Discuss: 1) Where in your life do you experience being a slave to sin and to God’s law as Paul does in Romans 7? 2) What are examples of where “the flesh” is winning in your life? 3) What are examples of where the Holy Spirit is winning? 4) Write a prayer confessing the struggle you have with your human nature. Write any current areas where your sin nature might be winning and call on the power of the Holy Spirit to claim this victory.
Introduction Peter leads a large group of disciples to an isolated (perhaps secretive) meeting where Jesus will once again give them their marching orders. Then they make their way back to Jerusalem to await the coming Holy Spirit as the movement switches into its...
Introduction After rising from the dead, Jesus appears to His disciples on several occasions. Paul lists the appearances in 1 Corinthians 15:3-8. He appeared to many people individually — to His leaders on several occasions and even to a group of disciples numbering...
1) In the past, my experience of being a slave to sin and to God’s law as Paul talks about in Romans 7 was predominantly behavioral. Today, this war takes place in my heart and mind. Although I have been able, by the power of God’s Spirit at work within me, to curb much of my overtly sinful behaviors, (though certainly not all,) I struggle to “take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.” I have come to recognize that my heart is “deceitfully wicked,” in that the lust of the flesh oftentimes rules over my thoughts and intents. I entertain sinful pleasures and allow temptation to lure my heart and mind for far too long.
2) This would be the example I think of where “the flesh” is winning in my life. It seems to me that the battle is constant. There are times when I feel as if I’m doing well, which are inevitably followed by times of miserable failure.
3) Today, by God’s grace, there seem to be many examples of where the Holy Spirit is winning, (though I have learned to remember Paul’s words in 1 Cor. 10:12: “let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.”) As an alcoholic/addict, the victory that Christ has given me over the temptations and obsession to drink and use give me hope for victory over other areas of sin in my life. In the aforementioned area, it seems to me that the Holy Spirit is winning in that I am able to recognize these shortcomings and have a sincere desire to be rid of them.
4) Heavenly Father, I know that I am a sinner, and that I fail to glorify You in ALL that I think, say, and do. I entertain ungodly and lustful thoughts, resentments, and even slanderous notions. Help me, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to “take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ,” and to mindfully subject my sinful heart and mind to Your care.
Celeste
1) Where in your life do you experience being a slave to sin and to God’s law as Paul does in Romans 7?
Growing up I was taught by my parents to be a good kid and get good grades, and be the best at whatever you’re doing . That’s what I did exactly! I would misbehave here and there. It was just innocent misbehaving I was not a slave to sin until it went into that dark place called drug addiction and that really altered and changed me. I was not the mom I was anymore to my children, the daughter I was to my parents, I became dependent on the drugs and did a lot of bad things. To be honest with you guys, I was just raised in a very religious catholic family and never fully accepted God in my life, I didn’t fully embrace praying to god or even read the Bible and to really try and understand it. There were no foundation that I can build upon to activate the Holy Spirit within me.
2) What are examples of where “the flesh” is winning in your life?
An example of when the flesh is winning is in my head , Im conjuring reasons to why I’m able to do something that I know wouldn’t be good for me, like putting money into n my Starbucks card, using my credit card when I really don’t need to.
3) What are examples of where the Holy Spirit is winning?
I’ve fully accepted god and surrendered to him, i do this on a daily basis. I’m free from my addiction, I’ve accepted that I’m an addict . This is something that I thought I would never be able to do. I didn’t do it on my own free will, my own free will led me to very dark places. The Holy Spirit within me and around me have shown me hope and has given me some peace in my life.
4) Write a prayer confessing the struggle you have with your human nature. Write any current areas where your sin nature might be winning and call on the power of the Holy Spirit to claim this victory.
Heavenly Father, I’ve been struggling with my emotions and how I feel about a certain relationship with someone. I would get mad and resents this person, why do I do this to myself? Then I remembered that I have you to pray and cry out to. I have the Holy Spirit within me to guide me through these challenging times. I immediately became grateful and hopeful again. Thank you lord, for your wisdom and your will for me. Thank you for giving me the Holy Spirit to live within me to Victoriously help me my battles with Satan and pull me back from self destruction. In Jesus name. Amen.
