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Harvest Christian Fellowship, NYC Devotional
September 17, 2007
by Pastor Jon Courson
Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.
=Romans 8:12 13
'I must mortify the deeds of the body,' some people say. 'I've got to crucify my flesh' - but it's impossible to crucify yourself. If you lay down on a cross and pound a nail through your wrist, even if you somehow endure the pain, you're only half crucified because you can't pound in the other nail. How do you mortify the deeds of the flesh? There's only one way: through the Spirit.
The Philistines had captured the Ark of the Covenant and had placed it in the temple of their fish god, Dagon. The next morning, the Philistine priests got up to find Dagon had fallen down before the Ark (I Samuel 5:3). They stood Dagon up and went their way. The next morning, they came in again, and there was Dagon, face down on the floor, with his head and hands cut off. Now, at this point, you would think the priests would have said, 'Something's fishy here. This isn't working.' But, instead, they chose to side with Dagon. They stood him up, patched him together, and said, 'The Ark's gotta go.'
Precious people, the way to gain victory over whatever it is you're struggling with is not to try to topple Dagon, but to bring in the Ark, for the Ark represents the Presence of God. Whatever your Dagon might be, here's the key: Bring in the Spirit of the Lord.
What does that mean? Just love the Lord. Get up tomorrow morning and before your feet hit the ground, drop to your knees and give your life to Him. When He whispers in your heart during your coffee break, 'Pull away and talk with Me,' do it. When you're deciding which dial to press on your radio during lunch, just do what the Spirit tells you to do. Allow the Spirit of God to fill your heart, and you know what will happen? You'll lose interest in the stuff which dominated and controlled you - not because you worked on Dagon, but because you brought in the Ark.
That's why Romans 8 is so thrilling! Too many believers are trying to fight evil habits and tendencies on their own and it's exhausting. If you walk into a dark room, you don't scream, karate chop, give teachings about, or rebuke the darkness.
You turn on the light.
This devotional delivered by: Harvest Christian Fellowship, NYC
September 17, 2007
by Pastor Jon Courson
Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.
=Romans 8:12 13
'I must mortify the deeds of the body,' some people say. 'I've got to crucify my flesh' - but it's impossible to crucify yourself. If you lay down on a cross and pound a nail through your wrist, even if you somehow endure the pain, you're only half crucified because you can't pound in the other nail. How do you mortify the deeds of the flesh? There's only one way: through the Spirit.
The Philistines had captured the Ark of the Covenant and had placed it in the temple of their fish god, Dagon. The next morning, the Philistine priests got up to find Dagon had fallen down before the Ark (I Samuel 5:3). They stood Dagon up and went their way. The next morning, they came in again, and there was Dagon, face down on the floor, with his head and hands cut off. Now, at this point, you would think the priests would have said, 'Something's fishy here. This isn't working.' But, instead, they chose to side with Dagon. They stood him up, patched him together, and said, 'The Ark's gotta go.'
Precious people, the way to gain victory over whatever it is you're struggling with is not to try to topple Dagon, but to bring in the Ark, for the Ark represents the Presence of God. Whatever your Dagon might be, here's the key: Bring in the Spirit of the Lord.
What does that mean? Just love the Lord. Get up tomorrow morning and before your feet hit the ground, drop to your knees and give your life to Him. When He whispers in your heart during your coffee break, 'Pull away and talk with Me,' do it. When you're deciding which dial to press on your radio during lunch, just do what the Spirit tells you to do. Allow the Spirit of God to fill your heart, and you know what will happen? You'll lose interest in the stuff which dominated and controlled you - not because you worked on Dagon, but because you brought in the Ark.
That's why Romans 8 is so thrilling! Too many believers are trying to fight evil habits and tendencies on their own and it's exhausting. If you walk into a dark room, you don't scream, karate chop, give teachings about, or rebuke the darkness.
You turn on the light.
This devotional delivered by: Harvest Christian Fellowship, NYC
