Is You Is or Is You Ain't

From my study window this morning I see a a beautiful sky and I can already feel that it's going to be a great day! I know that the temperature has risen and that the inescapable cold has at least temporarily abated. The Spirit has stirred my heart already this morning and God was waiting for me to crawl out of the bed for our appointment.

As I made my way to the study verse for today I knew that, as usual, God had something prepared for me just as he has something prepared for countless others who are meeting with Him today according to their own schedules. I am eager to start my day in God's Word.

The verse today is

Romans 8:5 (NIV)
⁵ Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.

The Holy Bible : New International Version. electronic ed. Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1996, c1984

In my past life, not a previous life but rather the life I 'lived' without God, I was constantly consumed by thoughts, plans and goals that were centered on the world. The thing I wanted most was financial prosperity. Heaped up against this consuming desire were other more fleshy, more hedonistic desires. Every fiber of my being was straining towards selfish goals with little or no thought about anyone else unless it suited my own desires. My decisions were guided by my own faulty sense of right and wrong and my chief counselor was the fallen angel Lucifer or more likely some lesser demon. I willingly lived according to my sinful nature and my mind was consumed by thoughts that were dishonorable, twisted, abhorrent, disgusting and vile. That is the nature of my nature. In itself there is nothing honorable, good, appealing or redeeming.

I am thankful to God that I was so inept at being bad for had I been successful, I would likely have never come to the point of brokenness where I could accept the love of God! The very things that I desired drove me to a point of despair that was so dark and so threatening that I had to open my eyes to the reality of God. It really was as though I had been blind and now could see.

In retrospect I understand that it wasn't that I was blind it was that I was singularly focused on the object of my affection. So focused in fact that I was unable or unwilling to see anything that did not support my paradigm of life.

But enough of that for it has now passed! As my eyes were opened to God, they were shuttered to those things which I once held dear. As my mind absorbed the truth of God's word and love and justice and mercy and grace, the things of the world were squeezed out.

I believe it is that way for all believers who will trust God and let go of their old habits and desires. In Romans we are admonished to "no longer conform to the patterns of this world but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds." That's all I'm trying to describe with my abundance of words. God sends his spirit to renew our minds. The product of a renewed mind is a changed life.

Where once was a life of selfishness, now appears of life of selflessness. Where once was a life of pursuing financial gain, now comes the pursuit of God's will. Where once was a life of hedonistic pleasure, a life of Godly joy. For every ugly thing that is cast away God replaces it with something beautiful and bigger.

It is a profound mystery to me as to why God would do this. Certainly it is nothing I deserve nor have I earned it. It is an act of love on His part that is beyond my comprehension. And yet I think about it and try to understand it that I may someday manifest such love into the lives of those around me.

This passage today is true even if you jumble it up. Those who dwell on their sinful desires will live a life according to their sinful nature. Those who dwell on what God desires according to the stirrings of the Holy Spirit will live a life according to God's spirit. If you treasure yourself, you will live for your self. If you treasure God, you will live for God. Your actions follow your heart and your mind.

On the other hand, as this verse states, your actions can lead your heart and your mind out of the grave and into the light. I'm not talking about good works, I'm talking about intentionally replacing your bad habits with godly habits. I'm talking about making a conscious decision to step from the darkness into the light. As soon as you do that, your heart and mind will respond and the vicious cycle will be transformed into a virtuous cycle.

So with respect to your life today; is you is or is you ain't living according to the Spirit?

Peace,

Carl