to with Jesus in the car, potty mouth, bad movies, sleeping in till 1 p.m. on Sunday mornings, getting drunk, etc. None of these things are bad things, but at first they are hard. Honestly I have come to a place that it is just such a way of life for me that I think others are weird when the don't do those things. The dying takes place when you say "Ok so my social calendar is going to stink. I will not be the life of the party anymore." But you have to learn this: Life isn't about how full your social calendar is it is about how full your spirit is and if you are pouring that out onto other people.
its time to let go..

I encourage you to start living for God in a total new way today. Die to what you have known. Seek God and His ways and He will direct your paths! I want the church to rise up and start being the church that God has called us to be one moving with power! This will only happen when we die to what we want and give it to God!

1 comment:

layla_jones@hotmail.com said...

I found this today through searching 'dieing to the flesh' as someone mentioned it to me yesterday. With the things that im struggling with at the moment and the work that God is doing in my life now, this message from you means so much to me, so i just want to say a MASSIVE thankyou.x
From Layla (Wales, UK)