So, since Christ suffered in the flesh for us, for you, arm yourselves with the same thought and purpose [patiently to suffer rather than fail to please God]. ~1 Peter 4:1 (AMP)
When we give our lives to Christ our spirit is made perfect before God, but our soul which is made up of our mind, will and emotions can still be quite a mess. Throughout our life the Lord works with us through His Holy Spirit to become more like Jesus. Slowly but surely, we grow up and out of sin. That is also known as sanctification. The first thing the Lord begins to change is our “wanter” or our desires. We find ourselves wanting to put others first and wanting to make changes in our lives that would make us a better witness for our Lord. We find ourselves not wanting to do those things that so gratify our flesh like gossiping or judging others or having a critical spirit that causes division in our homes and in our lives. Not all our desires get a miraculous transformation though. Sometimes God reveals to us that our desires are not His will for our lives, but He doesn’t necessarily remove them immediately. The Lord teaches us to work with Him on a daily basis to overcome. Knowing our own weakness can be a great revelation. It's actually the foundation to begin the work. Our scripture today says Jesus suffered in the flesh and we are to arm ourselves with the same thought and purpose. That means we need to set our minds to do what is right whether it feels good or not. Sometimes it’s easier to see where others are getting it wrong, but that doesn’t mean God has called us to be their conscience. We need to be satisfied that our conscience was given to us to keep us void of offense towards God. It’s important that we know that no man owns another man’s conscience so to speak. We are called by God to keep our walk straight, not anybody else’s. The Lord tells us in Romans 14:4 “Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand.” (NIV) We need to look to where we have weaknesses, not at others weaknesses.
What are your temptations? Do you have a hard time holding back when someone mistreats you or someone you love? Do you want to “tell them off” or maybe tell everyone else how bad they are? When the temptation comes, we must ask ourselves “is what I am about to say going to promote peace or cause division?” As hard as it may be to zip our lips, causing division is not an option. When we cause one person to have negative feelings about another person by what we say we are not promoting peace and we should know that God does not take that lightly. The Lord tells us in Romans 14:19 “Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and mutual edification.” (NIV) Mutual edification is building people up in other's sight, not tearing them down. No matter what they have done. What about your job? Do you work “as unto the Lord”? Do you give your employer 100% knowing God is your rewarder? We need to know where the devil tempts us and watch for him. Arm yourselves today. Set your mind and keep it set that you are going to walk within the boundaries of God’s will even if your flesh has to suffer for it. Put your will on the altar. Then face the day with determination that you are going to work with the Lord to overcome no matter what the cost because God promises you in Romans 8:37 “in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us" (NIV)
But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. ~1 Corinthians 15:57 (NIV)
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