Tag: death

9—God Promises to Give You a New Life

Did you ever dream of living a different life, and what that would be like? I have been reflecting on the Scripture verses about living a new life for several weeks. I have been challenged to think differently, speak differently, and react differently. By differently, I mean think as Christ thinks, speak as Christ would speak, and respond with love like Christ. So why don’t I live like Jesus Christ, who lived a life of love?

How do we get a new life?

Our new life begins by changing wrong thinking and belief patterns to reflect the love of God. We also need to put off self-centered pride, that only thinks about ourselves. The same miracle that raised Jesus from the dead also raises us from the deadness of our sin so we can live a new life. Romans 8:11 states, “If the Spirit of him [God] who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.” Also, 1John 4:13 &15 states, “By this we know that we abide in him [God] and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.” Verse 15: “Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.” The Holy Spirit of God not only gives us life but helps us to live a new life, but we first must choose to walk in the Spirit. Galatians 5:16-17 explain, “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.”

The Apostle Paul explains in 2Corinthians 5:17 the following, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” The new life we are to live can only be lived through Jesus Christ, as explained in Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” “And he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised” – 2Corinthians 5:15. Think for a moment about what a day in your life would look like if you lived through Christ Jesus? 1John 4:9 states, “In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.”

How should Christ’s death and resurrection change us?

Remember, you can only change yourself; you can’t change anyone else. How would your life look different because of what Jesus did for you on the cross? Colossians 2:13-15 states, “And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. 15He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.” The work of the devil in our lives has been disarmed and we are free from the devil’s control through our sinful flesh. 1John 3:8 states, “Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.” But we need to always humbly submit to God and resist the devil (James 4:6-7).

Read and ponder each passage below and think about how you can apply the passage to your life.

We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. –Romans 6:4

Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God. –Romans 7:4

In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, 12having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. –Colossians 2:11-12

Who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification. –Romans 4:25

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. –Colossians 3:1

Before we knew Christ Jesus, we were dead in our sins (Eph. 2:1), but when we believe and seek His forgiveness, we are set free from the control of sin (Rom. 6:22-23). Our sinful nature should not control our new life. We will struggle with unhealthy beliefs and wanting things our way, so we need to consider ourselves dead to self-centered pride and seek to love others as God loves. As you want others to love you, so you should love others in the same way.

How do we live through Christ?

Here is how you know you are living through Jesus Christ and not through your sinful flesh. I still struggle with my sinful flesh, but as I submit to God, I  have the victory.  1Peter 3:8-9 tells us, “Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. 9Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing.”

    • Do you have unity of mind with those you live with and fellowship at church with?
    • Are you sympathetic to those around you?
    • Do you have brotherly love for those who are hard to love?
    • Do you have a tender heart towards those who are struggling?
    • Are you humble and do not insist on your way as the only or best way?
    • Do you bless those who irritate you or make you angry? Or do you return an insult from the offense you feel? We can bless people by being patient, gentle, kind, peaceful, and so on.
    • Are you servant-minded like Jesus? Philippians 2:3-8 explains:

“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.

4Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

5Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.

8And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 

Conclusion:

As long as we are in our bodies, we will battle our sinful desires to please our self-centered, prideful flesh. We need to remind ourselves of our new life in Christ and decide to live by the Spirit in us, not our old sinful flesh. Romans 8:5-6 states, “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. 6For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.” You can’t do this in your strength, which is why we need to put on Jesus Christ and keep Him on. Romans 13:14 tells us to “But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.”  We also need to consider ourselves as dead to sin. Romans 6:11 tells us, “So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.” My online book explains how a person can live a new life and have a new destiny.

RELATED POSTS

How The Spirit Gives Life.

Are you in control of your life?

