Living De Novo

It's time, most definitely, for a Revolution.

rev·o·lu·tion [rev-uh-loo-shuhn]
–noun
1. an overthrow or repudiation and the thorough replacement of an established government or political system by the people governed.
2. a radical and pervasive change in society and the social structure, esp. one made suddenly and often accompanied by violence.
3. a sudden, complete or marked change in something: the present revolution in church architecture.
4. a procedure or course, as if in a circuit, back to a starting point.


First off, every one of these definitions apply to our current situtation.

For the first day, I will cover the first definition.

DEFINITION 1: an overthrow or repudiation and the thorough replacement of an established government or political system by the people governed.

We as a Christian church are governed. Yes, of course, by the government of the United States, but that is not who we are declaring a revolution over. We are governed not by the institution of the Church itself, because it is your choice which church you attend. No, the one and only driving, governing force that is ever-present in every aspect of our lives is Ourselves. Yes, we are the what we must overthrow. We need a thorough replacement of this Human flesh with something more than human. Romans 8:13-14 tells us:

So don't you see that we don't owe this old do-it-yourself life one red cent. There's nothing in it for us, nothing at all. The best thing to do is give it a decent burial and get on with your new life. God's Spirit beckons. There are things to do and places to go!

In other words, put your flesh down in exchange for something higher, your "new life".

This is, of course not an easy task. We will always be human. We will never be without temptation; Jesus even told the disciples so. ("He said to his disciples, 'Hard trials and temptations are bound to come...'" - Luke 17:1) So what is the point? How is it possible to die to the flesh if you will always be human?

For clarification, it is NOT literal suicide. It is simply dying, constantly, to your own desires, in exchange for what he would choose for you to do. The best answer is, once again, in Jesus' words. Pray.

Matthew 26:41 says this:
"Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak."

Oh, and by the way, even when you are tempted, God PROMISES there is always a way out.

1 Corinthians 10:13 says:

No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.

So we can, daily, choose to die to our fleshly desires. It is our responsibility to overthrow this establishment of such despicable flesh in exchange for holiness by him.

That's all for now. More tomorrow...