Daily Bread 8-26-16
Romans 8:11
11 But if the spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelt in you.
ref. - Ro 6:4,5 - 4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism unto death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we should walk in newness of life.
5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection.
The old man is dead! We have been born again! We say it and we need to believe it. If God held enough power in his right hand to raise Christ from the dead, and Christ promised us the same "new life" through forgiveness of sins and a salvation that would carry us until the end, we have been given the greatest gift that mankind has ever received. A second chance on an existence that, from the beginning of our lives, was introduced to sin and raised up in a world that is filled with false wisdom, false hope, and false dreams. God, through his Son and his Holy Spirit, has offered us a way to be born again. Not only in Spirit but in the flesh as well. It is being falsely taught that the flesh is some overpowering force that we can never control nor will never control. But the word of God tells us that not only will our minds and hearts be born again but that he will bring back to life our moral bodies as well through that sweet Holy Spirit! When we are forgiven of sin we are purged of all filth of the flesh and filth of the spirit. That which is impure is cast out of us by the almighty God in Jesus Christ. If we believe that he can change a part of us that no man could ever change, then why do we not believe that he can change the way our bodies function as well? You see, if our souls have been filled with the Holy Spirit we will be thinking differently. If we think differently, we will be sending different signals from our brains to our members and they will act accordingly to our thinking. This is why it is necessary to have a sound salvation, a true transformation in our hearts and souls first before anything on the outside can permanently be changed. For someone to tell us we "do or don't" have the Holy Spirit is not necessary. Especially coming from those who do not possess the Spirit themselves. But what is necessary is that we believe in the power of what God has put in us and that by our own actions(fruit) we will be known. We must believe that this Spirit can and will overcome all of our past transgressions of the flesh. We must believe that if our hearts and minds have been transformed then our bodies will be transformed as well. Used to need alcohol to function? Need it no more!! Used to need tobacco? Need it no more!! Used to need illicit sex? Need it no more!! Homosexuality? Need it no more!! You a thief? Need it no more!! Like to fight? Need it no more!! Anything that you thought brought you pleasure and that you couldn't live without that is spoken against in the teachings of Christ can be overcome through being born again. The answer to all of your questions and needs lies in Jesus Christ! If you believe this then go to your knees and lift up the name of God through his Son Jesus Christ!! Allow him to have his way in your life and live not only in newness of the spiritual life but in the carnal as well!! He is this powerful and so are you in His name!! The name of Jesus Christ!!! Have a great day!!!