How to Dig up the Unforgiving Belief to Grow in Love

Love From a Pure Heart

HOW PRIDE DESTROYS

How to Convert Pridefulness to Gentleness and Humility

All verses are from the English Standard Bible. If you find my posts and website helpful, please share the links with your friends and family, hopeforcompletehealing.com. The information is copyright protected, and no part of the posts or my book may be reproduced without proper citation to Joyce Hanscom.

Check out my first book called Fighting Unseen Battles on Amazon. I would love to hear what you think.

Contact me at hopeforcompletehealing@gmail.com and ask for a PDF of Eight Life-changing Prayers from the Bible. The prayers are for the Spirit of wisdom, renewal, spiritual strength, knowledge of His will, virtues of God, non-believers, 23rd Psalm, and victory. I will also send you the Lord’s Prayer Model to pray effectively. Please leave your name, so I know you are a real person making the request.

UNSEEN IDOLS OF EARTHLY SINS AND NEEDS

Are you unknowingly an idolater? This is the fifth post on unseen idolatry. The first post explains why practicing idolatry will cause you to not enter the kingdom of heaven and how to recognize your idolatry. The second post shows you how people become idols and how you please them out of fear of loss, but why you are to fear God. The third post explains how to break worldly soul ties that control you long after a relationship is over, and how you can find a friend who is devoted to God. In the fourth post, I exposed the problem with getting your identity and self-worth from people and money instead of God. In this post, I will show you the idols you set up to satisfy your earthy needs and sinful flesh.

Colossians 3:5 tells us to, “Put to death what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passions, evil desires, and covetousness (greed), which is idolatry.” The New American Standard Version says, “Therefore, consider the members of your earthly body as dead to….” Something dead no longer exists. So, if you put to death the earthly passions described in Colossians 3:5, then they will no longer exist for you to serve them. Remember, an idol is something you are devoted to and serve, expecting something good in return, but only get disappointment.

      Living by the Spirit of God helps you put to death your earthly passions.  To live by the Spirit is to yield your life to God and be led by Him. Romans 8:13 states, “For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” And Galatians 5:16 states, “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.” To walk in the Spirit means yielding to His control through prayer, and allow Him to exert His influence over you. It is the Spirit of God in you who helps you put to death your sinful passions. Read my post called How The Spirit Gives Life. To learn more about how to walk in the Spirit go to https://www.gotquestions.org/Spirit-walk.html

Idolatry of Fleshly Desire

So, how can fleshly desires be idols in your life? Your fleshly desires are self-focused sins that demand you please your sense. Sin is disobedience of God’s perfect will for you. Pray and ask God to show if you have idols of sensual pleasures in your life. For example, a person with sexual sins may have a pornography addiction that controls them. Someone who idolizes possessions may have a problem coveting other peoples’ belongings or has an addiction to wanting things. Hoarding falls under this addiction. A person who hasn’t died to impurity may watch R-rated movies or afternoon soap operas. People with evil desires may hold on to grudges and wish harm to the people who have done them wrong.

      Earthly passions are vises the devil uses to control you and causes you to sacrifice your dignity, peace, and self-control to satisfy your sensual pleasure. For example, you have an earthly desire to go to the bars. The vise of alcohol becomes your idol, and you will sacrifice everything to it. This vise causes you to lose self-control and get drunk and then you sacrifice your dignity and fall into all forms of temptations. Satan uses your vise for alcohol to bring destruction in every area of your life.

Do you see how fleshly sins are demanding and never satisfied? One drink never satisfies the idol of alcohol. One purchase never satisfies a person who gets pleasure from shopping. A person who needs affirmation to feel good about themselves is never satisfied with just one affirming word. If you see you have an idol in your life, humbly acknowledge it and ask God to help you overcome it by loosing the unhealthy beliefs and evil spirit attachments in Jesus’ name.

