When the temperatures dip down into the below zero degrees range it can be difficult to see the benefit of leaving the house. And this winter, we here in southeast Idaho have seen quite a few days of those cold temperatures. Yet, when the sun comes up there are few days where the sky is more blue than on a crisp clear morning.
If it were up to me, leaving the house when the temperatures are as cold as they are today (5 degrees below zero) would be optional. Working from home would be acceptable for all. I do not want anyone to have to go out into the cold, risk frostbite, just to earn a living. As simple as that sounds it is also a good analogy for the flesh being weak. All too often we of the flesh do not want to do something because it can be inconvenient or uncomfortable. Conversely, we also chose to do something that feels good at the time, but is wrong. In a nutshell, the flesh is weak. If we stay in that mind set we have no opportunity to correct ourselves and we close the door on the Spirit will can change us. The reality is someone has to go out into the cold if any of us are to continue to live. Food has to be delivered to the stores, electricity has to be generated, gasoline has to be dispensed, newspapers delivered, and so on and so forth. There are things that have to be done regardless of the temperatures or weather conditions outside. When we set our minds on the Holy Spirit and open our hearts to the change that can be made in each of us, the possibilities are endless. The desire to stay in-the-flesh can be strong. Sin has a tight grip on each of us. We are sinful by our very nature and that can be difficult to overcome and by ourselves we are lost. The Apostle Paul reminds us in Romans 8 of the need to rethink our lives for in the flesh is sin and in sin is death. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.
We who are truly lost and dead in sin are saved by the grace and mercy of our Father. His own Son paid that price by overcoming the weakness of the flesh. When we set our minds on, and live according to the Spirit we are one with Christ. We who were dead in sin have been given a new life in Jesus Christ. Let us all remember to set our minds on things of the Spirit today and everyday in our lives.
PRAYER: Almighty God, Your Son paid the horrible price for us on the cross. His sacrifice, in our stead, reconciled a lost world to You. Help us Father, to stay close to You. Help us by Your Holy Spirit to walk in the footsteps of Jesus. Help us to have the faith to resist the temptations of the flesh in our lives. These things we ask in the name of our Savior Jesus Christ, who with the Father and the Spirit are one God now and forever, Amen.
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