| The Simple Formula |
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6:8 For he who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption; but he who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. Can it get much simpler than this? If I want apples to grow in my yard, I have to sow the appropriate seed in order to get the apple tree in order to get the apples. I can plant all the seeds I want for oranges, but I will NEVER get my apples.
Spiritually, why do we think we operate under a different formula? We like to think that we can lay on the couch watching countless hours of TV a week watching sex and violence, surround ourselves with sports talk radio, neglect our Bible, only pray before meals, never actively obey the Lord in serving Him, attend church when we feel like it, and do little to fellowship with other believers. And after all that sowing, we are shocked to discover that we are not living a Spirit-filled life! It is that simple - if you sow to the flesh, you will reap the flesh. If you feed the "dog" of the flesh, it will get stronger and stronger.
What can we do to sow seeds leading to Spirit-filled living? Turn off the TV, surround ourselves with worship music and Bible teaching, pray continually, read and study the Word, serve the Lord, do not neglect meeting together with other believers, say no to temptation.
But so often we think we will be "missing out" on something. Missing out on what? I used to be huge into football. My team was the Steelers (though I was born and raised in Cleveland). In my lifetime, my team has won 5 Super Bowls! What difference does that make for me right here and right now? Absolutely none! That movie you were waiting so long to see - it was good and fun (nothing wrong with relaxing), but what is that movie doing for you right now? Sports and movies are not evil in themselves. But we invest soooo much time into those types of things and they satisfy for a moment. After that, they leave us empty. It is sowing empty seeds.
If we want abundant spiritual fruit in our lives and a life filled with the Spirit, what seeds should we be sowing TODAY? |
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