The key to overcoming unseen idols is to give your life to God’s control and flee the temptations to give in to your earthly passions to satisfy sensual pleasures.  1Corinthians 10:14 states, “Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.” When you see the word “therefore”, it refers to an earlier thought. The previous verse is 1Corinthians 10:13, which says, “No temptation has overtaken you except what is human (common to man); but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted above what you are able. But with the temptation, He will also make the way out, so that you may be able to bear (endure) it.” Idolatry tempts you to not believe in a faithful God who wants to help you? Next time you are tempted, look up and seek God’s help to show you the way out, then walk by His Spirit’s control.

Idolatry of Needs

The devil will persuade you to doubt God’s willingness and ability to provide what you need. Needs vary from person to person, but some basic emotional needs are to feel loved, accepted, respected, significant, secure, approved, happy, needed, and protected. Satan puts doubts (lies about God) in your mind that God will meet your needs. When the devil causes doubt, he tempts you to turn to self-gratifying idols of people and things to satisfy your needs. However, trusting God and obeying Him is the key to having victory over all the temptations of the demonic forces at work against us. Also, when you are abiding with God, you will have all your needs met and everlasting blessings, love, acceptance, joy, and peace.

Another temptation is to distrust God and act independently of Him. When you distrust or doubt, you believe lies or half-truths about God and His ability to give you what you need. Eve fell into this trap when she was tempted in the Garden of Eden. Doubts cause you to worry that God will not take care of you. As a result, you try to live independently of God, trusting instead in idols to meet your needs. The best way to eliminate idols is to memorize the promises and truths found in God’s Word and to trust Him to meet your needs. Then loose/put off the sin of rebellion.

Grace and peace,

Joyce

How to Experience a Heavenly Life on Earth.

Living a heavenly life sounds too good to be true, but you can, and I will show you how.  Because I care about you, I will explain how to experience a life of flourishing growth through righteousness, peace, and joy.  Romans 14:6 states, “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.”  Please join me in my journey of experiencing the kingdom of God at this present time.  This does not mean you won’t have hardships, but you will experience a heavenly life that raises you above the hardships.  Does this sound good to you?  The key that opens the door to heavenly living is your attitude.  An attitude of rejoicing always, praying without ceasing, and being thankful for everything (1Theselonians 5:16-18).

Experiencing the Kingdom of God in this present age can only happen when you submit everything into God’s care first.  Many who call themselves Christians are not submitted to God and are spiritually dead because they do not have righteousness, peace, and joy. Have you been around a “Christian” who is dishonest, angry or depressed, and an ungrateful, sour person?  What I describe are signs of spiritual death.  I was that kind of Christian for many years until I discovered how to heal the painful memories of hurt and offenses to have peace and joy.  Read my short book on my website to learn how to heal painful memories so you can live the heavenly life to the fullest on earth. 1–Healing Begins by Transforming Painful Memories

In the last post, you learned how the Spirit gives life.  In this post, you will learn what the role of righteousness, peace, and joy are in the life-giving process.  Our text is Romans 8:10, which states, “But if (the Spirit of) Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness.”  Read my last two posts for context: HOW TO BE IN CONTROL OF LIFE and How does the Spirit give life?

Where did spiritual death through sin come from and what is life through righteousness? 

Romans 5:17 states, “For if, because of one man’s trespass (Adam’s disobedience), death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.” So, through the Spirit, you can put to death the deeds of the body and let righteousness rule your spirit and live the heavenly life.  Just as eternal life is a gift from God (see Ephesians 2:8 and Romans 6:23) so righteousness is a gift.  The following verses verify the correlation between life and righteousness.

Psalm 119:40 states, “Behold, I long for your precepts (direction for moral conduct); in your righteousness give me life!”

Proverb 12:28 states, “In the path of righteousness is life, and in its pathway,  there is no death.”

Romans 6:13 states, “Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.”

In these verses, you learn that righteousness is the reason the Spirit is life.  So, what is righteousness?  According to dictionary.com righteousness is the quality or state of being righteous and righteous means acting in an upright, moral way (knowing right from wrong); virtuous. So, what do we have to do?   2Timothy 2:22 tells us, “So flee youthful passions (selfish thinking) and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.”

