Message: In Romans 8 Paul talks about our war with the flesh. What really stands out to me in this chapter is verse 7 that the mindset of the flesh is “hostile to God” because it doesn’t submit itself to God’s law. This means our selfishness can’t co-exist with a mindset to serve God. They are literally going in opposite directions. Not only are they non-compatible but they are hostile because when we desire to follow after God our flesh fights against us for control. If we chase after our fleshly desires, our spirit wars within us so we can never be at peace as long as we’re trying to appease both sides. There is an analogy of two fighting dogs within our souls. The dog that wins is the dog we feed. Today this challenges me to think about what fleshly desires I allow to war within my soul. To feed those desires even a little bit is to give it control. For me, these things are attitudes of the heart and negativity. I need to starve the desire to entertain negative thoughts and stop giving myself permission to vent them.
