Crucify the Flesh

Your flesh always wants to be in control and if you allow it to be, it will ruin your life.  

What happened when you woke up this morning?  One of the first things that came to your mind may have been, ‘I wish I could sleep longer I am so tired I don’t want to get up.’  Your mind may be telling you that you have responsibilities, but your flesh is saying I am too tired I think I will sleep awhile longer.  You have a choice; you can stay in bed longer and have to rush around much faster which will probably make you irritable and short with those around you, or you can choose not to give into the flesh and get up and save yourself and those around you less hassle.

The same thing happens at night, your flesh wants to stay up longer but your body is telling you it needs sleep.  You have a choice to let your flesh have its way or not to.  This happens in so many situations in your every day life that there is always a battle going on between you and your flesh, one that you need to win by taking control or you will reap the consequences.

I am saying this for no reason other than using it for an example but I am retired and I don’t have to get up early if I don’t want to.  Many times I could choose to sleep in until 9 o’clock or later if I want, and most every day my flesh rises up and tries to convince me to stay in bed, but I have to take control and resist my flesh, because for one thing I want to spend my early hours with the Lord, another reason is that my wife is still working and if she is willing to continue working because she isn’t retired yet I want to encourage her and tell her I love her and hug her before she leaves for work, and also I want to encourage others with my blog which I work on early when my mind seems to operate better.  When you get to be my age you have, what I think Pastor Piedmonte called, senior moments, ha, ha.

Think about the circumstances and situations you find yourselves in because you yield to the flesh.  Think about the reactions you have toward people that aren’t too kind to you or when you are in a hurry and someone is making you late.  Do you allow your flesh to dictate your responses to repay evil for evil or do you take control and respond with good for evil? We all have these struggles, we may call them bad days but most of the time we allow our flesh to dictate our response to whatever and we make it seem like a bad day.  Our attitude makes all the difference either we can say no to the flesh or yield our members to it, the choice is always ours.

This also happens in the spiritual realm so if we are Christians we need to do what the Word says in Galatians 5:16, “This I say then, walk in the Spirit and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.”  This is a list of fleshly desires:  neglecting God and others, impure thoughts, lust, hatred, fighting and jealousy, anger, trying to be first, complaining, criticizing, thinking you are always right, envy, murder, idolatry, spiritism, drunkenness and wild parties, cheating, adultery, homosexuality, greed, stealing, lying.  Before we were Christians (born–again) some of these things were a part of our lives.  But after our rebirth this is what it says about us in verses 24-26, “And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.  If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.  Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.”

Question: how are you doing controlling the flesh?  Are you still struggling with some of these things or some others I didn’t mention?  If you are, repent and ask the Lord to forgive you and to help you control your flesh. You will never be able to do this without the Lord’s help and this is His will for your life.  So do what you need to do and get control of your flesh and count yourself ‘dead’ to it and start walking in the Spirit and you will be an overcomer, praise the Lord.  God bless you and have a great day.