Have you ever been sitting there in the doctor’s office or the dentist’s chair and be given a simple lecture on the ‘basics of good hygiene’? And you are just a bit taken back as you think to yourself, ‘My goodness, I’m an adult...I know how to ‘do such and such’. And that dental hygienist (or nurse) who was quite pleasant and polite in sharing this practical and helpful advice seems to know what you are thinking...and they are saying to themselves: “Yeah, well if you knew how and actually DID this, you probably would not be sitting here getting this work done today.” 

 It's one thing to know how to do it.

 It’s another thing...to actually ‘do it’. 

 James offered up some similar thoughts. 

 He writes there in his letter instructing us to ‘receive with meekness the implanted word which is able to save your souls.” (1:21). You might also note how he begins that sentence of how we should also ‘lay aside ALL filthiness and overflow of wickedness’. He’s talking about the sins of the flesh nature. A nature, I might add, that we’ve been duped into believing that we can never overcome it, has no bearing on our ‘walk of salvation' ; and that everyone will always have to struggle with it. And more often than not, we make excuses for it and justify it when it ‘shows out’ regularly. This idea of ‘putting it to death...for good’, is just ‘poetic language’ if you listen to the way most others address it. 

Yet, Paul said we are to make ‘no provision’ for the flesh, (Rom. 12:14), reminding us there in Rom. 1:29-32 that people who do such things are ‘deserving of death’. Strong words. He repeats this theme in chapter 8 there saying if we remain carnal-minded that we also remain hostile to God and will not submit to God’s law (7-8) adding that we will be incapable of ‘pleasing God’ and that if we continue to ‘live according to the flesh, we will die’. (8:13) 

 But wait...there’s more. 

 Paul writes there in Galatians 5...that IF...we are living according to the Spirit, we “will NOT be fulfilling the lust of the flesh’ nature. (16). He then gives a lengthy list of many of those ‘evident deeds or works of the flesh nature’ in vs. 19-21...adding...again...”those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” I realize that does not ‘fit’ with most people’s doctrines...so we can just pretend that is not there, or maybe cut it out with scissors or just mark it out with a good Sharpie pen. But all I can do is point out what your bible clearly says and let you wrestle with God on that one. Might check out Eph. 5:5 as well. 

 Oh...while we are here (Gal. 5), you might once again, read vs. 24 aloud that says “Those who belong to Christ have crucified (put to death- past tense) the flesh with its passions and desires.”  Is that just more idealistic or poetic language?  Or..."has God really said?" (Gen. 3:1)

 Now, back to James’s letter. 

 He talks about how the implanted word of God is able to ‘save our souls’. Have you ever listened to someone try and explain their spin on ‘salvation’ and how after you pray a prayer, your ‘spirit is saved’ but then God starts working on your ‘soul’ and ‘cleaning up your flesh’ which we are then told is a long, drawn-out lifelong process that really will not be complete until we get to heaven but we should still try to do our best. And you want to ask: “but wait...can our spirit be saved and our soul not be saved?’ Then as your eyes glass over with confusion, you just quietly nod your head in agreement and ‘hang your hat on trusting Jesus’ and hope you end up in heaven someday. 

 No wonder we have so many ‘towers’ (denominations/doctrines- Gen. 11:1-9) being built telling us how to get to heaven. 

 Yet, James writes: “Be doers...of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” (1:22) 

 Have you ever noticed how often in scripture we are warned about being ‘deceived’?  It is, a continuous theme and warning for sure. And guess what?...’brethren’ can be deceived. (James 1:16). Paul was concerned that we would be deceived in the same manner Eve was back in the garden. (2 Cor. 11:2-4). We should also be reminded that deceived people don’t know they are deceived. 

 There’s a funny quote I saw printed on a T-shirt years ago that read: “The Older I Get, the Better I Was.” I laugh every time I see that because we’ve all heard others retell stories of their 'feats of accomplishment' from back when they were younger, and how those stories tend to ‘grow with embellishment’. And you were there and know better.  As that other saying goes, they ‘are a legend in their own mind’. But I digress.... 

 To be ‘deceived’ is to allow darkness to come back in and blind us. As Jesus said, ‘those who are in darkness don’t know where they are going.” (John 12:35) 

 I also mentioned yesterday how God’s word is like a ‘mirror with a light’ that we see women (usually) make use of when ‘enhancing their natural beauty’. ;-) It can be challenging to ‘clean yourself up’ without a mirror. And it is through the ‘washing of the water of the word’ that the Holy Spirit actually does this. (Eph. 5:26-27). If you don’t think that this cleansing process is important and essential to God ‘completing the work in you’ (Phil. 1:6), you are deceived. I share that in all humility and gentleness, yet in truth and in love. 

