ENDURANCE

No Confidence in the Flesh

3 Further, my brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord! It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard for you. 2 Watch out for those dogs, those evildoers, those mutilators of the flesh. 3 For it is we who are the circumcision, we who serve God by his Spirit, who boast in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh— 4 though I myself have reasons for such confidence.

If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless.

7 But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8 What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in[a] Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. 10 I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.

12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

What is ahead? That is the question. Everything in our lives is about what is ahead. Every morning we wake up we are faced with, what is ahead? Right now as I write it is about what is ahead? The other question is how are we going to walk towards what is ahead? Are we going to walk in the flesh or His spirit? When we find ourselves walking in the flesh what then? What is your life’s purpose? What are you living for? What do you need to accomplish right now, to achieve the purpose of God in your life? These are important questions which I hope are stirring your thoughts.

We must have a goal and decide how we are going to walk towards that goal, so that when we are walking wrong we can quickly change it. If you don’t have a goal, the first thing you need to be doing is praying to God for direction. Once we have direction we need to decide how we are going to walk. Hopefully the direction we are going to walk is by the spirit of God. So that when you find yourself walking in the flesh you can quickly change it by repentance and seeking God.

What does the flesh do to slow us down? It loads you up like someone putting weights on your back or handing you one heavy box after another, then expecting you to get there just as fast as if you weren’t carrying the extra load. What are some of the things we carry that is walking in the flesh? UN-forgiveness, judgement, resentment, anger, hate, envy, pride and arrogance. Those are just some. The more weight we can throw off, the better our lives and walks with God will be. If you are handing the heavy load to someone, stop! Begin to take the load back off of them, OK?

So back to the question, what goal do you have? If you had one, did you just add to it? If you didn’t have one, do you now? You don’t have to deal with them all at once but take on what you can with Gods help. If you are carrying any of those things, it could explain why your life is struggling. I know in my personal life I have been working on a couple of these and everyday I need Gods help. The only way to walk in the spirit is to walk close to God, get into His word, worship Him, and do as He says. This isn’t about anyone else, this is about you. Your husband or wife, boyfriend or girlfriend have nothing to do with this right now. This is about you and God. How are you and I going to be victorious for God?

How serious do you see this? I am telling you times are coming and if you begin now learning how to walk in the spirit of God, you will have the endurance to accomplish all God puts before you. Once you have the endurance of God you will be able to even carry someone else load.

God be with you and give you a Godly endurance. Bless you and stay blessed.  Endurance can be purchased at our store. www.fullofrosesinspirationals.com