“This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it” (Ps 118:24). Like the psalmist proclaiming praise to the Lord for our very lives, we rejoice because the godly can enter the very presence of divine Love and receive mercy and salvation to live in his victory (Ps 118:20-25). As we read our devotional, today, let us be mindful we have been given life and the choice of the will. Will we rejoice and be glad?
In our passage today, the Apostle Paul reminds us people typically fall into one of two categories: 1) Those who live by selfish flesh [foolish] or, 2) those who live by the Spirit of God who is Love [Wisdom]. The flesh [sinful nature led by lies/deception] and the Holy Spirit [godly nature led by Truth] are at war all the time, so a choice to love God and others must be made by the will.
Jesus has made a way out of this spiritual battle, so the command of God is to choose wisely and live in the Truth. Keep in mind Truth is a person—Jesus. He came that we might have life more abundantly and to be our peace in the midst of the struggle we may face in our flesh (Jo 10:10). Jesus has already fought the spiritual battle and we must now keep walking in the character of our loving Christ—the Supreme Victor!
The Apostle Paul reminds us when we belong to Christ [made him Lord/Center of life] and allow the Spirit to liberate us from sin [unbelief/rebellion against God], we face NO condemnation [punishment for breaking God’s law], because we are listening to and seeking to obey the Voice of the Lord. If there is no condemnation from God, we cannot allow the enemy power to condemn us either. Our minds must stay fixed on the Truth. Believers no longer follow the selfish demands of the sinful nature, because our greatest allegiance is to follow the Truth.
The battle will always be fought in the mind; therefore, we must allow Truth to renew our minds and get us ready for the victory Jesus wants to bring those who belong to him and are led by the Spirit. So, live in the peace of Christ, today, and rejoice because you please God!
Romans 8:1-11NLT Life in the Spirit
1 So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. 2 And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death. 3 The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. 4 He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit.
5 Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. 6 So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. 7 For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will. 8 That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God.
9 But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.) 10 And Christ lives within you, so even though your body will die because of sin, the Spirit gives you life because you have been made right with God. 11 The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.
Prayer: Lord, because we belong to you, we thank you for the victory that is ours today in Christ Jesus. We will seek to walk with the Spirit of Truth, seek to lay hold of your strength despite our personal weaknesses, and seek to take spiritual authority in the power of divine Love everywhere you lead us, today. By the choice of the will, we will rejoice and be glad in it. In Jesus’ name.