Thursday, September 17th
Romans 6:16-19
16 Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness?
17 But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed,
18 and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.
19 I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, resulting in further lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification.
2 Corinthians 10:3-5
3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh,
4 for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.
5 We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ,
Like a physical prison that’s built brick by brick, a spiritual prison is erected one sin at a time. Ensnarement happens slowly, beginning with a thought. Over time, contemplation can turn into action.
But we can avoid spiritual chains. Our first step is to acknowledge two basic truths: All sin enslaves, and it begins in the mind. We cannot maintain a healthy relationship with the Lord while deliberately indulging in sin. When a wrong thought creeps into our consciousness, we have the choice to either expel or entertain it (2 Corinthians 10:3-5). Through the strength of the Holy Spirit, every believer possesses power to change his or her mind.
A long-term view of disobedient behavior is a strong antidote to temptation. Obeying the Lord will always bring more joy, fulfillment, and purpose than choosing our own way (Psalms 119:1-2). A second step, then, is to ask ourselves, Is the pleasure of this sin worth the consequences? Inevitably, the answer is no.
Third, we order our life according to Scripture. That is, we make the choice to surrender to the Father because we find true freedom in Him.
Ask God to speak to you through His Word today, and see what He reveals about your life.
God please help me to avoid any spiritual chains and to keep my focus on you, that when I tend to drift away into sin I can turn back to you.