I am AMAZED at the strength of my appetite!
My cravings...my desires...I always knew I had them, but it wasn't until I made a commitment to abstain from them that I realized how powerful they had become.
For example, all who know me will not be shocked to hear that I like cookies.
In fact, I think it's fair to say that I have a STRONG desire for cookies--especially chocolate chip!
When those cookies are in the jar, I always know they're there. I playfully say that they're calling out to me. In fact, almost every time I walk by it, I'll take one, 'just because I can'...and therin lies the problem.
When I (or you) give in to our desires frequently, we make those desire part of our 'Soul DNA'--the core of who we are.
Even more importantly: The mentality and thought processes behind this action can be part of our 'Spiritual Core', and that can be bad news. The mentality behind the cookie jar can often be "I want it, I deserve it, it would make me happy, therefore, I'll take it."
This is Spiritual Foolishness which leads not to freedom, but to imprisonment.
These cookies (or fast food, or spending, or sports, or lust, or drink, or anything else that can be an 'appetite' of our desires) can become serious spiritual problem! They become our 'act of worship' to our idol: The idol of Self Indulgence!
As Paul writes to the Romans: "Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires." (Romans 8:5)
We need to STOP GIVING IN!
We don't want to 'indulge', just because we have 'freedom in Christ'. We are of the Spirit! We don't want to settle for giving in to mere 'appetites of the flesh'! We don't want our appetites to become our idols!
So, we MUST aggressively take charge of those appetites--BEFORE they become idols, and strongholds of the enemy in our lives!
As the Paul writes to the Corinthians, run the race to win!
"Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize." (2 Corinthians 9:24-27)
So, let's encourage each other: DON'T let your appetites (even for things that are 'allowable') to drive you. Don't let 'desires' become 'demands'!
God wants you and I to live in freedom and liberation!
Let's keep ourselves in check, so that He may lead us there!
In His Hands...
Dave
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