Ruling Over Your Flesh: Fighting Lust

Ruling Over Your Flesh: Fighting Lust

                It’s funny how tricky the devil can be especially when you are able to decipher his evil plans, that moment when you spot him and be like *okay nice try but boy bye*.  However, it can be extremely damaging when you can’t.  Lust and every other type of sin starts with a simple thought. Temptations are attempts by the devil to put a halt to our communication with God. The devil knows that if he leaves you alone, you’ll not only get closer to the truth but start becoming more successful at LIVING IT OUT. So he tries to catch you unaware. Many times we underestimate lust. That scenario where you find yourself laying right next to someone you know you should NOT be lying next to didn’t start from that moment. It started days ago, maybe weeks or even months.

                You see as Christians we need to be very alert. The Bible talks about guarding your heart.

                        Keep vigilant watch over your heart; 

                        That's where life starts. 

                                                   Proverbs 4:23 MSG

 The moment you have an evil thought or imagination you need to CAPTURE IT. Capture it before you get too comfortable thinking about it.  Once you recognize the devils “not so slick” move then bring it to the notice of the Holy Spirit. That is why He lives in us, so he can help us ward off all forms of fleshy desires. Talk to God about that thought, He knows you don’t want it and once you pray, asking Him to redirect and help you align your focus with His again, He is more than ready to help. I talk about the Holy Spirit so much because Jesus knew about all these problems we will be faced with in this time and age. Therefore, He knew it was better if He DWELT INSIDE of us. That’s why He gave us the Holy Spirit, our Comforter, to teach us all things and instruct us in the way we should go. See John 14:26

                Bear this in mind that sin becomes more difficult to fight when we separate ourselves from God. God is the only one that can SAVE US from these sins. My dad used to say all the time that sin is a sinker. I have probably heard him say it at least a hundred times and that is exactly what it is. It takes us deeper and farther away from God. I know you are probably thinking “but I have tried! I get on my knees and pray every time, BEGGING God to deliver me from this sin but I keep going back!” Permit me to LOL at this point because, I’ve been there, done that, OVER DONE THAT, and by God’s grace I have and will continue to win the battle. You see battling strongholds such as lust and other forms of sin cannot be done by the mere feeling of regret. Nah fam, it’s way more intense than that. It is going back to His feet every single time you fall. I know that is very difficult because you wonder “how can I pray after all I’ve done?” NO NO NO NO *inserts big stop sign* That is when you are supposed to pray more than ever before. Seek His face, dwell in His presence. I used wonder how to “dwell in God’s presence” cause I heard it all the time and couldn’t get it (probably because I assumed that the moment my knees hit the floor I was going to feel a “cloud” of God’s “presence”). Here, it’s pretty simple, turn off your phone because we both know you will want to pick it up, get your laptop and play some worship music! You don’t have to start screaming and shouting words out. Start simple, talk to Him, confess it all. We forget sometimes that God sees our inside out meaning that He cares much more about what our heart is saying than what our mouths are not.

                Let me be very clear you have to be very INTENTIONAL. I know you’ve probably gotten tired of hearing that word, but you should ask yourself why though, because I bet you are not tired of hearing and saying “LIT” or “SLAY”. So being INTENTIONAL is very important. After pouring your heart out to God HONESTLY, whether you felt the cloud of His presence or not BELIEVE that He heard you (HE LIVES IN YOU, so please CALM). Now you need to begin to work out being intentional, this is where getting off your Instagram explore page comes in, refusing to talk about that very “annoying” girl, refusing to engage in conversations that will only lead you back to that sin. If we filtered our lives the same way, we filtered our pictures then things would be a little easier. Cutting all these things that weigh you down will help. You might feel, lonely or just quiet and your friends may call you boring. Once they start calling you boring it is evident that you have started doing something right. When trying to get right with God ruling your flesh is very important. Not being subject to that Instagram post, not being subject to Netflix, to Snapchat, and to every other unnecessary weight. The Bible tells us about laying down every weight. Hebrew 12:1.

