"You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ." - Romans 8:9 (NIV, 1984)
This verse is from a section of Romans 8 that is entitled "Life Through the Spirit". I definitely recommend reading the whole section (vs 1-17), or if you want to get really adventurous, read the whole book of Romans. It's deep stuff, but it's very good.
This verse gives me comfort and also frustrates me.
It is comforting to know that I am not controlled by my sinful nature. I am controlled by the Holy Spirit, because I am a Christ follower.
I am frustrated, though, because I feel like I am often controlled by my sinful nature. Why else do I do the things I do, say the things I say, and think the things I think?
For me, personally, my temper is my biggest stronghold, temptation, struggle...call it what you wish. And almost always, it's my temper toward my kids. Depending on the day, I may be yelling at my girls within 5 minutes of them waking up. Lately, it seems that the only days I don't yell at them are the days when I'm too tired to yell.
My temper is something that makes me feel like a failure at the end of the day. It's something I am 100% confident is not of the Lord. Being angered by their misbehavior is fine. I know that. It's the way I react to the anger that is the problem. Yelling, screaming, spanking out of anger - these things are a result of my sinful nature.
So today's verse is one that I hope will help me with my biggest struggle. I hope it helps you too. Maybe your struggle is lying, gossiping, undermining, alcohol, sex outside of marriage, porn, shopping, or gambling. You know what it is.
The wonderful thing about this verse is that it applies to all sins, and it tells us that we are not controlled by our sinful nature. If we are believers, Christ followers, then we have the Holy Spirit living in us. This verse says that we are controlled by Him. I'm guessing that we have to allow Him to have control, and that's where the problem lies.
If given the opportunity, the Spirit will control us. We just have to ask Him. And then allow it. And maybe ask again and again and again. Every day. Every hour. Every minute.
Join me in memorizing this verse and putting it into action to overcome the sins that have a hold on us. The Lord does not desire for us to feel like failures. Not for one minute.
"You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ." -Romans 8:9 (NIV, 1984)
If this is your first time reading a memory verse post, click here to see why we're memorizing, and click here to see all the verse so far.
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