Distractions

Life is filled with so many distractions; although we know part of the theory on how we ort to walk in the Spirit, which keeps our eyes fixed on the goal, there will always be something that looks to justifiably distract. I believe this is why the Word of God doesn’t go into “physco-babble” when it comes to walking in the light as opposed to succumbing to the traps of darkness! Formulas are not learnt and then applied to arrive at the correct result. The orators of scripture very seldom go into details concerning the “how-to”. That is a technique of the flesh, be weary of it. Christians will need to learn to trust God as we learn to walk by faith!

The Bible is full of instructions, it is true and full of light and we need to heed the full council of the scriptures. It reveals the character of God. Easier said than done if we walk in the flesh, but doable when we walk in the Spirit! There is no darkness in the Spirit of God, just as there is no light in the flesh! Can this statement be proved? This is our problem; we see our tainted flesh as good! Even after salvation, this thought continually haunts us all. As soon as we put trust in anything besides the Lord Jesus we have failed! This reality really rocks our independence.

Let me ask a question; who needed to free us from the separation of God? The Lord Jesus! He alone accomplished that amazing act of love, reconciling sinners back to God. Those who were once enemies of the cross are now God’s allies. Light was sent from heaven to the earth, born through the womb of a virgin and there the Lord subjected himself to the will of his Father, laying down his eternal authority, exposing himself to the laws of the flesh; he ate, he grew and he lived without ever yielding to sin. Light shattering the shackles of darkness! Hence this statement; “Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”” (John 14:6)

We are taught; “in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.” (Romans 8:4-9)

Therefore when true Christianity begins, when we are born again, something miraculous happens. We receive the Spirit of God; He takes up residence in us. This is what differentiates the Christian from the unbeliever. Unless the Spirit of God dwells in you, even if you claim to be a Christian you do not belong to God, period!

Light and darkness does not share the same cosmos. It can’t! And yet we find a continuous war within our souls, at times we see the light so brilliantly it is almost blinding and then at times we feel so alone and afraid as darkness lures us into its trap and ensnares us; times when personal sin is easily understood by the believer; these are the stints when walking in the flesh are highlighted and easily understood as works of the flesh. But what of the epochs when we believe what we are doing is walking in the light when in fact we are walking in darkness. It is these subtleties that we must guard against. We have been given clear instructions not to walk in the flesh, which would imply that it can become our reality, it is feasible! The confrontation then rages on; there is a difference between the ally and the enemy, my concern is when we as Christians see the enemy as our partner. In other words; when we see the works of the flesh as a helper who gets us to walk in the Spirit, we have been hoodwinked.

The only time our judgments become clouded is when we forget to put God first! Independence is an enemy and not our friend. May this certainty become our actuality! “If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.” (1John 1:6-7) – If we see blatant sin in our lives or in the lives of others, it is easy to acknowledge the darkness of it. However if we look to justify our self-worth as an add-on we still walk in darkness. Let us not be fooled by the trickery of the evil one when it comes to this. Our total dependency must start and end with the finished work of Calvary; just as we trusted our God for salvation, so too must we trust Him to get us home as we learn not to rely on our own independence. These are very murky waters and it may well be time for chlorination.

Let us remember our first love, the Lord Jesus and let us begin to do the first works, like we did when newly saved and it will be well with our souls! Forget what you think you know, but like newborn babes desire the sincere milk of the Word that we may grow by it and peradventure our great God will have compassion upon our unbelief as He shows us the error of our ways. We need only approach His throne in a spirit of humility and belief that He will supply all our needs to these areas of our lives and it shall be done, praise His name now and forever more, Amen and Amen!

God first from the rising of the sun to the rising of the same, one day at a time!

Signing off

Tyrone