Today's Passage - Roman 8:7-8

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Romans 8:7-9 "The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God. You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ."   In verse 6 Paul said: "The mind governed by the flesh is death." Why so? Verse 7 says: "The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God."In fact, James 4:4 also points out the same truth: "Don't you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God?" From people's point of view, they might feel God is somehow too jealous. Isn't it true that the more friends we have, the better? People always like to keep their options open, like putting one foot on a boat. If the two boats are traveling together, then it is okay. But if the two boats are traveling in opposite directions, then you are doomed. You would fall into the water and make a big splash. 1 John 2:15 says: "Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them." When you love someone with all your heart and soul, you will not accept love from other people. Likewise, if you love the world, it is impossible for you to truly love God. You may come to the Sunday service, and have many ministries. But you cannot truly love God with all your heart and soul. That is why Paul said: "The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so."   Why can't it submit? It is because the love inside is not enough to submit to God's law. Submission comes from love. Without love it is very hard to submit. Therefore, a person in the realm of the flesh cannot have God's favor. In fact, another reason is that he doesn't favor God's way either. If you have accepted Jesus as your personal savior, and received the Spirit to live inside, you should know that you are in the realm of the Lord,  and not in the realm of the flesh any more. You should leave the path of the flesh and follow God's way. Brothers and sisters, are you walking in God's way? Or maybe a better way to ask is: "Do you love God or the world?" May the Spirit fix our eyes so that we can turn back to Him.                                      Pray with Pastor Tong           Lord, I thank you for not only saving me, but also letting me be in your realm. May you open our eyes so that we can realize that we are no longer in the realm of the flesh, but in your realm. Help us submit to your will and live for you. We thank you and we pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!