Devotions for 20th Jan 2017

Gen 2: 7  #daily devotions # scriptures #bible studies # gospel

Then the Lord God…breathed into his nostrils the breath of life.

All life is given by the creator of life, this cannot come from nothing. In the beginning God created man from the dust; it would have just remained a heap of dust if God had not given life to it. It would have remained an inanimate lump which is totally useless until God breathed His own breath into the lump of dust.

When God did that, not only did He impart His life into the created man but along with the breath God gave a part of Himself to the first man. The first man and woman were exactly like God and they were pure and holy. It was when they remained in the same DNA with God that they were having a close and personal relationship with God.

We do not know how long they had this relationship before Satan came to tempt Adam and Eve. Perhaps it could be a month, we do not know the time frame but it was definitely not the next day after Eve’s creation. Imagine the first man and woman enjoying all that God had created, the beauty of all creation, the fruits that were given to them to eat. They did not have to cook or labour in the fields to get food.

Everything was provided for and their hearts and minds were in tune with God. That was what God gave to the first man and woman who were created. It was only after sin came into their hearts that they were no longer pure and holy like God.

Today we still have the same two natures, one the nature of God where we know about purity and holiness and the other nature is the sin nature which we have inherited from Adam and Eve. We have both in us; we can choose to be either one. The key is that we have to build up the one that we desire and put the down the other that we do not desire. Having said that it is not easy to overcome he flesh desires on our own strength.

Jesus warned against this in Matt 26:41 Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

And again in Mark 26: 38 Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit is ready, but the flesh is weak.

We know that the desires of the flesh are strong in all men. We also know that we understand what sin is but yet we cannot overcome sin in our flesh. No matter how much we try, most of the time we will succumb to the temptations.

Paul said in Roms 7: 15 For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. The great Apostle Paul also acknowledged that he had great difficulties in dealing with and controlling his own sin nature. He too struggled over sinful thoughts and desires of the flesh. He said he did not want to sin but yet the flesh will cause him to do exactly that.

This is why Jesus said that we can only overcome and defeat the desires of the flesh through prayers and the reading of the word. When we pray and read the word, we will sanctify our mind and our heart. These two are the control centres of our lives, when we can control these then we can control the rest of the body. When we submit our mind and heart to Jesus, then all our thoughts and actions will be Christ centred.

Without this total surrender to Jesus, then our lives would not be victorious in Christ. As Joshua said, ‘Choose you this day who you will serve, as for me and my house I will serve the Lord.’