                Also, mixing discipline and being intentional is key. As Christians we need to know that we have a very crucial purpose and this is to serve and please God. Always carry that thought in mind. We also need to understand that the devil will never stop trying, he will keep testing and trying your faith but remember that you are more than conquerors and that you will overcome by the blood of the Lamb! In this “meme generation” abiding and continuous seeking to get closer to God cannot be over emphasized. Don’t give up! Watch sermons on YouTube, follow Christians on Instagram, go over the songs on your playlist, dear friends God sees your heart and He wants you to win. I’ll say this again, remember to abide, stay under His ever loving covering, He wants you more than you want Him. Even when it feels like He’s not there, He is! Have faith, it’s not going to be all roses and Holy Ghost ice-cream (thanks Carlis Howze for that one). We have to work this thing out, every single day, choosing to die to your flesh, choosing to rule your life in complete submission to the one who owns the Heaven and the earth. Trust me, choosing to please God, is the best decision you’ll ever make!

Side Note: Apply these things to every form of sin, gossiping, lying, et cetra. It doesn’t have to be the exact way I said it but it has to be God’s way. Using the Bible as your GPS to navigate, all the way until you get to the gates of Heaven.

Quiet with God?

I am guilty. I bet you are too. Have you noticed how EASY it is to become complacent when God answers all your prayers? How easy it is to skip prayer time when things are not so bad, or when you're doing okay with your finances or academics. Now remember when you needed that breakthrough, when you needed God to "come through for you" when you needed "supernatural favor" and all you did was lay at the feet of God and worship and adore him. Now he has given you peace, opened doors and praying suddenly becomes tiring. Now sleep takes away all your quiet time and you no longer hunger and thirst for His presence. I've been there, and I can tell you for a fact that God is not happy with it. We can't use God, he is our very essence, the only reason we breathe, if He ignored us or "forgot" to supply us with oxygen like we sometimes "forget" to pray we will be DEAD. That sleep that seems so pressing and enticing will not happen!

     I've heard a lot of preachers say we aren't too busy for God; we just don't desire His presence. For a while I thought that was not totally true, I would say to myself "I desire God but sometimes these tests are just too much!" Well as I mature in Christ I've found out that my thinking is completely wrong. Desire for God springs from love for Him, so if you truly Love God like you say then you will DESIRE Him 24/7.  By desiring him I mean you'll want to do what makes him happy, making him happy means keeping his commandments John 14:15 says

“If you love me, show it by doing what I’ve told you.” MSG

 You know how it is when you start talking to someone you like or someone you think you like lol. Or let me come closer, when you’re in a relationship, you always want to be around bae right? Always want to hang out and go to nice places, why? Because you love his/her company, you love hearing them talk, having conversations and doing things together as one. Well, if you love God then you'll always want to talk to Him, to be in His presence and to do what He likes. Listen there's one thing I know; we have a void. Yes, a void that needs to be filled. That void is our heart, and what we fill it with makes or breaks us. The Bible says out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. If you fill your Heart with the things of God, you will speak and think the things of God. Subconsciously and consciously. On the other hand, if you fill your heart with Instagram, with malice, jealousy, hate and discontentment you will speak and act them out subconsciously AND consciously.

So dear friends, let us try. I know it's not as easy as we would all like it to be but I can assure you that it gets better with practice and consistency.

Side Note: I know what it means to be hit with life, hit with various forms of difficulties and temptations but I also know what if feels like to have God through it all and to win and defeat the devil. So I want to urge you to try today, try and fight that one thing the Holy Spirit keeps convicting you about. I don't know what it is, it could be gossiping, could be lying... anything. Choose to not give in, even if it's for one full day. Now come back and tell me if you didn't feel much cleaner and happier. Please read Luke 6:43-45 MSG version (lol you can read any version. I just love the MSG version so much). Stay serving!

