(Romans 8:5-8)
One of the most incredible challenges we have each day
in our Christian journey is what controls us. The ultimate goal of every
believer is to be controlled at all times by the Spirit of God, instead of
the spirit of this world. It is when we are controlled by the Lord, that we
are able to fulfill our purpose in life, enjoy the peace, joy, and abundance
of this life, and know God's richest blessings. When we allow ourselves to
be controlled by the things of this world, we distance ourselves from the
Lord. Whatever pleasure we enjoy is temporary, followed by much pain, and we
miss God's best for our life. What controls our lives becomes the ultimate
battle we fight each day. I say each day, because you choose daily what
will control you....God or this world.
The choice on what should control us is an obvious one. Making it happen is
not so easy to accomplish. Before we became Christians, it was never an
issue. There was no choice. We simply lived our life the way the world
lived. Our lives were totally controlled by the spirit of the world. Once
we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior, we are now confronted with a choice
each day...continue to live the way the world lives, the way we are used to
living, or live under the control of our new master, Jesus Christ. We must
learn how to let the Holy Spirit control us. It doesn't happen overnight,
but over a period of time. How do we do it? It starts with our daily
relationship with the Lord. Praying, reading the Word each day. We need to
be part of a local fellowship and find ways to serve the Lord. As this
becomes our daily life and focus, as we are more in touch with God
throughout the day, we get used to the Holy Spirit controlling our life as
opposed to the things of this world controlling us. We learn how to be
controlled by the Spirit of the living God.
The critical key becomes having our lives controlled by the Lord
consistently, day after day. Never get so comfortable that you aren't aware
that you have to work to maintain that intimate daily walk, since it is from
that daily walk with the Lord that we allow our lives to be controlled by
Him. When we stop praying each day, stop reading the Word each day, stop
going to church, and stop finding ways to serve God...that is when we become
open to having the things of this world take control of our lives. So
this becomes a daily challenge that we must take seriously, since it is when
we allow the world control, that we are capable of doing anything and everything
that is not pleasing to God.
You can count on my prayers today for you to really digest these
complicated words. It is this principle of allowing the Holy Spirit to
control your life each and every day, that allows us as Christians to make a
difference in this world. It is when we are being controlled by the Spirit
of God that God can work through us, giving us the power to do those things
necessary to advance His plan and touch the lives of people. It is when the
Holy Spirit is controlling us that we are fulfilling our purpose in serving
and glorifying God with our lives. I love you and care about you so much.
Reaching this plateau. getting to this level each day, is the absolute
ultimate in our Christian experience. There is no high from alcohol, drugs,
sex, power, achievement, anything, that can even come close to the
spiritual high when you are being totally controlled by the Holy Spirit. It
is the ultimate experience that should be the goal of every follower of
the Lord Jesus Christ. I pray today that this will be your daily goal, to
be controlled by the Spirit of God.
