Sunday, February 12, 2012

Controlled

"Controlled"
By Zach Wood
Romans 8:6-8
The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God.  It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so.  Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.


When I was a kid, I remember getting remote-controlled toys that were quite fun to play with.  I would spend hours controlling a car to do cool and funny things.  It was neat how that provided so much entertainment in my young years as a boy.  Something about being in control of that little car and making it do things I wanted it to do was just fun.  I had complete control.  Whatever button I pushed or how I steered the little wheel on the remote, the car did what I wanted it to do.  As you can imagine, I had fun bumping the thing into walls and sending it off little ramps I put up.  It was fun to see the tricks I could do with the car I controlled.

In our lives, we have a choice who we are controlled by.  Are we going to allow ourselves to be controlled by the sinful nature and allow Satan to use the remote to crash our lives and bump into things that will hurt us?  Or, are we going to allow the Spirit to control us and steer us in the directions we need to go?  The enemy wants nothing more than to kick us around and steer us in every direction that will hurt us and bring misery into our lives.  When Satan has the remote control, there will never be happiness and joy long-term, only temporary pleasures.  We may speed our way through some things and think they are fun at the time, but they will eventually result in pain and heartache. 

When we allow the Spirit to control our lives, we focus our mind on eternal things.  We experience peace like never before.  We are controlled by the Spirit and are led into a life that is rewarding.  Now, this is not to say we will not experience any grief, sorrow or pain.  There is no life that we can live void of these things.  That is just life.  No way to avoid grief, sorrow and pain.  However, when we are controlled by the Spirit, we can experience comfort, peace and joy only by the power of God. 

Who controls you?  Is it the sinful nature or is it the Holy Spirit?  Do you feel like the Apostle Paul who in chapter 7 of Romans explains the constant struggle of sin?  Each day, we must all make the choice whether we are going to be controlled and led by the sinful nature or by the Holy Spirit.  If we choose to be led and controlled by the Holy Spirit, we must be strong in prayer and ask Him to lead us.  Remember, a mind that is hostile to God and chooses the sinful nature cannot in any way please God.  If we choose to be led by the sinful nature, nothing good will ever come out of that lifestyle.  Only the life led by the Spirit in accordance to God's word will result in happiness and eternal rewards.

I encourage you today to examine your heart and decide each day who will control you?  The enemy or the Spirit?