The Last Call Devotions Network
March 15 Now the mind of the flesh [which is sense and reason without the Holy Spirit] is death [death that comprises all the miseries arising from sin, both here and hereafter]. But the mind of the [Holy] Spirit is life and [soul] peace [both now and forever]. [That is] because the mind of the flesh [with its carnal thoughts and purposes] is hostile to God, for it does not submit itself to God’s Law; indeed it cannot. So then those who are living the life of the flesh [catering to the appetites and impulses of their carnal nature] cannot please or satisfy God, or be acceptable to Him. But you are not living the life of the flesh, you are living the life of the Spirit, if the [Holy] Spirit of God [really] dwells wihin you [directs and controls you]. —Romans 8:6-9A God’s Word makes it clear. If you follow the carnal mind—the natural, unregenerated mind—it leads to death. But if you are spiritually minded, which means the Spirit of God lives in you and you heed what He tells you to do, you are alive and you walk with God. The choice is yours. You can travel down the river of least resistance and let the undertow pull you wherever it wants. Or you can choose to go with God’s flow. We call that walking in the Spirit, or living the mind of Christ. I have several suggestions for teaching you how to flow in the mind of Christ. The first is to develop positive thoughts. For many people, that doesn’t happen naturally. It’s easy for your mind to sink to the lowest level and think the worst of people. Instead, you can train yourself to think positively. “Do two walk together except they make an appointment and have agreed?” asks Amos 3:3. If you walk with Christ, you can think Christ-like thoughts. You can see the good in others and lift them up. Think of Jesus, who was betrayed by His disciple Judas, was lied about by the priests, and was denied by Peter—yet He never turned negative or bitter. He was always the One who said to people, “Go on your way and from now on sin no more” (John 8:11). In the midst of those voices that cried out, “Crucify him,” He prayed, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34a). Because the mind of Christ is positive, whenever your thoughts turn negative, you can be sure you are not going with God’s flow. You’re not operating by God’s power or His Spirit. Think of it this way: God wants to lift you up and help you focus upward toward the heavens; the devil wants to press you down so you’ll focus downward toward the earth. A second thing you can do is to remind yourself that you are loved. Jesus loved you so much that He died for you—for you. “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is (springs) from God; and he who loves [his fellowmen] is begotten (born) of God and is coming [progressively] to know and understand God [to perceive and recognize and get a better and clearer knowledge of Him]. . . . In this is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us” (1 John 4:7, 10). Sometimes you may need to say to yourself, I am loved. God loves me because He created me. There is an old saying: “God never created any junk,” and that means that everything He created was good—including you. If you focus your thoughts on God’s love, you will never go astray. When I first began Joyce Meyer Ministries, God told me to teach the people that He loves them. Too often, we miss this obvious message in the Bible. We look at our imperfections and ask, “How could God possibly love me?” God looks at each of us through eyes of pure love and asks, “How could I not love you? You are mine.” No matter how often you have failed or how weak you are, God holds out to you the wonderful assurance in the words of Paul: “For I am persuaded beyond doubt (am sure) that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nor things impending and threatening nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38–39). That’s the message: Nothing can separate you from God’s love. The more you meditate on God’s love for you, the more easily you will flow in His love. Pray this... God, I want to walk as close to You as I possibly can. Help me keep my mind on healthy, positive things. Remind me that I am loved—totally and completely loved—by You, and help me to go with Your flow. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen. |
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