Every single day, our flesh cries out like a carnivorous plant, "FEED ME!!"
And every single day, we have to make the decision to acquiesce and give in, or to die to it. For you see, when we say "I have needs....I deserve to be happy in this....I'm tired of not having what I want....I, I, I...", we are operating in self-ishness--plain and simple. None of that is Godly.
I made the decision to meditate on the following verseswhenever my flesh begins to stir up trouble:
Gal. 2:20--I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Luke 9:23--And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me."
Gal. 5:24--And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
1 Peter 4:1-2--Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God.
Indeed, God wants us to enjoy our lives! However, I believe that He wants us to enjoy it in accordance to His will, not according to our own lustful and selfish passions and desires. If you are making decisions in your life that center around you being fulfilled, you getting what you think you've always deserved, you having the life you've always wanted, you...you....you..., then those decisions need serious reconsideration.
Everything we do--EVERYTHING--should and must give glory to God. If having that man/woman is more important that glorifying God, do YOU. If sex is more important to you than staying pure for God and the man/woman that God really has for you, do YOU. If material things make you feel special instead of the riches and treasures of God, do YOU. If wallowing in mediocrity is your idea of the good life, do YOU.
Making the decision to walk fully with God instead of straddling the fence is very unpopular, especially among those who "profess" to be Christians. But then ask yourself this: Do I want to become popular among my peers whose passions and desires match mine? OR Do I want to deny myself those same passions and desires, and become the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus?
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