Bible Discussion Thread

Discipline in light of walking in faith.

In light of my earlier warning about a root of bitterness developing is Paul's exhortation referencing "buffeting himself" ( 1 Cor. 9:23-27). Self sacrifice not only doesn't come easy; it really doesn't come at all in our old nature. The secret here is to spend time with the Lord to allow Him to more fully occupy our hearts; minds; bodies and souls; as He is truly Master and Lord of all or not truly Lord at all. Just as a job at work is much easier when we are conversing and our minds are occupied; we can also give the Lord the reigns of our hearts and minds so that we simply follow the lead. This doesn't mean that we somehow look at the Bible as something we are to get into us without making the effort to study scripture; it isn't osmosis or some mystical power the pages of the book possess themselves; it is the fact that the Word is the living Word; a testimony of how the Spirit makes clear to us the practical wisdom; the prophetic and all other things we can grow in as our spiritual discernment and giftings are sharpened.

People have argued whether our old nature is truly dead; "covered by the blood"; dormant; etc. I would say that like a car without fuel it remains inactive unless we choose to fuel it by activating sin; which almost always begins with thoughts and imaginations. That is what I will cover in my next Psalm reading. I would say that if we are truly Born Again that Satan will infuse thoughts that if we aren't diligent to catch will trigger us into activating the old man into sin. So if we are saved and walking in the Spirit then what must first catch our attention is something resembling our old pattern of emotions or thoughts but originating from a demonic source. These suggestions of course don't give us a hint of the affect; namely Satan's accusations the moment we cave into sin. Unlike the father of lies; God's light is without variance ( John 8:12). May we live in this steadfastness.