 So just how...does this work? As promised yesterday...like this: 

When we turn to Jesus with our whole heart, He now becomes our new Lord and/or ‘master’. We have defiled hearts in need of cleansing. (Mark 7:21-23; Jer. 17:9). And just as Joshua led the Israelites into the promised land to remove all the evil nations off the land, so does Jesus lead us to do the same. But it’s not ‘hostile nations of wicked people’ He is removing now; it’s those sources of our sinful flesh nature that need to go. This is what it means to be ‘led of the Spirit’. 

 IF...you are not being led by His Spirit, you are not His child. (Rom. 8:13-14). IF....you are being led by or walking in His Spirit, you won’t be fulfilling the lust of that sinful flesh nature. (Gal. 5:16; 1 John 3:6) 

 Let’s start with an ‘easy’ one for an example - Complaining or grumbling. 

 As you begin to hunger for God’s word and ‘grow’ in Him, (1 Pet. 2:2), you will start coming across verses in your bible that will begin to ‘prick’ you or convict you as they expose dark areas in your heart (Matt. 12:34). Take for example, Phil. 2:14-15 that says to ‘do all things without complaining and disputing’ or maybe Eph. 4:29 that says “Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for building up others’. 

 Did God put that in there for us to analyze or to do? 

 Would you flip back to 1 Cor. 10:9-10, read that and tell me why those people were ‘destroyed by the destroyer’? And according to vs. 11, why does Paul even mention this here? Is it possible that God might be serious about this? A few other verses to keep in mind would be James 5:9; John 6:43; 1 Pet. 4:9 and Ps. 106:24-25. 

 So the light of God’s truth happens to shine and expose an area in your heart that most of us are prone to doing...grumbling and complaining. Instead of recoiling and attempting to justify that sin, (or agree to dial it down some) here’s a novel concept: try agreeing with God, confess it...realize how unbecoming it is for saints to do this given it is not the nature of Christ to complain, and ask for His forgiveness. Are we not commanded to ‘walk as Jesus walked’ if we going to abide in Him? (1 John 2:6) 

 And guess what? When we confess our sins to Him, what is He faithful to do? ( 1 John 1:9). When you repent of something, it means you turn from...and don’t do that anymore. (Hello?) 

 Granted, some of you may say that you honestly ‘can’t help yourself’ in this area. I believe you. There’s a good possibility that something ‘spiritual’ is ‘tied in here’ that comes down a family line. No worries...What did God tell the Israelites He would do as they went in to take possession of that land? He...would remove those wicked nations who were stronger than the people. If you are truly sincere in confessing that sin, and truly want victory to overcome this area, then when we read how the blood of Jesus cleanses us from ALL unrighteousness, that would include unclean spirits as well. That ‘unclean spirit’ of grumbling/complaining has to go (Eph. 2:1-3). It has no choice. Darkness is always repelled by the light. And you don’t even have to get a running start or shout and sing for 30 minutes. The moment you are ready to let that thing go and turn in your heart to Jesus, it is gone. Period. End. Of. Story. 

 At that moment, the blood of Jesus removed a ‘spiritual influence’ from your heart. You should experience a bit of freedom along with some peace and joy. What did Jesus say about ‘knowing the truth’ there in John 8:32 and 34? And what can we personally experience after we genuinely repent? (Acts 3:19) 

 Now...has your whole heart been cleansed and purified? Of course not...that was just ‘one nation’ that needed to come off ‘the land’. But it’s a good start. You might want to continue abiding in Jesus...as there is much more work to be done...IF...you plan on showing up at that ‘wedding’...as a ‘pure, holy, and blameless’ bride. ;-) (2 Cor. 7:1; 1 John 3:3) 

 Oh, one last thing for today. You might review Matt. 12:43-45 because this will happen as God will test your heart to see how serious you were about this. (1 Thess. 2:4 ;Deut. 8:2) But you need not fear, the battle is not yours, but God’s. Just don’t be surprised by it. (Matt. 24:43). It will most likely happen in a restaurant or at work or any number of other situations where you will be tempted to ‘complain’ or, you know, let everyone know in social media how incompetent someone was and how badly you were treated?

 Die. To. It. 

 God will give you grace in that time of temptation...and your ‘old man may suffer some’. 

Die. To. It. 

 Prove to God you love Him with ALL your heart and want that old idol gone forever. And remember, it is not ‘flesh and blood’ you are contending with now, but what? (Eph. 6:12). 

Oh...and if you ‘stand in the grace of God’ and ‘resist the devil’, what must he do? (James 4:7) 

 See you tomorrow. ;-)