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Day 5 Romans 13:8-14 Devotional

By October 13, 2017Daily Devotional

Pray:

Ask God to orient or reorient you to Himself. Confess any known sin. Thank Him for His forgiveness. Be still and reflect on Jesus and His sacrifice for you. Ask the Holy Spirit to open your heart and mind to God’s Word. Pray for others in your life that they, too, would know and love God today.

Read:

Romans 13:13-14

13Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. 14Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.

Understand:

The best policy we can follow is, first of all, to put on the Lord Jesus Christ. This means that we should adopt His whole lifestyle, live as He lived, and accept Him as our Guide and Example.

Look at the following verses that challenge us to do the same:

  • 27 for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. (Galatians 3:27)
  • 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. (Ephesians 4:24)
  • 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator… 12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. (Colossians 3:10,12)

Think about what we talked about yesterday…about being awake and alert. Isn’t interesting that he now challenges us to “clothe” ourselves in Christ! How do we do that? Look back at the verses, think back to yesterday: we put on the armor of Christ; we take the old off and put on the new; we put on righteousness and holiness; we renew ourselves in the knowledge of Christ; we’re to be compassionate, kind, humble, gentle and patient.

We should make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts. This is crucial. The flesh here is the old, corrupt nature. It incessantly cries to be pampered with comfort, luxury, illicit sexual indulgence, empty amusements, worldly pleasures, dissipation, materialism, etc. Think this isn’t true—think its hyperbole? I assure you it’s not! I have personally seen men who have struggled in the flesh. I’ve seen them compromise an inch and then the enemy took a mile.

So what are we to do? We make provision for the flesh! When we give a higher priority to the physical than to the spiritual, we find ourselves in trouble. We should not indulge the flesh even a little. Rather, we should “give no chances to the flesh to have its fling” (JBP). (MCDonald)

Apply:

As you consider the ways the Devil lulls you to sleep, how can you be on-guard against those temptations? In what way can you make no provision for the flesh? Do you need to enlist help in that struggle? 

*From what you have just read and considered: What is a personal implication/application for your life today?

Live:

(Personalize this prayer today; make it specific to the circumstances that face you.)
Ask God to lead you through His Spirit as you go through your day. Ask Him to bring to mind the truth of the Gospel and its implications for what you will encounter today. Tell Him “Yes” to His will and ask Him for His power and protection to live this “yes.” Ask God to create and reveal opportunities to proclaim the good news today. KEEP PRAYING THROUGHOUT YOUR DAY.

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