| Before reading this blog, please take a moment to watch this video. Http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUUaJlowG9o Greetings in the name of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. How is everyone doing? It seems that the illness season has come upon us. Everyone back home is taking turns getting sick. I was supposed to be home this weekend but someone (either customer or Werner) has messed up on the load that I was supposed to pick up on Friday and take home. So I am now sitting in Salina, KS and will be here til Monday. On Monday, my dispatcher will come in and sort out the mess. I want to take a minute to introduce ourselves to you. "Hello, my name is Joseph." "Hello, my name is Joe." "Hello, my name is Joey." Of course, we are the same person. I like to have a little fun and often hold a conversation between Joseph, Joe, and Joey. People say I do it a little too good and question if they should be calling a mental hospital on me. It does get a lot of laughs and it is fun watching peoples reaction. But you know, there is a little bit more to my acting like I have a split personality. As I started to live more and more of a Christian life, many times I did feel like I was fighting against myself. Today I still feel like I am in a tug-o-war between two people. The thing is that I know what I am supposed to do but many times the temptation is very strong. If a Christian is honest with themself then many will also say they go through the same thing. But, have you really given much thought to why it feels like you are being pulled in two directions? Most Christians think that the devil is in the works with every temptation to sin. While the devil did tempt Eve into sinning and he is very much still at work, he (nor his fellow fallen angles) is at work with every temptation to sin. Satan doesn't need to be. Our very own flesh (what I often refer to as human nature) helps him out. Every human as a flesh, soul, and spirit. The flesh is what is against God. The flesh can do no good. It is the part of us that is selfish, hateful, and self-righteous. It is because of our flesh, we can never do good of ourselves. The spirit is the good in us. It is weak until we accept the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit comes in us and cleans our spirit. Our spirit is then made righteous. It gives our spirit the knowledge, strength and boldness that we need to help our soul to make the right choice. Our poor soul is the one caught in the middle and is very very weak. Remember that until we accept the Holy Spirit, our flesh has had full range and influence on our soul. This is why it is so hard to change even after you know what you are doing is wrong. Another thing is that our flesh will not die until we leave this earth (die the first death). Therefore as long as you are on this earth, your flesh is going to continue to tempt your soul to go against God. Your flesh doesn't want to change. It loves the sinful life. Even your anger pride and self-righteousness comes from the flesh. All the good you have done for self gratification comes from the flesh. Yes, your flesh can do good deeds but it is for selfish gain (financial, material, or pride). Your flesh is even too strong for your own spirit. This is why you have to accept the Holy Spirit into your life and you must kill your flesh (by ignoring the flesh and listening to your spirit). You must also educate your spirit by reading the Word of God. I know a lot of Christians who don't read the Bible and some even say the Bible isn't the word of God. When I ask how they know what God wants they say that God speaks to them directly. Yes, God does speak to me directly everyday but so does my flesh, Satan, and Satan's army. I will blog about God's Word in another blog though. The thing is that you must challenge the spirits and the only way to do that is to educate yourself in God's Word. Otherwise, your soul is going to be tricked into listening to the flesh and ignoring the spirit. If you didn't watch the video above, I really encourage that you do so. There are things said in the video that I disagree with. One is that everyone has a spirit. Your spirit has always been in you but has not had knowledge or straight. The other thing is that Satan is very much at work. It is just that he doesn't have to tempt you every time because your flesh is working against you. This is why it is said that if you are living according to your flesh then Satan doesn't know you. Now once you start living more and more by the spirit, then Satan starts paying more and more attention to you. This is when Satan and his demands do get to know you and they will start to work on you. He will try to get you to give up and will use the world to hurt you and discredit you. He will use fear to shut you up and try to get you to hide. Satan loves your flesh and hates your spirit. I pray that the video above and this blog helps you to better understand why people continue to sin, why you feel like you are at war with yourself and why you need the Holy Spirit. This may also explain why God says we are made righteous after we accept the Holy Spirit and yet God continues to say we are sinners and always will be sinners. Take care and God Bless. Love, The Oklahoma Tomcat | ||
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