I believe for me a sin I’m a slave to is my pride. I find myself being very prideful and judging people rather than seeing them for who they are or what they have to bring. Another is with lustful or indulging witb lustful habits. I see my flesh winning in that sense where I give into temptation rather where it becomes so robotic and automatic to me. I believe the holy spirit is in my life when I am with the youth. I think God has blessed me with a gift and when being around the youth I feel his presence around me where I feel like I’m doing work for his kingdom.
From Cyndi
Lust of the eyes and the flesh: my phone (social media, apps) and my calendar-planning and being productive “The Hustle culture”.
Spending too much time on social media, Working hard and working extra hours, always planning ahead, overstocking food, buying what I don’t need, wanting things that I don’t need, comparing myself to others and not feeling satisfied.
The Holy Spirit lives in me and will has helped me honor God. reminding me to have self control, stop and saying no, put down my phone, don’t buy it or do it again, relax and rest. Thankful for the rooted study, I’ve seen little victories over my sins and temptations.
Dear God, give me strength to resist temptation and distractions. Help me to say No and Help me to live according to your will. Help me to slow down and rest and relax and be productive for you and not the world and for others. Help me to continue to mature and grow in my faith in reading and studying your Word each day and spending more time in prayer than on social media so that I will be more able to stand in the power of the Holy Spirit and resist sin. I know I am not perfect and will still struggle, please take over my life and reminding me that I am no longer a slave to sin, but instead your servant.
(Brandon)
I find myself being a slave to sin and God’s law when it comes to making good choices. I often make choices that I know are not the right decisions. I tend to do this because the wrong choice is usually the one that leads to having more fun. Some examples of this would be going out with friends instead of spending time with my family or playing games when I should be studying. However there are times where I do make the right decisions like doing errands for my family instead of slacking off or taking care of my grandparents instead of going out. I pray that God may help me with my struggles and to help me make the right decisions. I pray that the Holy Spirit may claim victory over my sinful nature.
I am in a constant battle with Lust. It has been something that is a struggle where I have to go to God daily. I know it is very bad and leads to death. I know and trust the Lord to lead me through it but like the devotions said. My sin nature is always trying to pull me back. I want to continue to look towards God to die to my sin and to honor him.
Some examples of the Holy Spirit is winning is the constant discipline of having me see my sin and desiring to honor God.
Lord please keep me in your hands and help me die to the lust I struggle with. I think you God for continue to stay faithful to me and just to have me as your children
The time in my life when I realize that I am a slave to sin and God’s law is when I receive the consequences after going down the path I think I’m on. Then I look back at myself going down that path and realize that I am separated from God. When I am being selfish and only dealing with my own thoughts and desires, flesh is winning, and when I am involved with the community in a small group, the Holy Spirit is winning because I am reforming myself. Dear God, I am fighting desperately in my struggle against me. There are many times when I act according to my own desires. But I pray that you will help me call on the power of the Holy Spirit to draw me closer to you.
From Calvin
1. I mentioned this before. Comfort and complacency are something that I’ve been a slave to lately. Like Paul, I want to do good (or more good), but my sinful nature to just be complacent and lazy is right there with me.
2. “The flesh” that’s winning in my life right now is the ass. It’s lazy. It’s turning me into a lazy ass.
3. The Holy Spirit is really inspiring me to be consistent with these devotionals. It’s telling me to just get it done. And so, it’s building a discipline in me to daily read His word. That’s a win.
4. God, please give me strength to develop good habits, to build a discipline in me to keep sound my body, mind, and soul.
In my life I definitely fall to the sins of the flesh. I am always chasing appearances and superficial things of the flesh, rather than what truly matter. Its as paul says there’s a constant conflict, where we know deep down what’s right and wrong but we choose wrong willingly. When i’m dating I know when a girl is going to be bad or toxic but I choose to ignore the red flags. The flesh wins when I cave into sins relating to lust, I allow my body and mind to dictate my actions and decisions rather than relying on the spirit to help guide my life and decisions. The holy spirit rarely wins honestly, but I see the spirit win when I choose to help out my fellow brothers and sisters even at an inconvenience to myself. It’s nice being selfless and helping out people I see randomly, whether it’s carrying a grocery bag to their car or driving a friend to airport. I try to do good things and show love to the people I encounter in my life both friends and strangers. Dear God I currently been struggling with personal validation and finding it in women and other worldly things. I pray that you help me refocus and think about what’s truly important and find more areas where the spirit can win.