Control

Today’s reading: Romans 7:14-25, 8:1-8

“If your sinful nature controls your mind, there is death. But if the Holy Spirit controls your mind, there is life and peace.” - Romans 8:6

There is a lie running through the entire world today. It says that with enough discipline and effort, we can “take back” our lives.

Paul seems to adamantly disagree with this idea. He paints a picture that our minds can either be controlled by our “sinful nature” or by the Holy Spirit.

Our world today doesn’t want to hear that we aren’t independently good enough.

Jesus doesn’t want to simply step around our sin (that which controls us), he wants to step through it with his blood — and thereby obliterating it from derailing our minds from the truth.

C.K. Barrett drives this home by writing, “To be determined by that which is God and not oneself means life and peace, not only as subjective experiences but as objective relationship with God.”

Do you desire true life and peace in this life? The answer is Jesus, recognizing his Lordship over all.