Daily Devotional

Word of the Day

Do What It Takes

Colossians 3:5 says you're to mortify your members which are upon the earth. What are you doing to make provision to kill your natural affections? Galatians 5 says it this way: "Walk in the Spirit, and [you will] not fulfil the lust of the flesh." This tells me that if my members are not being mortified, if I'm not crucifying self, then the flesh will habitually manifest itself. Do you want to be free? What provision have you made to be free? You've made a lot of provision to satisfy your lusts. Some of us have gone to years of school to satisfy our lust, to train ourselves, to excel in the world. Some of us spent hours studying, disciplining ourselves. What are you boasting in? What are you putting your hope in? You're going to do what it takes to get whatever you want or desire.

We're different. Physically we're all different. You have small people that want to be big, and you have big people that want to be small. Natural man isn't happy where he's at. There are times I can remember when I was working out and hurt myself to where it would bring tears to my eyes! In that last rep I'd be screaming in pain, walking around holding myself, and saying, "Why?!" For 21-inch arms. How much do you want to be like Jesus? Paul said, "I press toward the mark, the prize, the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." How much does it mean to you? Are you choosing to be more temperate? Are you choosing to be more forgiving? Are you choosing to be less vain? How badly do you want it? That's what it's all about, beloved. We've been given everything that pertains to life and godliness. You have been given through the finished work of Jesus Christ everything genetically necessary to be like Him! What are you doing with your genetics? What are you doing with the ability to be like Jesus? Are you mortifying your members?

We talk so much about putting off the old man, disciplining, abstaining, and fasting; and those things are all vital. Colossians 3:9 says, "Put off the old man with his deeds." This is the old man that verse 5 talks about in mortifying your members: fornication, inordinate affection, covetousness, which is idolatry. Kill those things! Make no provision for the flesh! Put off all of these: anger, malice (verse 8). Put off the old man (verse 9).

But then you've got to do something else: "put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him" (verse 10). "Put on...as the elect of God...mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, forbearing one another, and forgiving one another..." (verses 12- 13). Put it on; choose it; desire it. Look for the opportunities to do what's natural for those that are alive in the Spirit. Spiritually exercise to the point that it hurts the natural man, where that nature is so habitually, systematically denied that even though the twinge is there, no place is given for it to express itself in your life. Your tongue is disciplined, your heart is guarded, your mind is renewed because you have habitually crucified and mortified these members that used to dominate you. You're free because you're now abiding in Him. Do you have the image of Jesus working in you to a greater degree than it ever has, far more than yesterday? Where your treasure is, that's where your heart is.

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