Last week we learned that we should
not quench the workings of the Spirit. We should not hinder Him to
move mightily in our lives. We should grow in our knowledge of God
and allow Him to move mightily through us. He wants to. He is full
of life, in fact He gives life as we see in 2 Corinthians 3:6.
Without Him we are as good as dead, with no hope and no future. We
need Him, more than we realise. He is full of life and miraculous
power; let us have a look at a couple of Scriptures:
"He, Who supplies the Spirit to
you, works miracles among you." Galatians 3:5
"It is the Spirit Who gives
life; the flesh profits nothing." John 6:63
"But if the Spirit of Him Who
raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He Who raised Christ from
the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His
Spirit Who dwells in you." Romans 8:11
The life-giving, miracle working
Spirit lives within us. Isn't that just wonderful to know? And
notice in Romans 8:11, His Spirit gives life to our mortal
bodies, not our bodies one day, but the bodies that we have here
and now. He gives life to us. His life flows in torrents in our
veins and makes us truly alive! Then why do we feel so tired and
run down? Why do we feel as if the opposite is true? The Bible
tells us the reason for that as well:
"For to be carnally minded is
death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace." Romans
8:6
Now to be 'carnally minded' is to
be more persuaded by what this world tells you than what God's
Spirit tells you. You believe what your five senses tell you
instead of believing what His Spirit tells you. And the Bible
clearly tells us that this results in death. Death here is the
Greek Word 'Thanatos', which can be translated as 'death comprises
all the miseries resulting from sin'. Notice, all the
miseries resulting from sin. Therefore it is not only physical
death, but also the misery of a broken marriage, the misery of
stress, the misery of alcoholism, the misery of losing friends due
to gossiping, the misery of rushing and achieving little, the
misery of illness due to stress etcetera. If you are carnally
minded you will feel run down, tired, lacking joy and fulfilment
and be stressed out. And yes, a Christian can be carnally minded.
Unfortunately most are...
But on the other hand, if you are
spiritually minded, if you believe what the Word tells you, then
you have life and peace. 'Life' in Greek means 'Zoe', 'a happy life
active and vigorous, devoted to God, with every kind of blessing,
the portion even in this world of those who put their trust in
Christ, but after the resurrection to be consummated by new
accessions (among them a more perfect body), and to last forever'.
Isn't that good news? If we are spiritually minded we will have
life here on earth, and not only life, a happy life with every kind
of blessing. And we will have peace. That is good news; that is
news worth sharing with unbelievers.
And therefore we are back again to
what goes on in our thought life. It is vitally important that our
thought life be focused on Him and on His Word and that we give His
Spirit free reign within us to move as He pleases. True success is
found in thinking like He thinks. And it is possible; the Word
tells us that in several places, amongst others 1 Corinthians 2:16
that tell us that we have the mind of Christ.
Change your thoughts and allow His
Spirit to give you life. You will be so glad that you did. Life,
peace and joy will be your constant companions. Rejoice, the
Kingdom of God has come and the King lives within you. He is your
compass, your GPS. Follow Him and you will never get lost.
Thank you Father for the life that
You came to give us. Help us to focus our minds rather on You than
on the carnal. Being carnally minded brings only death to us and we
know that is not what You want for us. We want to focus on You and
You alone. You are our God and King. Amen