How do you pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace?

You pursue righteousness by putting your faith in Jesus Christ’s ability to help you do what is right because He is your righteousness (see Romans 1:17; 3:22).  Pursue faith by reading God’s Word and memorizing Scripture (see Romans 10:17).  Become more loving by putting off pride and forgiving those who sin against you (see Matthew 6:12-14 and 1Corinthians 13:4-7).  Increase in peace by giving all your problems to God, trusting Him, and be thankful (Philippians 4:6,7).  If possible, you are to live peaceably with everyone (see Romans 12:18 and Hebrews 12:14).  Your heart becomes pure when you purify your soul from fleshly sins and obey the truth in God’s Word, then you can love one another (see 1Peter 1:22).

The evidence of righteousness is holiness and peace.

When you purify your soul, you become holy as explained in 2Corinthians 7:1. “Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.”  The fear of God is reverent awe and a desire to please Him, knowing He disciplines us.  Hebrews 12:9-11 states, “Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? 10) For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness.  11) For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it”. And, Isaiah 5:16b explains, “the Holy God shows himself holy in righteousness.”

Isaiah 32:17 also tells us, “And the effect of righteousness will be peace and the result of righteousness, quietness and trust forever.”  Do you think peace and quietness are better than the turmoil resulting from setting your mind on your selfish desires and sinful behavior?  Do you have peace and quietness in your life right now?  Isaiah gives us a clue as to why you may not have peace.  Isaiah 48:18 states, “Oh that you had paid attention (listened) to my commandments (instructions)! Then your peace would have been like a river, and your righteousness like the waves of the sea;”  When we obey God and do what He instructs us to do, then we will have righteousness and peace.  This is living a heavenly life.

To increase your righteousness and know abundant life, you must make peace with others.  James 3:18 states, “And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.”  Making peace with others can be difficult.  Romans 12:17 & 18 explains, “Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable (upright, moral) in the sight of all. 18) If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.”  And, Hebrews 12:14 encourages us to, “Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.”  Peace and holiness are essential pursuits if you want to experience the heavenly life and see the Lord in eternity.  If you have a problem being at peace, work through the instructions in my book to remove past offenses that keep you from living in peace and joy.

For example, someone was throwing trash in my yard as they drove up a private dirt road that runs along my property and in my front yard along the main road.  I was losing my peace over it and through a process of elimination I figured out who it could have been.  I began to roil inside.  Then I thought, wait a minute, I am no longer living above my problems.  So, I captured my thoughts and turned them into a prayer and began to rejoice in God’s goodness and mercy and thanked him for blessing me.  I had just memorized Romans 12:17&18, so I thought about how I can bless the person throwing trash in my yard.  I came home that very evening from work and my side yard along the dirt road was all cleaned up and no trash has been thrown in since.  Praise the Lord.  Do you see how living the heavenly life of righteousness, peace, and joy is better than revenge, worry, and anger?

There is hope for complete spiritual healing as you pursue righteousness, peace, and joy with the help of the Spirit and live a heavenly life above all hardships.

If you find my posts and website helpful, then please share the link to my post and website with your friends and family, hopeforcompletehealing.com. The information is copyright protected and no part of the posts or my book may be reproduced without proper citation to Joyce Hanscom.

Contact me at hopeforcompletehealing@gmail.com, and ask for a PDF of Eight Prayers from the Bible. The prayers are for the Spirit of wisdom, renewal, spiritual strength, knowledge of His will, virtues of God, non-believers, 23rd Psalm, and victory. Please leave your name so I know you are a real person making the request.

P.S.: Experiencing lasting change in your life depends on having a right relationship with God the Father through believing in His Son Jesus Christ and obeying His command to love (1 John 3).

RELATED POSTS:

How do you seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness?

