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| An Ongoing Conflict |
We continue this week with the story of the sick man healed at the Pool of Bethesda. [John 5:1-15].Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, “Do you want to be made well?” (John 5:5-6, NKJV)
With the fall, man became leavened, corrupted, giving birth to our lower nature and setting off continual warfare with our higher nature, God's image, and likeness in us. The one we live in and the exhibit is the one we give life to. That is, the one we feed, by the things we do, or not. As Euripides notes, "Judge a tree from its fruits, not its leaves."
We can NEVER afford to live carelessly. For, the second we relapse sin (leaven, bloating, swelling, fluffiness, light-weightiness, kicking, unrighteousness, evil, wickedness, etc.) begins to take root. [Genesis 4:7; 1 Corinthians 10:12] "Our natures are the battlegrounds of struggles between Good and Evil." (James Miller)
Our lower nature is the sum total of the whole army of evil desires at war within us. [James 4:1-2] It includes the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. [1 John 2:16] Cain lost on this front and committed the first murder. [Genesis 4:6-8] David lost here and committed adultery. [2 Samuel 11]
To win, we have to guard our hearts, for it affects everything. [Proverbs 4:23] We need to set our minds on things above, not on things below. [Colossians 3:1-3] Then can we, by the spirit, win. [Romans 8:2, 12-13; Galatians 5:16]
"Satan’s battle strategy is simple. He is out to deceive us, to trick us into buying his lies and temptations. He’s been at his plan for countless years, and he’s good at it." (Jeff Seaman)So, which nature are you feeding? Which nature are you giving reign to? Are you walking accurately in God’s grace? [Romans 6:14] Or, are you careless about that which you have been endowed?
© 2020 Akin Akinbodunse
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