Romans 8:5-6 “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.” Today's episode explains what it means to live according to the flesh vs. living according to the Spirit and then gives you practical steps to live according to the Spirit instead. We could all use more life and peace in our days! Music:"Adding the Sun" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
How To Live According To The Spirit
Romans 8:5-6 “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.”
This verse has been waiting for me to use it for several days now. I can’t remember how I discovered it, but I wrote it down and then Thursday and Friday I didn’t use it and then this morning I had another verse planned and this one was sitting open on my desktop. I am sure I had a great idea of what to talk about when I chose it and yet this morning nothing was really coming to me. Then I got the idea to search for articles on how to set our mind of the Spirit because this verse says that will bring life and peace and I think we could all use more of that in our lives!
I think the first part of this verse is pretty easy to understand. If we live according to the flesh, then our minds will be set on the things according to the flesh. Now that I think about it, it might not be easy for all of us to understand what it means to live according to the flesh. Let me explain a bit. The flesh refers to that inner power and will to do wrong, to disobey the Lord, and to yield to sinful inner urgings. Living according to the flesh doesn’t just mean when you do things of a sexual nature, which is what I was thinking when I first read this verse, or really anytime I hear that term. Living according to the flesh means you do whatever you want to do. You let your urges control your actions. You know you really shouldn’t do something and yet you do it anyway just because you really want to. Sometimes it is not merely a want, it might be an addiction to something. You feel you need to have it, and physically or mentally, your body might need it at that moment. For instance if you are addicted too drugs your body needs them to continue to feel like it wants to feel.
Living according to the flesh can be easier at times because our bodies and minds have many cravings and many times it is easier to give in than to fight it. I have really been struggling with will power lately. I used to be really good at not giving in to my cravings and doing the right thing. There was a time when I decided to not watch any TV unless it was helping me grow closer to God. I would listen to programs on Formed.org, and I would watch videos on the various Saints lives. I would read books about the Saints. I was doing really good. I was also very disciplined with my food cravings. I honestly felt so much better, mentally and physically. Not that I feel bad now, but I did feel better then.
I agree with this verse when it says, if you live according to the flesh, you set your mind on the flesh. When I was living more according to the Spirit it was easier to be disciplined because I was in God’s Word more, I was surrounding myself with excellent examples of people who lived in the Spirit and I could see all the benefits they received from our heavenly Father. I could see the fruits of the Holy Spirit in their lives and I wanted those fruits. Now I struggle with living according to the Spirit. I have days when I know what God would like me to be doing and yet I choose to sit and watch mindless TV instead. I struggle to not give in to my urges to procrastinate, to hit the snooze button instead of spending time with God, and to not eat the entire pan of brownies. (In my defensive my son did put caramel on them, you would want to eat the whole pan if you saw them too.) The more I live according to my flesh, the more normal it seems because the more my mind gets set to the ways of the flesh.
However, that is not how I want to live. I want to live according to the Spirit. Now I just need to know how to do that. There are lots of ways, and many of you are probably doing many of them. Since I am one that likes instruction and step by step directions so that I can make sure I am doing things correctly, I will give you some guidance from an article I found and I will put the link to this article in the show notes. I do want to just say first that these are not the only ways to live more according to the Spirit. You do what feels best for you. These are just a few ideas to get you started. The main thing to remember is that if you put God first, you will be off to a great start!
This article had 5 ideas for how to “Set Your Mind On Things Above” and was written by Lissie Hoover.
Put to death what is earthly: She says that the first steps toward setting your mind on things above is to rid yourself of your old self and the sin and habits that accompanied it. She said we can’t remain part of the system of sin we have been delivered from. She gave a great analogy about trying to climb a ladder toward freedom with heavy weights upon your feet. You would get dragged down each time you tried to take a step. This is what sin can do to us if we don’t let it go.
Put on the New Self: Casting off sin is not enough if we do it with our own strength. We are given the power to reject sin and temptation through the empowering of His Spirit and the transforming of our minds through His Word. She said the new self refers to the justified, transformed being that looks more like Jesus than our old selves in sin and shame.
