Day 9 - Disabled Route to Entitlement

Romans 8:12-14 So, dear brothers, you have no obligations whatever to your old sinful nature to do what it begs you to do. [13] For if you keep on following it you are lost and will perish, but if through the power of the Holy Spirit you crush it and its evil deeds, you shall live. [14] For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.

If allowed, the evil dictates of the flesh can digress into a law of their own, that not fulfilling them is some kind of transgression itself. This is what would seem to be taking place in our nation. The whims and passions of sexual deviance are attempting to redefine morality so that not accepting them is evil itself. To not agree with terminating a life in the womb for any reason the flesh comes up with is defined as a great threat to women's personal rights. To not agree with and support personal sexual preferences and choice of gender identity is being framed as some kind of unacceptable hate crime. As long as the flesh comes up with something it wants bad enough, then we are obligated to fulfill that desire. This popular movement to abandon all consideration of God in determining policies of these kinds is just a recipe for death on a large scale.

This notion of obligation to what the flesh demands, however, isn't confined to these extreme deviations from both God's and common law. In every area of fleshly preference there can be an assumed obligation to fulfill it, as if to do otherwise is a violation of personal rights. How we choose foods, entertainment, relationships, word, etc. can all fall into this same perception of entitlement. While each of these may not appear as extreme as other threats to our society, any following of the flesh in the choice of actions and lifestyle is a choice with detrimental and destructive ramifications. Only in deference to the Spirit, both from what is discovered in His inspired Word and from His voice on the inside, can there be confidence in the resulting quality of Godly living. To prefer the Spirit over the flesh, though, will require crushing the flesh as an influence altogether, not just in one area. This putting to death of the flesh is not optional for those who claim God as their Father. To listen and follow His Spirit will mean treating the whines of the flesh as if they don't exist. A funeral for the flesh is quite necessary, but equally essential will be following the Spirit into those amazing works that are possible because of that funeral. 

Meditation

Fasting:

"I do not allow my heart to be driven by affection for things of this world, but set it securely on love of the Father and its path to true life.” 
John 12:25, 1 John 2:15

Praise:

"In the exalting of God my heart will be stilled from all anxiety, safely knowing that He makes all earthly threats to be nothing and He will be honored throughout the whole world."
Psalm 46:8-11

Identity:

"God’s love is abiding in me and I am perfected in that love to know that as He is, so am I in this world."
1 John 4:16-17

Understanding:

"I have received the Spirit of God that I may know the things that are freely given to me by God."
1 Corinthians 2:12-14 

Wholeness:

"Because I have made the Lord my dwelling place, no evil will overtake me nor plague come near."
Psalm 91:9-10

Provision:

"In Christ all the promises of provision, health and protection are mine as I’m established in His holiness."
Deuteronomy 28:1-14, 2 Corinthians 1:20