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The Soul and the Spirit – Day 18

Romans 8:8

Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.

The Thought

Paul does not mince his words here! He tells it as it is. The writer to the Hebrews, who many believe was St. Paul, confirms this to us declaring that without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6).

For many of us, we don’t realise that the soul is ruling our lives. We are used to following the crowd, and most of them are good people doing good things.

Maybe there are not too many believers among the people we spend time with, but they all know that you are a believer, so that is OK. And it can be! As long as you do not get entangled in any demonic behaviour they may be involved in!

That can be difficult sometimes, because if you are open about your Christian faith, the demons will not be happy, and constantly looking for a way to make you fall. Remember how easy it was for Peter to deny Jesus (Matthew 26:69-75)!

We are called to be witnesses to all around us, showing them that we can resist evil because we have Jesus in our lives.

Action

Ask yourself today if you want to be a God pleaser or a man pleaser? Are there attitudes in your life right now that you know are because of a fear of man and not a fear of God? Ask the Lord to show you where your sinful nature, your soul is controlling your life.

Pray for forgiveness for anything the Lord shows you, and ask Him to help you change direction.

Read Matthew 26:69-75 today and feel Peter’s disappointment as he heard himself speaking!

Praise God that He didn’t give up on Peter, and won’t give up on us! Holy Spirit is always there nudging us in His direction. Praise Him for His word which challenges us with the truth.

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