DON’T LET THE FLESH TAKE THE THRONE AND DICTATE YOUR LIFE. LET THE SPIRIT RULE. HONOR GOD WITH YOUR DECISIONS.

GOSPEL CORNER

16/ 11/24

JOEL OSTEEN MINISTRIES
TODAY’S WORD

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE
But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man.
Colossians 3:8–10, NKJV

MAKE A CHANGE
Every day you have to make choices. Am I going to hold on to an offense, or am I going to let it go? Am I going to hang out with friends who cause me to compromise, or am I going to stay on the high road and be a person of excellence? Am I going to cut corners at work, or am I going to have integrity and give it my best? Am I going to be critical, harsh, and contentious, or am I going to be loving, kind, and respectful. I’m asking you to put off the old man. Don’t let the flesh take the throne and dictate your life. Let the Spirit rule. Honor God with your decisions. You can win the war within. God is calling you up higher. Whatever you know is holding you back, this is the time to make a change. This is a moment of grace to do what you couldn’t do before. Your decision can restore a relationship, take you to a new level in your career, or break bad habits and addictions.

A PRAYER FOR TODAY
“Father, thank You that You have set me free and given me the power to make choices that honor You. Thank You that change is always possible and I am not stuck with the flesh ruling my life. I believe that Your grace is here to help me put off the old man and put on the new man. In Jesus’ Name, Amen

SECTION TWO

Frances Havergal wrote the well-loved hymn, Like a River Glorious. Read the lyrics of this beautiful hymn and see how her revelation of the ever-cleansing blood of Jesus ushered in the richness of God’s perfect peace into her heart and mind:

Like a river glorious, is God’s perfect peace,

Over all victorious, in its bright increase;

Perfect, yet it floweth, fuller every day,

Perfect, yet it groweth, deeper all the way.

Refrain:

Stayed upon Jehovah, hearts are fully blest

Finding, as He promised, perfect peace and rest.

Hidden in the hollow of His blessed hand,

Never foe can follow, never traitor stand;

Not a surge of worry, not a shade of care,

Not a blast of hurry touch the spirit there.

Every joy or trial falleth from above,

Traced upon our dial by the Sun of Love;

We may trust Him fully all for us to do;

They who trust Him wholly find Him wholly true.

Frances’s last words before she went on to be with Jesus were, “It is all perfect peace. I’m only waiting for Jesus to take me in.” What a way to enter into glory—possessing a perfect assurance of salvation, because she knew in her soul that all her sins were forgiven, and that every moment of her life she stood forgiven before God!

My friend, if you’re living life in the valley of despair today, believing that your sins are separating you from intimacy with the Lord and miring you in defeat, I want you to know that because you have put your faith in Christ, you are under the fountain of the ever-cleansing blood of Christ! Every sense of defilement or stain of sin will be washed away from your conscience when you know and believe what Frances discovered.

Because Jesus’ blood continually cleanses you, you cannot bounce in and out of the light of Christ, in and out of being seated in the heavenly places in Christ, in and out of being forgiven, justified, and made righteous, and in and out of fellowship with God. It is not a sometimes-yes-sometimes-no salvation, but a salvation that has secured a yes to all of God’s promises because of the blood of Jesus (2 Cor. 1:19–20)!

Today, with all of your heart, beloved, say yes!