Let the peace of Christ rule in your mind: If we focus on this world, our peace will be stolen from us. There is so much to worry about all around us. When we say the peace of Christ should rule our hearts it means it should rule our minds too. We need to turn away from focusing on our problems and the problems on our world and turn our focus to God and his goodness and sovereignty. I love the saying, don’t focus on how big your problems are, focus on how big your God is.
Let the Word of Christ richly dwell: One of the best ways to set your mind on things above is to read the Word of the Lord. If we are just reading and consuming things of this world we cannot keep our focus on things above. She gave a great analogy about reading the Bible. She said, “If someone you love send you a letter, would you toss it on a shelf and fail to open it? Of Course not! If we love Christ, we will dedicate ourselves to reading his words to us.” She is so right. God gave us the Bible, and often times we let it sit on a shelf, or at least I did for a good 30 years or so. Even now I have days where it just sits on a shelf, or a table. She also talks about how quiet study time is important and yet we also need to share what we learn. She says it only makes sense that reading and discussing Christ-centered things will shift our mind from things of this world to his truth.
Give Thanks to God: The author acknowledges that thankfulness may not always come easy in all circumstances. However, every good thing comes from God. She points out that we are all deserving of God’s wrath for our rebellion against Him, for violating His laws and departing from what is true and right and yet Christ died for us, making salvation possible. Gratitude can also help us shift our focus from our worries to God’s power to save and provide. Thank God, even when it is hard. He does a lot for us and the least we can do is thank him.
There was another article I read which I don’t really have time to talk about but I will put a link for it in the show notes. One quick think I do want to mention is what he said about prayer. He said we need to fight with prayer. Prayer is not meant to be a last resort, or a defensive strategy for when we mess up. It’s meant to be a first response and an offensive weapon. I will go more into that another time I am sure but I wanted to at least put it out there to let your subconscious mind start taking that in. Our prayers are more powerful than we realize, I know that to be true!
Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to pray for all those listening to this episode today. Lord, we want to fix our eyes, hearts and minds on you, please continue to show us how. Show us how to focus more on the things above than on the things of this world. Help transform us Lord. Help give us a renewal of the mind. We love you Lord, you are truly amazing. Thank you for all you have done for us and in us and thank you for all you are continuing to do. We are truly grateful and we ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’ holy name, Amen!
Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. This week I an attending a retreat and I will be one of the speakers. I ask that you all keep me and this retreat in your prayers I ask that God has something personal and specific for each person attending.
Next weekend, April 28-30, a group is hosting a “Satanic Conference” at the Boston Marriot Hotel that will gather over 5,000 people to give glory to Satan. As difficult as it might be for us to comprehend, the event is completely sold out. While many may be attending on a lark or out of curiosity, we know that events such as these are very serious and can cause great damage to souls. There is well-founded concern that consecrated Eucharistic Hosts may be publicly desecrated at this event.
Many of the leaders of this convention are the same individuals who were organizers of the planned Black Mass in Cambridge ten years ago. That sacrilege was thwarted by the People of God rising up in prayer and in a Eucharistic Procession. This planned conference is a call for each of us to fast and pray over these days in a fervent manner.
A local priest by me is making a personal invitation to each of you to fast and pray and, if possible, to join in Holy Hours. Satan and his minions have an evil plan for us, but our Lord is much more powerful than any of these dark forces. Joining our prayers with the Lord and the Church, I believe we are going to witness a great Victory for Christ through the outpouring of grace that comes from the fervent prayers of His “little ones.”
This can seem like scary times but it is important to keep our eyes fixed above and remember that God already defeated evil. The war has already been won. I look forward to seeing you again tomorrow. Remember Jesus loves you and so do I. Have a blessed day!
Set Your Mind On Things Above by Lissie Hoover
How To Set The Mind On The Spirit by Kenny Roberts