January 18

“Not only must we decide what it is that we must have changed in our thought lives, we must decide to let God change it.  When we choose to be delivered, we are given the power to follow Him in the deliverance process whatever it costs.  You and I can cast out those wrong thoughts at once In the Name and in the power of Jesus.”  Eugenia Price, S.P.S., 1/18

Choosing is what free will is all about.  I don’t think there is anyone who hasn’t experienced free will.  It’s that pull we feel when we do what we don’t want to do.  Or it may feel more like a push.  Whatever it feels like, I believe it’s the struggle that ensues in our consciences when our free wills clash with God’s will.  I think that’s why I love the verses in the Bible that talk about our consciences being cleared.  It’s not at all like the unregenerate person’s conscience.  In order for an “unsaved” person to resist God’s grace, he must deaden his conscience.  The new creature in Christ, however, has his conscience awakened and it feels wonderful.....until it’s alarm goes off.  Now we are faced with choosing.  Do I allow this thought that my conscience wants to boot out which will eventually lead to some inappropriate behavior or do I deny myself?  It feels so natural to have this thought.  I’ve always thought this way.  This thought is me!  If I boot out this thought where will “I” be.  But my new creature knows this isn’t who I am anymore because now Christ lives in me--I’m born again.  My old life has been exchanged for a new life.  And so the struggle ensues.  Sometimes the old thought pattern wins.  Sometimes the New Creature wins. This is why we must never forget we are new creatures--fully sanctified and immune to sin.  Otherwise, we have psychosomatic sin.   Every sinful thought that enters our minds we will “catch”.  Once caught it develops into a full-blown disease--some sinful behavior.  But if we truly believe we are sanctified--holy in God’s eyes--when sinful urges/thoughts blow through our minds, they’ll have no place to land and dig themselves in.  We’ll reject them because they are not who we are any longer.  Jesus Christ and the power of His Holy Spirit is our inoculation against the disease of sin.

“Do not yield your members to sin as instruments of wickedness, but yield yourselves to God as men who have been brought from death to life, and our members to God as instruments of righteousness.  For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.”  Romans 6:13, 14