In the beginning, God created the earth, He created man from dust in his own image and gave man a breath of life. From this very moment man received along with many other gifts, the gift of free will.
The mind (the bible sometimes refer to as the heart) is a vessel with which this gift inhabits.
“Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness …”
Genesis 1:2
“Then the Lord God formed a man from dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.”
Genesis 2:7
If we take a deeper look into the story of Adam and Eve and the Garden of Eden and the fall of man, we will understand that God has the authority to control the mind of Adam and restrict him from eating the forbidden fruit. In fact! Why did God put the tree there in the first place? Knowing the potential risk.
“In the Lord’s hands the king’s heart is a stream of water that he channels towards all who please him.”
Proverbs 21:1
Even though God has the power to direct the heart of man towards pleasing Him unconditionally, he gave us the gift of free will so that we can choose our own paths. More pleasure is brought to God when a man forsakes all lustful, pleasuring and desirable paths which lead to sin, choose to follow the path of righteousness and light of God’s presence.
This is why the bible tells us that Christ did not come for the righteous but for the sinner. The Father takes great pleasure when a man who has been living in sin and darkness sees his light and takes a bold step to walk towards the light and leaving behind this word and its evil pleasures. This bold step requires faith and that is why without faith, we can never please God.
“In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
Luke 15:10
“On hearing this, Jesus said to them “it is not the healthy who need a doctor but the sick.” I have not come to call the righteous but sinners.”
Mark 2:17
“And without faith it is impossible to please God, those who come to Him must believe that He exists and that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him”
Hebrews 11:6
When one makes that conscious decision, fuelled by faith to deny a life of sin and to carry their cross and follow Christ. From that moment that Christian receives the Holy Spirit, which is the representative of God’s presence in us. From that moment also, the presence of God resides in that mind/heart.
“Do you know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, who you have received from God? You are not your own.”
Often I hear people say “once saved, saved forever”. I can boldly assure you that this is a lie from the pit of Hell.
Yes! When we make that conscious choice to leave behind our life of sin and follow God, we receive the spirit of the living God and His presence begins to dwell in us. Because God is light and in him there is no darkness (1John 1:5), His holiness cannot withstand or reside in a vessel where sin also resides. This makes it our responsibility as Christians to continue to die to our flesh and its sinful desires on a daily basis.
This can be done through the help of the Holy Spirit with prayer and deep understanding and revelation of Gods words.
“What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?”
Romans 6:1
The same way God has access to our minds through the Holy Spirit, so also satan has access. It is a responsibility of a Christian to be on the guard and filter the voice of satan from the voice of God.
Maintaining a fellowship with God is a constant spiritual uphill battle, the moment one drops their guard, satan prances upon weaknesses and fissures in aim of taking a Christian down.
“Be alert and of sober mind your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”
It can’t be emphasised enough how important is for Christians to constantly assess themselves and through prayer, guarding one’s heart/mind from the influences of satan and keeping the presence of God in us.
Always remember that all good comes from God and all evil comes from satan. In conclusion:
“When tempted, no one should say” God is tempting me “for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempts anyone but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desires has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and sin, when is full-grown, gives birth to death.”
Satan puts evil desires in minds, this is one of his many abilities and he can target anyone, no matter how spiritually fortified you may be. What makes the difference is one’s ability to recognise the attempts of satan on their mind and instantly fight back with prayer and the word of God before evil thoughts give birth to sin and consequently death.
We do not speak of physical death here, the death of one’s soul occurs when the presence of the Living God eludes and the soul is headed towards hell fire this is worse than physical death!
“Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”
#SpendSomeTimeTodayWithGod
Written by Stephen O.