LOCK AND LOAD
Wednesday, October 02, 2013
Romans NLT 8:1-14 So now there is no condemnation for
those who belong to Christ Jesus. 2 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.
3 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. 4 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.
5 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. 6 So
letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the
Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. 7 For the sinful nature is
always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will. 8
That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can
never please God.
9 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.) 10 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. 11 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.
12 Therefore,
dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature
urges you to do. 13 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. 14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children
of God.
Most past the age
of 7 know what “Lock and load!” means, but just in case you missed it, “The
firing line command to put the weapon's safety to the on position and load the
weapon with ammunition and await further orders from the range officer. In
combat an informal command to prepare to fight.” (Source: ANSWERS)
When it comes to
the emotion of hostile harmful anger there are people that travel locked and
loaded at all times. Their ammunition of choice runs from peeved to physical
action of low or high degree. Most practitioners are emotionally knee-jerk in
nature and often fire randomly in all directions. (Have you ever ridden with a
locked and loaded driver, or played a game with them?) Those proficient coldly
choose from their arsenal, target carefully, and are capable of squeezing and
releasing trigger at will.
I was never of
the undisciplined lot as I considered them crude, without panache, but was once
upon a time of the latter mean proud troop.
When did my life
change? Did I arise one morning and decide against passive-aggressive behavior
and to live in Christ’s freedom?
As with most
maturation in my life there was no answered alter call or commitment from the
issue; it was and continues to be graduation from one field to another; not
recognized during transition, but afterward. A one day “WOW! I’m not that
person anymore.”
How does this
happen? I lay no claim to victory, “It is not by force nor by strength, but by
my Spirit, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.” (NLT Zech.4:6) EBB4
No comments:
Post a Comment