Day 135: Flesh vs. Spirit

Romans 6; 1 Samuel 15; Psalm 60

If you believe you are going to die one day and go to heaven, then why let sin destroy us in this short life on earth?  That's exactly what Paul is saying in these scriptures:  we have died with Christ and were raised with his resurrection, so we are dead to sin and alive as a child of God.  Since we are going to die a physical death because the body is weak and not permanent, don't be ruled by its desires. Instead, focus on following the desires of the heart that the Holy Spirit gives us.  Paul questions "what good did you receive from the things you did?"  What good does it do us to sin by gossiping?  We lose trust and friends.  What good does it do us to feed our greed?  We lose our family and our peace.  What good does it do us to fill our lives with substance abuse, lust, or selfishness?  We lose control, our family and real friends, and some even lose their life.  If people would really think about the consequences of their sins, if they would really take a good look at those that have gone before them, they would see that a life lived in sin leads to nothing.  Nothing is gained.  Focus on things of The Lord, like love and faith and hope. God wants to give us every good thing, but we can't focus on the world and our sin and The Lord.  We need to trade in the world for Jesus.

Saul has issues. He has an issue of compromise which is disobedience. He was to wipe out this nation, take nothing for himself and his army, trusting that The Lord didn't want any of it and they wouldn't need any of it, not compromise on the Lord's command.  And what is sad, Saul even believes that he is doing the right thing!  He tells Samuel that he only kept the good livestock to offer as a sacrifice.  But God doesn't want sacrifices, he wants obedience.  It makes me think of an altar call at church:  A person can go to the altar and "sacrifice" their lives to The Lord week after week.  But is that what God wants?  A person to continually come forward and "offer their life" to him?  No!  He wants that person to leave that church and obey him with their actions and their life.  Saul compromised because he was selfish and didn't understand the Lord's desire for obedience and a life lived for him.  He lived his life for himself and for the honor he received as king.

This psalm talks about being rejected and also given victory.  Only God can give true victory.  We need to ask The Lord to give us victory over our sinful desires, over our enemies, over our desire to compromise and disobey. God will help us if we truly want his help.