5-5-5 Daily Devotions: Mind Games

Mind Games | Part 5

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S.O.A.P. – “Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer”

Is your mindset and attitude positive or negative?

So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death. The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit.

Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will. That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God.

But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.) And Christ lives within you, so even though your body will die because of sin, the Spirit gives you life because you have been made right with God. The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you…. Romans 8:1-11 NLT

Have you seen in your own experience that God’s rules plus your failure equals guilt/shame followed by isolation from God and people? How does God save you from this “power of sin that leads to death”?

How did God justly punish your sin AND provide complete forgiveness?

If you have the Spirit of Christ living in you, what does that mean? What power does that give you?

Lord, you have satisfied the longings of my soul and put my fears to rest…yet I still struggle sometimes to have faith. Teach me to keep coming back to you for my significance and security.

Is your day ruled by alarms, watches, and clocks?

….Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. For if you live by its dictates, you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.

So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering.

Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later. For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are. Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time…. Romans 8:12-22 NLT

“Sinful nature” is literally translated “flesh.” Humans exist as a hybrid between a physical body with blind desires and an eternal spiritual being that, when made alive by the Holy Spirit, directs the body to honor God and take care of others. “Flesh” is not inherently bad, but if you “live by its dictates,” we will die. Like a vehicle, we must direct our bodies appropriately to honor God and create good. Does this challenge your beliefs about your soul and body?

Who cursed the world because of sin? Why—what was God’s purpose to put a time limit on the earth?

Does it comfort you to know that God will make all things new—at the right time?

Why are patience and faith essential to following God?

Lord, I long for heaven, where everything will go according to your will. May your will be done on earth…as it IS in heaven! During my brief time on this earth, empower me to bring you glory and help others be reconciled to you!

If you knew you could not fail, what would you attempt?

….And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us. We were given this hope when we were saved. (If we already have something, we don’t need to hope for it. But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently.)

And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will.

And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And having called them, he gave them right standing with himself. And having given them right standing, he gave them his glory.

What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else? Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself. Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us…. Romans 8:23-34 NLT

Do you look forward to heaven, where you will be with Jesus, get a new indestructible body, and be in a place where God’s will is accomplished?

What is your favorite gift from God in the Scripture above?

Does it give you courage and comfort to know that God is for you?

Lord, thank you for giving me life, adopting me as your child, making Heaven my home, and giving me hope while I wait for Heaven. Thank you for working in all things to bring about good for those who love you and are called according to your purpose.

What’s one thing I need to let go of…and one thing I need to grasp tightly?

….Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”) No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.

And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:35-39 NLT

And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us. Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other. Romans 12:1–5 NLT

If nothing can separate me from God’s love, then I don’t have to ever fear being punished for my sins by God or left lonely and by myself EVER. What can I do today to show my gratefulness for that undeserved kindness?

I need to stop letting natural fears distract me from the reality of God’s love in my life.

I need to strongly and boldly declare the truths in these Scriptures out loud so I can securely fix my thoughts on them and live in the power of the truths God has said about me!

Lord, teach me to be both confident in you and humble about me. Thank you for giving me your unbreakable love. Help me serve you and the church with the special gifts you gave me!

What is one thing I need to stop loving…and one thing I need to start loving?

So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses.

When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another. Galatians 5:16–26 NLT

My sinful nature craves many things that are opposed to the Holy Spirit’s life and direction in my life. I need to take time to follow the Spirit so that I can feed those desires and bring under submission my physical desires.

As I carefully consider the Holy Spirit’s ability to take better care of me than I know how to take care of myself, I will listen to the Spirit and follow what I hear.

I want the fruit of the Holy Spirit in my life. So do the people I love.

I belong to Christ Jesus and am nailing the passions and desires of my sinful nature to the cross so I can follow the Spirit’s leading in EVERY area of my life!

Lord, thank you for loving me and giving me the power to move forward. Strengthen me to fight my sinful nature so that the Spirit can win, producing love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control in my life!

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