John 16:33
November 7, 2023
FEAST OF BLESSED JOHN DUNS SCOTUS – 8th NOVEMBER
November 8, 2023
THE 7th of NOVEMBER
FLESH VERSUS HOLY SPIRIT
I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. – Romans 7:21-23
What the apostle Paul has said in the above verses, is a valid general principle in anyone’s life, before learning to live by the Holy Spirit. For the depraved carnal nature, is not enough to have the desire to do good, because evil is its first choice, while doing good requires effort and determination. After becoming born in the Spirit, we are holy in our spirits or “inward man,” where we have “the mind of Christ,” but until we renew our physical minds through God’s Word we will be subject to lusts of the flesh.
In the “inward man” we love God’s commands and we totally want to obey His will. But the flesh is still weak and fights against the lordship of the Holy Spirit. If we try to do good based just on our own strength, we often fail. But when we understand as Paul did, that through Jesus Christ we are delivered from the law of sin and that we can ask the Holy Spirit to help us to choose right, we can do more and more good. The truth is, that there is no condemnation for those abiding in the Spirit of Christ.
SUGGESTED PRAYER: Thank You Jesus for delivering me from the law of sin and from the power of evil. By loving You more and focusing on the truth of Your Word, desiring to allow it to renew my mind and change me, the less I sin. Thank You Holy Spirit for the guidance You offer me step by step. You are my strength and my joy and the more I enter into Your presence, the better I can control the appetites and desires of my body and the more Your fruit of self control is manifesting in me. Thank You Lord for the law of the Spirit of life in Christ that has made me free from the law of sin and death. Glory and honor to Your holy Name, forevermore. Amen
Source: thetruthstandsforever