A POWERFUL MOOD CHANGER

Can You Be Too Heavenly Minded?

Why, What, and How to Submit to God and be FREE

Victorious Thinking to Live a Successful Life

Thoughts That Create Peace Within and Without

Being Thankful During Hardships

How The Spirit Gives Life.

You might think anyone can see I am alive and not dead, so why do I need the Spirit of God to give me life?  The simple answer; a person has two states, a physical state, and a spiritual state, the physical state will die, but the spiritual state will live for eternity, whether in heaven or hell.  The complex answer; a person’s state of mind and soul determines if death or life defines their existence on earth. Romans 8:10 states, “But if (the Spirit of) Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness.”  I will unpack the truth of how righteousness is life in the next post.

In the last blog post, you learned how you are dead because of sin and how to set your mind on the Spirit and live. Romans 8:6 tells us, “For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.”  This post will attempt to explain how the Spirit gives life. Please review my last post for context: HOW TO BE IN CONTROL OF LIFE.

How does the Spirit give me life and peace when I set my mind on Him?  

First, understand the mind determines what you think, perceive, feel, and believe, which then influences your decisions and behaviors.  Second, the Spirit is part of the trinity which includes Jesus, the son of God, and the Father. Trinity defines the eternal God who always existed and created people to be in a relationship with Him.  The all-powerful, all-knowing, eternal, holy God of justice, love, peace, mercy, and grace wants to live in you through His Spirit.  Romans 8:11 explains, “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.”  You may think, I am alive without God, but in fact, you do not know what life is until you have His Spirit.

For example, you are a spirit being in a physical body, living in a physical world controlled by a Spirit World (see 1Corinthians 2:11, 14; Ephesians 2:2; 6:12; and Job 1).  If this is confusing, read my blog post on Four Realities of the Spirit World.  As a spirit being you have a soul.  Sin contaminates your soul and separates your spirit from God, which I explain in the last post, so I won’t elaborate here.  The soul is said to contain your sense of morality and conscience and is credited with the functions of thinking and willing.  Your mind and soul are connected, so where you set your mind will determine what state your soul is in; death or life.

For example, when I was in sin, though I professed to be a Christian, I was very depressed and felt no hope.  When I submitted my dead spirit and depressed heart to God, I felt hope and a sense of strength.  I began to flourish in my spirit with joy and peace.  Jesus tells us in John 10:10, “The thief (Satan) comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”   As cancer destroys the body and causes death so yielding to the devil and giving into his temptations to sin destroys your soul and causes death (see 1Peter 2:11; James 4:7).  The Holy Spirit of God gives life to your soul when you submit to Him and abide in His life-giving words in the Bible.  Read John 15 for a fuller explanation.

So, the mind set on the Spirit believes God’s Word is the absolute truth and internalizes these truths.  But, for the Spirit of God to dwell in you, you must believe and confess that Jesus is God the Son, who died to pay the debt for sin and rose from the dead and ascended into heaven. And, He forgives your sins and frees you from sins control (see John 1:29; 1 John 4:15; 1 Peter 1:18-19; Colossians 1:14; & Galatians 5:1). When you confess this with your mouth and believe with your heart, then God the Holy Spirit comes into your heart and fills you with love, life, and light (see Galatians 4:6; Ephesians 3:17; 1Corinthians 6:17; John 12:46). So, if you have not made this confession, do it now to experience life and peace (see Romans 10:9-13 & Ephesians 2:1-10).

