—Shabbat Shalom. A bit of spiritual truth and insight for you this beautiful Saturday morning:
Until that marvelous day when we are taken up to meet Jesus face to face, the sin-nature will unfortunately reside in our flesh, but do not fear! We are loved by the Father through Christ Jesus and He has given us every perfect gift necessary to combat the flesh by His Word and by His Spirit. The reality is this: We are imperfect men and women, being made perfect daily by His Word and the regeneration by His Spirit.
Jesus was the only human, who is also fully God, to walk the earth and resist the sin-nature of mankind. Now, Jesus knew temptation well, but did not sin, just as it is written: “We have a High Priest who has been tempted in every way, just as we are, yet He did not sin.”(1)
I was recently given insight into my own sin-nature. When I was young and the flesh was strong, the spirit was weak. I lacked the secret knowledge of truth to see myself through the eyes of my Abba. As I have matured and have allowed the Holy Spirit to strengthen my spirit, I have gained insight and wisdom in dealing with sin.
The flesh at work in us, which is rooted in the evil serpent who tempted our father and mother; he who caused them to eat fruit from the forbidden tree. He strives to stir up confusion and torment. He works day and night to divide and weaken us. He schemes against us that we might establish our identity in the things we see and know about the flesh.
The Holy Spirit at work in us makes clear the truth of our existence, corrects our vision and helps us establish our identity in Jesus. This one thing I know to be true: Jesus is ever-present, residing in our spirit no matter where we are in life if we have called upon His name and have been sealed up by the Holy Spirit. There is nowhere we can go where He is not there also. He is constant and true.
What once pushed me away from the Father, I came to realize should now draw me to Him that I might not lose sight of His goodness and grace at work in me. For a time when the sin-nature of the flesh crept up inside me, I felt ashamed to the point of running away from God. At times, I did not speak to Abba or attempt to enter into His presence for days; not out of anger or rebellion, but out of disgust and shame. I felt He might not want to see my face. I felt I was a failure more times than I can count.
Jesus corrected my vision and gave me insight into the heart of the Father. Lean in with me here. God does not wish to condemn you, but to save you. As it is also written: “God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.”(2)
Until our flesh is made perfect at the coming of the LORD, the sin-nature will constantly fight against our spirit. Jesus took me by the shoulder and said: "Do not let sin divide us and draw you away from me. When you sin, come to me. I am patient with my sheep, quick to listen and quick to rescue when they cry out to me. Turn away from the sin-nature of the flesh that so easily entangles, but do not turn away from me. Remain in me, and I in you, just as I am in the Father. I will lift you up, for I am with you. For where I am, I long for you to be there with me also."(3)
To "sin" literally means "to miss the mark" by falling short of the holy righteousness of God.(4) He is holy and set apart; one of a kind. There is no one like Him. Just as the archer strives to hit the center of the target with the arrow, Christ followers should likewise strive to hit the target of God's holiness out of love and thanksgiving for all Abba has done for us. However, we have all fallen short of hitting the target. The revelation of God in Christ Jesus is this: We require a High Priest who is blameless and perfect before God to intercede on our behalf before the Father. Jesus, that High Priest, intercedes on our behalf without ceasing. He sprinkles us with His blood and bridges the gap between us and the Father.(5) When the Father looks upon those of us who are in Christ Jesus, He no longer holds our sin against us. Abba does not see our sin-nature of the flesh, but sees only His Son, Jesus, in the Spirit.
Regarding our identity, do not be deceived by the world. "For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin."(6) Notice we are "no longer slaves" to sin. The sin-nature of the flesh still exists in our current state, but in Christ Jesus, we are no longer slaves to the sin-nature of the flesh. What a wonderful day that will be when we are taken up to the clouds and made new by our LORD! That wonderful day when the sin-nature of the flesh will be destroyed forever and ever, Amen!
The world says our identity is found in our ethnic or family roots, our past, our skin color, our nationality, our language, our political party, our social club, our education, our career, our sexuality, our gender and our own personal preference, but the LORD has declared through the spirit of prophecy: "So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise."(7)
When you sin, do not turn away and run from God. Go into your prayer closet, close the door and cry out to Jesus in repentance. The Holy Spirit will gently remind you of who you are and help you hit the target once again. The holiness of God is the target. Jesus is the mark. Amen.
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