-Gen. Jim ~ POW-86322 — 12/15/19
“But if the Spirit of Him who raises Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raises Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies thru His Spirit who dwells in you.” -Rom. 8:11
Let’s break this down: Acts 2:24 says, “whom God raised up, having loosed (lit., abolished) the pains of death, because it was not possible that He (Jesus) should be held by it.” – (see Ps. 16:8-11). Paul wrote, “And God both raised up the Lord (Jesus) and will also raise us up by His power” -1 Cor. 6:14 (see also 2 Cor. 4:14/Eph. 1:19).
I said all this to say, although we have “the (Holy) Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead,” we still have to fight the good fight of faith – we do this using God’s Spirit. The Spirit does not work alone, but with our cooperation.
My main text is Ps. 141:4: “Do not incline my heart to any evil thing, to practice wicked works with men who work iniquity…” NKJV. I prefer the NIV: “Do not let my heart be drawn to what is evil.”
In prison drugs is “the thing.” I’m always being offered them, which I always refuse. But I could justify drug usage –like many do- by claiming they help me thru the days or nights. Or, I could get caught up in the “porn thing,” naked women (photos) being sold or passed around. I could justify it by saying I’ve been without my wife for 28 months; a little peek won’t hurt. But I have to exercise restraint, with the help of the Spirit of God. If not careful we find ourselves on a slippery slope. I’m reminded of Prov. 23:6, where it says, “Do not eat… nor desire delicacies;” verse 7 says, “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.” We’ve got to guard our eyes, ears, minds, and hearts ALL THE TIME!
In Matt. 6:13 Jesus prays, “…and do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” Peter wrote: “the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptation…” -2 Pet. 2:9
Again, Jesus prays, “I do not pray that you should take them (the disciples/us) out of the world, but that you should keep them from the evil one” -Jn. 17:15
Temptations are oh, so subtle. This is WHY the Word tells us to be and remain sober minded, on alert always. How many have lost their souls because they did not remain vigilant? Vigilance is a MUST in this Christian walk/warfare. Pray always that the Spirit helps us from straying, from slipping, from sinning.