July 20 – Choose death, or life + peace

For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.  (Romans 8:6  ESV)

How can you be sure that you “know” God and are saved? This is the most important question in life, but most people are more familiar with their bank balance than they are with the answer to this question.  People can make sure they have good health insurance, that their car is serviced, and that their children go to good schools, but these very same people can easily assume that everything’s okay with God, without making sure.

The future of someone who lives for the flesh is death, and the future of a person who concentrates on the Spirit is life and peace.  This is the big battle of life.  Our biggest battles are not our finances, health, appearance, family, or career — though all those things are important.  The most crucial thing in life is whether or not we are setting our minds on the Spirit, and killing the flesh. 

Are we fighting against sin, our own will, doubt, disobedience, wanting the “freedom” to do whatever we want (which ends up not being freedom at all), selfishness, putting ourselves first, and loving the world? James 4:4 says, “whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God,” and so, if we want to belong to God and have a future, we have to stop being the world’s friend.

On the other hand, setting our mind on the “Spirit” means making God a priority, hating sin, accepting God’s will for our lives, living by faith, being obedient to God even though it entails giving up certain things, and hating the world.

How can we be sure that we “know” God and are saved?  It’s simple.  Do we live for the Spirit, or do we live for the flesh?  Is God a side issue for us, or is He everything?  Do we love the world or do we love God?  If God’s Spirit is everything to us, real life and real peace are ours to keep.  They don’t just come and go with circumstances, but they overcome them.  With so many people desperately searching for inner peace, doesn’t it make sense to give all you have to living in His Spirit to find it?