Get Out of Your Feelings

Get Out of Your Feelings

                “Get out of your feelings!” Sounds weird doesn’t it? This is something I try to tell myself every single second of the day. “Feelings” in this sentence does not necessarily mean feelings of affection or love. It stands for every want or desire our human nature wants to subject us to. For example, the need to buy a lipstick you saw online, knowing fully well that you have a similar color or that the price is way above your budget? The sudden pressing need for companionship, the need to be at every party, the need to eat everything that passes our eyes, in general THE NEED TO ACT ON EVERY NEED WE DO NOT NEED! (I think you should read that twice) As Christians we have to understand that we CANNOT be subject tour flesh. Wanting and acting out on our every impulse, that is no way to live.

                You see, feelings are part of what makes us human but we have to know when to say enough is enough and shut it down. The book of Galatians is going to be my major reference throughout this post. Galatians 5:16 says, 

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. 

  I love how this verse identifies the problem and provides a solution at the same time. God knows we have desires of the flesh, He knows we seek to gratify those desires and He most definitely does not want us to seek only after our worldly pleasures. So He gives us the solution before even going into the problem. The solution is "walk by the Spirit".

                We need to be careful when we seek out to satisfy our wants. We have to ask important questions like, why am I doing this? What is my motive? Does my motive glorify God? Trust me if we did this we would save ourselves a whole lot of money and time. Wandering eyes and wandering hearts, that’s what we have, and if we look close enough we will see how extremely self-centered the things we seek are. If the number one reason you want a boyfriend is just so you won’t be bored, or so you can feed off him, then baby girl you need to put a check on that desire. Desire born out of fleshy and worldly desires bear NO GOOD FRUIT instead they breed discontentment, jealousy, strife, envy, covetousness, malice, I could go on forever. That is why the Bible tells us to be LED BY THE SPIRIT. I wish we understood how imperative this was, do you know how much money you would save if you actually sat down and had a one on one discussion with the Holy Spirit asking for directions? Directions before we buy that thing we don’t need or get into that relationship we know is of no benefit to us? Even food, think of all the times you broke your fast at 12pm just because you had to taste that rice you eat almost every day! LOL That last sentence speaks to me so much. In Galatians 5, if you read further (verse 19), Paul describes some of these desire of the flesh. Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality (that includes ALL KINDS!), impurity, sensuality (I believe this has to do with our five senses, our sight, hearing, touch and all of that), idolatry, sorcery (witches and wizards, trust me they exist).

I don't know what easier way to put this to you but you need the Holy Spirit. WE ALL NEED HIM. We need him lead us, to instruct us because these fleshy desires don't stop in one day, they don't just disappear but when we walk hand in hand with Him we learn how to handle these issues. I am not perfect; I fight daily to stay in line with God's will. I don't know about you but I hate displeasing God, I hate it so much and that's why I always try to stay surrounded. Reading the word, countering those evil thoughts, praying in the Spirit, talking to people that have the same goal as me. I can write an entire blog on some of these desires of the flesh the Bible talks about. But I fixed these dragon nails and I can't even type properly. You see that's a typical example, did I need the nails...definitely not, but you know *inserts sad face*. Bottom line is, don't let worldly desires that God has given you power to overcome stop you from fulfilling He's divine purpose for your life. The things of this world are temporary, they DO NOT MATTER AT ALL. Instead they leave us with voids and "feelings". Feelings that children of God that have been saved by grace should not have.

But HEY young Christian gal or guy, remember this walk is not going to be all roses and Holy Ghost ice-cream, we just have to decide to do better, to live according to God's standard. For His standards are everything, they make life more fulfilling and prepares us for when we finally meet with him.  

Side Note: Don't let any sin set you back, whatever mistakes you keep making or imperfections you think you have is not your real identity. Your true identity is in Christ Jesus, and he called us what? The salt of the earth Matthew 5:13; so LIVE like it.