Give up your flesh for God…
Sounds easy enough
We can do that
No problem
The flesh is what we see
It is what we know
The flesh is what we have been serving
And our bodies give us affirmations of concrete senses that we experience
Anyone who is in sin is serving their own flesh
All sin gratifies the flesh, at least for a time
Throughout the Bible there have been
characters who have struggled with the flesh
Kings and rulers as well as common folk
Choosing the flesh,
that is, what we want to do or think or feel,
is battling against the spirit of God
When Cain offered his offering to the Lord,
he chose what He wanted to give God instead of what God desired
And in process of time it came to pass,
that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord.
And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof.
And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering:
But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect.
And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. Genesis 4:3-5
He wanted what he chose to give to the Lord to be acceptable to Him
In contrast, God was happy with Abel’s offering
which was given in obedience to the Lord
Cain was so angry he killed his brother because of it
It didn’t help anything
The flesh never does
The only way to get ourselves free from the flesh is to do things God’s way
He gives us every possible method to do that in the Bible
but it still takes humility on our part
If we do not humble our flesh, our ways before the Lord,
there really is no hope for us in God’s kingdom
It doesn’t matter what else we say or do,
even if we profess to follow Jesus,
without that humility in our hearts that He is God and we are not,
that we are less than, and that our fleshly ways are insignificant,
we are not serving God, but ourselves
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom Proverbs 9:10a
Without wisdom, we are unable to understand God’s ways
At the very least, we must realize that God’s ways are higher than our ways
We must understand that Gods ways are always higher,
in every circumstance and in every situation:
For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways,
and my thoughts than your thoughts. Isaiah 55:8-9
Jesus spoke a harsh parable about the flesh
Very few will truly grasp its meaning or consider it
because it is the kind of scripture we like to pass by quickly
and not think about since the metaphor is uncomfortable
Gouging out our eyes and casting them away
The directive is stark
It is: Do not give the flesh any credence
Do not give it what it wants
Do not even go near so that the flesh may see what its missing
Keep yourself free from sin
You may be given even more understanding
as you read the following scripture
Jesus wants us to deny ourselves
and refuse to engage the flesh because it will draw you in, into sin
And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you.
It is better for you to enter into life with one eye,
rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire. Matthew 5:29
Keep your flesh in line, in line with the word of God
It is a constant battle: The Flesh against the Spirit
There are many times we will fail
Keep trying, don’t give up, seek His strength and wisdom and power
and do your best to fill your spirit with His Spirit and His word
For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes,
and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 1 John 2:16
Put aside the flesh, your way that you think is best
Do not push God aside because you value your ways
Accept His ways, the ones He clearly describes in His word
Deny yourself and follow Him
and great shall be your reward in this life and in the life to come