⁵ Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. ⁶ The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. ⁷ The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. ⁸ Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God. Romans 8:5-8

This week, we have looked broadly at the topic of idolatry and the need to see God as our source of sustenance, resisting the natural urge to elevate the status of our intellect, possessions and other God-given things. Essentially, it boils down to the following: do we live our lives according to the flesh and it’s desires or do we live them according to the Spirit and what He desires. The former promises us things that appeal to our human and sinful nature, things that glitter. Things that make us look good and in fact better than others. What they don’t tell us is that those things pass away in the end and in the meantime ruin us whether we can see it or not. The Holy Spirit on the other hand promises us those things that run way deeper than the surface and those things that count for all eternity.

It’s easy to go with the flow and to live up to this world’s expectations, or in the very least, to pretend like you do. But we need to resist that temptation and the best way to do so is to be filled with the Holy Spirit. In Ephesians 5:18, this comes to us as a command: “…be filled with the Spirit…”. This means that being filled with the Spirit is something that we have a measure of control over. We can pursue God and we can ask Him to fill us with his Holy Spirit. In Luke 11:1-11, Jesus assures us that our Father is eager to give us his Spirit and will not deny those who ask. So what are you waiting for? Ask the Father to fill you with his Holy Spirit because the only life that’s worth living is a spirit-filled life!

Comments

comments