" The flesh is the outlook oriented towards the self, that which pursues its own ends in self sufficient independence of God." ( Colin Brown )
When I think about my experiences, the most satisfying are those when I "lose" myself in the service of God and others. I always start out thinking that I really don't want to do this, but afterwards, it's rewarding. I went home for lunch today and sat at the table looking at our kitchen. I decided I could either sit there and read the Sunday paper or clean it up. It may seem like a small thing to you, but there really was some satisfaction in serving that I don't find in fleshly indulgence. There is a traitor in my body called the flesh and it is continually seeking ways to undermine the work of the Holy Spirit in my life. Lately, the troubles come from destructive thoughts. How do you "wage war" with this "mole" ?
Here's what I saw in I Chronicles this morning: David ( in chap 29) is praying about the transfer of leadership to Solomon and he prays this...
" For all things come from You, and from Your hand we have given You." ( I Chron 29:15)
Did you read that right ? Whatever we have is God's anyway, and when we give... we really just give back to God what He already gave us. How ironic that we think we have rights, our own stuff, or our own abilities. It all belongs to Him. He gave it to us and is honored when we give it back to Him.