Side note, you were told humans evolved from monkeys and monkeys evolved from what over billions of years?  If this were true, then where does the spirit of a person originate?  Evolution is taught as a science in school, on television, and in museums, which influences your mind to believe this lie.  Science can not prove the theory of evolution and there is NO evidence.  The theory of selection has been demonstrated but it does not prove the evolution of humans.  The formation of complex systems, of the human body and animals, can only be by the intelligent design of God.  Just as the creation of the complex workings of a clock was by intelligent design and not because it happened by chance.  Evolution is taught because the secular world, controlled by evil  (1John 5:19), wants to eliminate God as the source for the creation of the physical world.  The Bible is the absolute truth, not science.  Science can’t be absolute truth because it evolves as theories are proven and new discoveries are made through research.  Believing in science as absolute truth is idolatry, and it brings death to your soul (see Romans 1:18-32).

There is hope for complete healing as the Spirit of God in you removes the cancer of sin from your soul.

I would love to know what your thoughts are so please leave a comment.

RELATED POSTS:

EVIL—What is it and what is the remedy?

How do you seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness?

Can You Be Too Heavenly Minded?

If you find my posts and website helpful, then please share the link to my post and website with your friends and family, hopeforcompletehealing.com. The information is copyright protected and no part of the posts or my book may be reproduced without proper citation to Joyce Hanscom. 

Contact me at hopeforcompletehealing@gmail.com, and ask for a PDF of Eight Prayers from the Bible. The prayers are for the Spirit of wisdom, renewal, spiritual strength, knowledge of His will, virtues of God, non-believers, 23rd Psalm, and victory. Please leave your name so I know you are a real person making the request.

P.S.: Experiencing lasting change in your life depends on having a right relationship with God the Father through believing in His Son Jesus Christ and obeying His command to love (1 John 3).

Are you in control of your life?

Are you experiencing life and peace?  What thoughts control sinful desires and behavior choices?  You won’t realize how spiritually dead you are until you put off fleshly desires (lusts), which originate from thoughts that entice you to sin as explained in James 1:14,15.  “But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.  Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.”  Ask yourself, what entices me?   What is sin and why does it bring death?

  • Webster defines sin as the disobedience of moral principles of the Bible, primarily through a willful act.
  • The Bible says sin is doing evil in 29 verses of the English Standard Version. Evil is doing things to harm someone or cause trouble.
  • The passages of 1Kings 16:19; 2Chronicals 12:14; Jeremiah 2:19 explain how we do evil when we do not seek God but seek to please ourselves.
  • James 4:17 tells us sin is when we know the right thing to do and do not do it.

I first want to expand on what I wrote in the blog called Three Steps to Renew Your Mind (Part Two)

“Put off fleshly desires (sin nature).  “For the mind set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot.  Those who are in the flesh cannot please God” (see Romans 8:7-8).  Gal 5:19-21 states, “Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” Colossians 3:5-7 tells us to, “Put to death (crucify); therefore, what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.  6) On account of these, the wrath of God is coming.  7) In these, you too once walked, when you were living in them.”  We have divine power to take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ Jesus (see 2Corinthians 10:3-5). Begin by removing one sinful, wrong thought at a time.  Next, put on the corresponding characteristic of the Holy Spirit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness/meekness, faithfulness/truthfulness, and Self-control found on my website.”

Is it possible to never sin?  God gave those who believe divine power to take every thought captive so we can command the tempting thoughts and desires to leave in Jesus’ Name.  It works, try it.  But instead of entertaining enticing thoughts, change how you think so you won’t sin.  Romans 8:5,6 states, “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.  6) For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.”  So, how do you set your mind on the things of the Spirit?  And, what is the Spirit?  The Spirit is part of the trinity and refers to the Spirit of God and Christ.  You set your mind on the Spirit by doing the next three practices:

  • Pray at all times (see Ephesians 6:18; Romans 12:12; and 1Thessalonians 5:17); pray for help when you are being enticed and tempted to sin. Hebrews 2:17,18 states “Therefore he (Jesus) had to be made like his brothers in every respect so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.  18) For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.”
  • Praise Him and be thankful (see Hebrews 13:15; Revelation 19:5; Philippians 4:6,7; and 1Thessalonians 5:18), and
  • Ponder Scripture as you memorize each day (see Psalm 119:11 and Joshua 1:8).

    Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; 2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. 3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. (Psalm 1:1-3)

When you set your mind on the Spirit, you live by the Spirit and put to death the deeds of the flesh.  Romans 8:13 states, “For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.”  So, when you live according to the Spirit, you will experience life and peace because you are abiding in Christ Jesus (see John 15).  But before you can set your mind on the Spirit, you must first submit your mind and life to God (see James 4:7).  See the blog posts How do you seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness? and Why, What, and How to Submit to God and be FREE  to learn how.

So, why does setting your mind on the flesh and sin cause death?  Sin separates you from God (Isaiah 59:1,2) so you spiritually die, which leads to an eternity in hell, if you don’t repent and seek forgiveness.  Romans 6:23 states, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Dead means no life, no energy, and no growth; like a branch cut off from a tree.  When you sin, you are cut off from God’s power and life force.  You may become depressed, fearful, angry, feel purposeless, shame, guilt, and devoid of hope and life.  Maybe you have guilt from the past when you lived in the flesh.  Ask God to forgive you, then put off the fleshly desires and the guilt, receive God’s forgiveness (see 1John 1:9).

I discovered I had to ask God to heal my memories of when I gave into enticing thoughts and sinned because those memories recreate the enticement.  Memories of sinful acts lead to a vicious cycle of sinning and repentance.  Read my short book on my website to heal the memories from your past sinful lifestyle.  1–Healing Begins by Transforming Painful Memories

If you are not feeling life and peace, then read the following definitions of the various fleshly desires identified in Galatians 5:19-21 and Colossians 3:5-7.  Ask God to reveal if any of them control your thoughts and behavior.  To experience freedom, read the last section called “Overcoming Harmful Actions and Addictions” in the third chapter called 3–Breaking Free From Mental Strongholds to learn how to eliminate them.

Sexual immorality is sexual relations outside the limits of a biblical marriage.

Impurity or uncleanness is everything not pleasing to God, who is holy.  Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal any impure and unclean thoughts from watching or reading lustful or violent stories, and interests that glorify sinful desires.  Remember, you are the temple of the living God, and He lives in you through the Holy Spirit.  For example, a potty mouth is impure and unclean, so you must crucify it by taking the thoughts captive and putting them off.

Sensuality is a fondness for sensual pleasures such as lewd sex, drugs, and alcohol, also passions which are extreme affections or lusts.

Evil desires are longings for anything God forbids (i.e. revenge, wealth, witchcraft, selfish ambition, etc.)

Covetousness is a longing for something someone else has (i.e., you want someone else’s spouse, car, job, wealth, fame, etc.)

Greediness is an uncontrollable desire for more.

Witchcraft or sorcery is the use of evil supernatural power over people and their affairs.  Includes astrology, fortune-telling, seances, charms, curses, superstition, and trying to contact spirits.

Enmity is hostility or always ready to hate someone and hold a grudge.

Strife is to quarrel, struggle, or be in conflict.  This person is argumentative, rebellious, contentious, or contrary.

Jealousy is feeling resentment against someone because of that person’s rivalry, success, or advantages.

There is hope for complete freedom from the fleshly desires controlling your thoughts and immoral behavior.

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If you find my posts and website helpful, then please share the links with your friends and family, hopeforcompletehealing.com. The information is copyright protected and no part of the posts or my book may be reproduced without proper citation to Joyce Hanscom.

Contact me at hopeforcompletehealing@gmail.com, and ask for a PDF of Eight Prayers from the Bible. The prayers are for the Spirit of wisdom, renewal, spiritual strength, knowledge of His will, virtues of God, non-believers, 23rd Psalm, and victory. Please leave your name so I know you are a real person making the request.

P.S.: Experiencing a lasting change in your life depends on having a right relationship with God the Father through believing in His Son Jesus Christ and obeying His command to love (1 John 3).