"Learning To Move Away From Fleshliness"

The hardest thing for many in Christ is to determine if they are being fleshly or spiritual. Most cannot tell the difference. Too many are taking personal ideas and testimonies, finding some verses in Bible that they think validates those ideas and thoughts and think it is being spiritual. Whenever one takes God's word, combines it with self made thoughts, it becomes fleshly. Fleshly people have little to no power to change into the likeness of God because the things of God are reduced to human levels. A spiritual person is one who lines up with the character, thinking and will of God, to please Him alone, letting go of their personal thinking and desires.

Recently I was reading some one's facebook. They spoke like the world, thought like the world and tried to apply it all to God. It was sad. I wanted to write on their wall to share with them about their fleshly mind set, but I realized when you try to correct the fleshly, they will respond fleshly, taking offense. When you correct a spiritual person, they will take the direction and love you for it! If I were fleshly, I would go ahead and take the liberty to write, thinking I was helping. That's what many do. They cannot say 'no' to their desires.

In Acts 2:38, there are two things that happen at our "new birth." (1) Forgiveness! A complete cleansing of our sins wiped away. (2) Given the Holy Spirit! Why? To lead our lives in another direction, away from our fleshliness and fleshly reactions. That means a new power is involved. Our minds must be set on the Spirit, not our flesh so we can draw from the spiritual things of God. It's not magical but simply a yielding, a willingness to allow God to take us in another direction when we encounter situations in our life. Instead of thinking how situations affect us, or take us down, we have the opportunity to think in terms of what the Lord is trying to teach us and train us in, looking out for the benefit of others rather than yourself. When in certain situations, most never consider others but how everything affects them! That's being fleshly. You will react fleshly, using your own thinking and feelings to determine your course of action. We need to embrace our forgiveness, which many do, but they never "die" to themselves and give God complete right over their thinking and actions. You can really see it when people hold to grudges and hurt feelings. All that matters to them is how they have been treated. They never believe they have "died with Christ" so the old, fleshly self is still in commission and it will just grow stronger and stronger with age.

The most important factor to overcoming your fleshliness is your mind set. Grasping hold of our "new birth", realizing we have "died" is the secret to finding true power and strength to overcoming. Setting our minds on things above, not on the little sayings of people, the little religious quotes that we think is spiritual. God is trying to change us from within and His power wants to work, but fleshly thinking and reactions will thwart His actions. God cannot and will not work in fleshly minded people. The Scriptures tells us if "you are living according to the flesh, you must die!" (Rom. 8:13) That should get our attention!