There are in every man, always, two simultaneous allegiances, one to God, the other to Satan. Invocation of God, or Spirituality, is a desire to climb higher; that of Satan, or animality, is delight in descent.
Charles Baudelaire (1821-1867, French poet)
Romans 13:13-14
Let us walk with decency, as in the daylight: not in carousing and drunkenness; not in sexual impurity and promiscuity; not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no plans to satisfy the fleshly desires. (HCSB)
Desire is a ruthless leader of men. James, the brother of Jesus, tells us in James 4:1-2a, “What is the source of the wars and the fights among you? Don’t they come from the cravings that are at war within you? You desire and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war.
As Christians we are to be led and controlled not by our desires, but by the Holy Spirit of God. It is a discipline that is present in the mature Christian, but lacking in the one who is pulled and pushed around by the changing and demanding power of earthly desires. The mature Christian has learned that the road of desire is endless, and fruitless.
Once the mature Christian has tasted the peace that comes from “putting on the Lord Jesus Christ,” his desire is to remain in Him. Interests and goals change, we become others oriented and not trapped in “self.” So to walk in decency is not to walk in the blind world of self, fulfilling our plans for us, but putting on Christ, loving others and leaving our future to Him…He has wonderful plans for us…God’s Blessings
Pastor William
Charles Baudelaire (1821-1867, French poet)
Romans 13:13-14
Let us walk with decency, as in the daylight: not in carousing and drunkenness; not in sexual impurity and promiscuity; not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no plans to satisfy the fleshly desires. (HCSB)
Desire is a ruthless leader of men. James, the brother of Jesus, tells us in James 4:1-2a, “What is the source of the wars and the fights among you? Don’t they come from the cravings that are at war within you? You desire and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war.
As Christians we are to be led and controlled not by our desires, but by the Holy Spirit of God. It is a discipline that is present in the mature Christian, but lacking in the one who is pulled and pushed around by the changing and demanding power of earthly desires. The mature Christian has learned that the road of desire is endless, and fruitless.
Once the mature Christian has tasted the peace that comes from “putting on the Lord Jesus Christ,” his desire is to remain in Him. Interests and goals change, we become others oriented and not trapped in “self.” So to walk in decency is not to walk in the blind world of self, fulfilling our plans for us, but putting on Christ, loving others and leaving our future to Him…He has wonderful plans for us…God’s Blessings
Pastor William
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