Living a Disciplined Life-Part Three
JUST SAY NO!
This nugget subject is going to be hard hitting and direct. Remember to
read these nuggets in the light of God's love, mercy, grace, and forgiveness.
There is no condemnation in Christ Jesus. However, at the same time there is
the conviction of the Holy Spirit and there is a call to holiness.
I am sure most of you know the U.S. campaign to stop drug abuse among kids. It is called Just Say No To Drugs! The concept is for kids to say no to those who approach them to take drugs. What I find amazing is that we expect our kids to "Just Say No" when we as adults many times can't say no to food, cigarettes, bad habits, sin. Or Just Say Yes, when God asks us to do something. Do we want something from our youth that we can't do ourselves?
The reality is that at times the solution to having victory is JUST SAYING NO to sin, and YES TO GOD. God gives us a free will and we have the obligation to submit it to His will. And as Christians we have the Holy Spirit living within us to give us the power to do what is right. The problem is many times we let the flesh (the carnal nature) to control us instead of us putting it under control. We don't make a willful choice to SAY NO. We let the flesh rule instead of our renewed spirit. Fasting can help you learn how to SAY NO, to the flesh.
Many times we are waiting for God to do something in us, instead of making the right choice and trusting him to give us the strength to carry out the right actions. We want supernatural strength to obey, and He is saying obey, and I will give you the strength. At times, it seems some are waiting for God to do the work-fill in the check register; do the dishes; stop the food or cigarette from going to the mouth, changing the oil, get us to work on time, etc. He is not a genie or servant.
Some of us are waiting for our heart to be right (when we feel sincere and we feel like doing right), and then we will obey. Obedience is not based upon feelings. Obedience is doing what is right whether we feel like it or not. If you want a sincere heart of obedience, become closer to Jesus and you will automatically want to obey Him in appreciation of His love for you. You want to get closer to Jesus. Then set aside devotional and prayer time. SAY YES to devotions and SAY NO to TV. It is a choice. And only you can make that choice. Counseling can help, prayer can help, accountability can help, being open and honest can help, but ultimately it is a matter of saying yes or no and acting upon it.
So try it. SAY NO to sin, and YES TO GOD.
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Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations used are from the New American Standard Version (NASB).