I may not see in front of me, But I can see for miles around when I look over my shoulder, and Lord, it`s clear. You`ve brought me here, So faithful every step of the way. What can I do but follow you, For You are the Way, the Truth, the Life, And You`ve promised never to leave me, My Savior, my friend, From beginning to end.
I Am Found In You
by
Steven Curtis Chapman
But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts. Romans 13:14 NKJV
Today we look at the second phrase in this powerful, life-changing verse: "and make no provision for the flesh". Your flesh is the old habits and ways you have developed over your life to meet your God-given needs for love and acceptance. The flesh is all you are and do apart from fully relying on God to meet those needs.
When you became a Christian, the Bible says that you became a new creation, and yet, a lot of you stayed the same. You continued to sin, didn't you? So, what changed? Your spirit changed, but your body and soul remained virtually the same. The difference now is that the Holy Spirit dwells within your spirit, giving you the power to overcome temptation. You can tell the devil to leave you alone. You can deny yourself the practice of sin.
This verse tells you not to make any "provision for the flesh". Elsewhere the Bible tells us not to "give the devil a foothold". The key is to keep your heart and mind on Jesus. When you are fully surrendered to Christ, in your heart and mind, temptation will have no power in your life. You will be able to reject sin.
I know this sounds almost impossible, but guess what? God is able to do immeasurably more than we can imagine. He is able to do the impossible. That's why we must learn to abide in Christ. Christ willfully chose not to sin and that's why we must have the mind of Christ (Phil 2:5).
When a bad thought comes into your mind, seize it before it multiplies and surrender it to Christ. Recognize thoughts that don't honor Christ and change thoughts. Think on those things, as the Bible says, that are "excellent and praise-worthy". Second Corinthians 10:5 says to "take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ."
I'm not saying any of this is easy, but it should be our goal as a Christian not to make provision for those things which keep us from being just like Jesus. (Don't misunderstand, I'm not there yet either!)
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All materials © 2008 Richard G. Schlief.
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