How We're Living

For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.

For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.  Romans 8:13-16

(This is Pt 2 of 8 – Turning the Tide – Representing God to a World that Misrepresents Him)

Why do they call the Bible the ‘Living’ word of God?  Many of us know that while the actual Bible printed is not living, the words come to life through our study and application of it.  Through us, the Bible comes ‘alive.’  It's what   Yet, people will still doubt the validity of it and how present it is for the very reason it is living; us.  Many of us who have become newly born again Christians are surrounded by people that will mock and criticize us for our choice.  Opinions will range from the ‘he will turn back to his old self by next week’ to the ‘how could God see anything in her’ commentary.  What if this world does not believe that you have changed?  What if their goal is to pull you from the path that God has set forth before you?

The answer to this problem is to simply walk with God one day at a time.  Yes, there are many who have made a dramatic change where they have left a life filled with sin and become a passionate and fierce defender of the faith.  But if you were like me, then there were some things that you jumped right on and others that you failed at miserably.  It is those very failures where the world will remind you of the old person you were.  However, you are not that person!  God wants us to acknowledge the person we are becoming as born again through Christ.  Yes, we will fail at times, and often it will occur over the same sinful behavior numerous times.  But anything worthwhile is never easy, right?  It requires strength and determination, but most of all we need a helping hand; the hand of Jesus Christ.  There is a reason Paul said to the Philippians that indeed he could do everything through Christ (Philippians 4:13).  Just as today’s verses reaffirm, if we are led by the Spirit of God, we are indeed His children; inseparable and beyond any doubt.  Through Jesus Christ and with a sprinkle of patience, we are indeed able to show the world how He alone is the single greatest agent for true positive and transformative change. 

God knows us.  He knows our thoughts, our spirits, and our hearts.  There is no need to mind what the world says.  Trust in God and His word for if you follow Him, the whispers of the person you were will go away, and the naysayers will soon gravitate to the person God is making you.  How can you trust in God to help you be the person He wants you to be?  How can you focus less on your past sins and more on God’s future for your life?  My prayer is that we today and beyond to show the world how we are 'living.’  Amen.