Scriptural Foundation:
Romans 3:21-23 New Living Translation (NLT)
But now God has shown us a way to be made right with Him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are. For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.
Mark 3:23-27 New Kings James Version(NKJV)
So He (Jesus) called them to Himself and said to them in parables: “How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself, and is divided, he cannot stand, but has an end. No one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. And then he will plunder his house.
Reflection:
The best part of the year is when my parents come to visit. Everyone in our household gets spoiled and blessed by their love and wisdom. Our dog, Sugatop, especially loves when my mother comes, because he is ensured a walk, not once, but twice a day! This past visit though, he started doing something unusual the second night into her visit…barking in the middle of night. For the sake of peace [red flag] we let him out of his crate. For the next few weeks, he was fancy free and living the crate free life.
All good things must come to an end. However, when it came time to go back to the steady state of the household the following week, Sugatop refused to be crated. Instead, He reverted to puppy-like behavior and literally started crying and barking all night long – night after night for a week after her departure. The easiest thing for us to have done was to rationalize the situation – “Should we crate him now that he is an older dog? – What kind of trouble could he get into? – He has caused no issues for the past few weeks.”
The truth is, like a puppy, our senior citizen dog still chewed up things left on the ground and occasionally had accidents when left alone for long periods of time…hence the crate. So, instead of continuing to rationalize the situation, we pressed forward with getting him to accept the crate life once again. Don’t get me wrong, it was like the brutal process of weening a pacifier from a child, but we got-er-done!
In my sleep deprived frustration this process made me think – wasn’t Sugatop’s brief new-found freedom similar to our fleshly nature? As saints, it is vital that we renew our minds daily to the teachings of the Word. Left to our own devices, we all fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). At one time or another, there are so many distractions in this life – good and bad – that encourages us to stay in our flesh. The funny thing is once you compromise in one area it effects other areas, until you look up and see that our spiritual house is out of order (Mark 3:27). Satan can’t disturb you unless you allow him in through your actions. Our spiritual man can only protect what the Lord has entrusted to us – as long as we don’t tie ourselves up with fleshly motivated distractions.
Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death. – James 1:13-15
Once our “house” gets out of order, the challenge then becomes getting our flesh back under our feet. Incremental management with the help of the Holy Spirit is a lot easier to control than trying to do it all at once alone in the flesh
Blind guides! You strain your water so you won’t accidentally swallow a gnat, but you swallow a camel! – Matthew 23:24
If we are going to have any success in our sanctification walk we must strive to keep our flesh under in all circumstances. If it is not a fruit of the Spirit, it has no place in your life. We can’t think an outburst with a loved one or a co-worker will not equate to an “unanswered” prayer in another area of your life. Every action has a reaction. Every seed sown produces after its own kind. The Lord loves us too much to give us blessings that we will just trample all over with our flesh. It may work for a short time, but in the long run, the Lord will eventually withhold His abundance for those who truly reverence Him.
Seeking Revelation:
Grab your notebook:
- Are there any areas of your life that you have allowed your flesh to be “free range”?
- Are there areas in your life you are having challenges in?
- If the answer was “no” to the first question, but “yes” to the second question, ask the Holy Spirit to help you identify your free range blind spots and get your flesh back under your feet in all areas of your life.