The
Mind Governed By The Spirit
Is Life And Peace
Therefore, there is now
no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus
the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and
death. For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the
flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a
sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous
requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to
the flesh but according to the Spirit.
Those who live
according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but
those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the
Spirit desires. The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed
by the Spirit is life and peace. The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to
God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those who are in the
realm of the flesh cannot please God.
You, however, are not in
the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit
of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do
not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is
subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of
righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is
living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your
mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.
Romans
8:1-11
No matter what we look
like on the outside, we may or may not be gorgeous on the inside. There should
be a beauty, inside of us, that reveals a beauty of God’s love and work in our
lives. What does this mean?
We should delight in
God’s law. We should have a Spirit-controlled mind. We should let the Spirit
take charge of our inner being which can build in us the “fruit of the Spirit.”
That fruit comes to us in a beautiful array of qualities such as love, joy,
peace, patience, and kindness.
Delighting in Scripture
and allowing the Spirit to work in our heart will make us look good on the
inside – and will pay off in a life that honors God.
Righteousness
in your heart produces beauty in your character.
Our
Daily Bread – October 11, 2013