That Old Nature

The old nature – that sin nature – has been crucified and put to death if so be that we have been born again, filled with the Spirit of God, ourselves buried together in baptism with Christ and raised to walk in newness of life. Newness of life! Old things have passed away; we are new creatures with a new nature. That old nature is dead! Sin is therefore no longer operating with dominion over us. It is only able to operate through the lusts of the flesh—our bodily members, which we continually war against. This flesh is born of corruption, but we being born-again by the Word of God are now born of an incorruptible seed—a seed that cannot be corrupted.

Do not believe the lie that there is a nature inside of you that must sin because it’s how we were born. We are BORN AGAIN – anew, brand new, by the blood of the Lamb, set free from sin and all the wages thereof! We should not be fooled that we are under the authority of a sin nature. No! The enemy—the god of this world, the powers of darkness—will have you to believe that. They will lie to you and try to enforce a FALSE authority over you and your life, only to draw you away into temptation.

The Truth stands and will destroy every lie of the wicked one. We are new creatures, no longer slaves to sin. If we sin it is because we allow our flesh to be drawn away by the lusts thereof. We must daily mortify the deeds of this body and expose the lies of the enemy to walk in the reality of who we are in Christ Jesus. Sons of God, heirs and joint-heirs with Christ Jesus, kings and priests unto God, awaiting that blessed day when this body of corruption will be done away and we will forever be with our Lord.

“Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” (2 Pet 1:2-4)

God's Best, Satan's Worst

A lot of you may have heard this saying before, but I heard it for the first time the other day and I can’t stop thinking about it:

You’re not going to get God’s best without first getting through the enemy’s worst.

This is a constant reminder of the spiritual battle that we face every single day! The more I strive to draw closer to the Lord, the more I am reminded of how much the enemy hates me, yes HATES, and wants nothing more than to see me suffer destruction by his own hands. We know this because his pride caused his own downfall. Well, I’ve made up my mind that I’m not having it. My God, the Spirit of glory that lives and breathes in me, is bigger, greater, stronger, and more wise than any enemy I may face (even myself at times!).

Satan is always roaming about seeking whom he may devour. If it weren’t so, God would not have told us. Don’t forget this! In your churches, in your Bible studies, in your homes and in your friendships—Satan wants to divide and conquer. That is his only plan for the children of God. He wants to create discord, doubt and division. Do not entertain the flesh when the devil plants these seeds and do not give place to the enemy. The moment you speak in tune with the doubt and discord, envy or strife the enemy has planted, you have given him place. Turn instead to the words of Christ to love your enemy (as your enemies will be that of your own household at times), bless those that curse you (even in your thoughts), and pray for those that despitefully use you. Rebuke that seed of bitterness or confusion the enemy wants to grow in you. Most importantly, when you see someone overtaken in a fault, restore him with MEEKNESS. Not pride!

Take back what the enemy has stolen and continually tries to steal—our unity in Christ. We all love, we all anger, we all fall, we all soar, and we all live this life in this flesh. When our eyes are stuck on each other, they are not on the Lord and they are not seeing souls come to the cross. Let us live in Christ, always endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.