I Choose to Die

I recently recieved an e-mail from Abby with a ladies devotional in it. Her sister-in-law Marcie wrote it as she does each week. It was wonderful! I have asked her to keep passing them along, and I am going to post them on here to share. They are great! I hope you get as much out of them as I do.

Stay Blessed!
Megs


I Choose to Die

I have heard many stories of animals in the wild and their will to survive. The Preacher and I have talked about it, and I have witnessed this myself on various wild life channels. There is a deep, inner drive in an animal’s being that urges them to keep living. Even when it is quite obvious that there is no hope, an animal will fight to live with every last bit of breath and energy that is within them.
This inner drive to live that we see in animals, reminds me of my flesh. Deep inside my being there is an “animal instinct” to fight to the very last breath for what my flesh desires to keep alive. The Apostle Paul speaks of this in Romans 7:23 “But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind (what I know to be right) and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members (the flesh)”.
Our flesh is very much like that wild animal. When it is wounded, it puts up the most vigorous fight. Reading God’s Word, spending time in prayer, witnessing to others, going to church, loving the Lord and each other, the list could go on, and on. Anything that is contrary to the flesh ultimately wounds the flesh. Doing or even thinking anything that is contrary to the Bible is like giving our flesh a big BOOST of steroids!
How many of us can say with Paul “…for what I would (want to do), that do I not; but what I hate, that do I (Romans 7:15). Every one of us! This is one place in our walk we will never stand alone. Before you say forget this, I thought this was supposed to be encouraging!! Read on sister, read on!
As I mentioned earlier, many times with an animal there is no hope. Their fight is over, and they are not the victor. Beloved, we are not gazelles, or deer or elk. We are God’s workmanship, created in His very image. Romans 6:6 “Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.” AMEN!! Now get this, Romans 6:7 “For he that is DEAD is freed from sin.” Sister, when we get to Glory we will indeed be freed from sin, but this verse means more that that! I am not talking about sinless perfection here I am talking about God’s marvelous Grace.
We know the account in Matthew 16. Jesus tells of his impending death and Peter says this shall not be unto thee. What was Christ’s response? Get thee behind me satan. Peter’s flesh took over, and understandably so. He loved the Lord and this is not what Peter wanted for the one he loved so dearly. Living after the spirit is not always easy, especially when it pertains to those we love. However, Jesus gives Peter no slack here, and be sure it is the same with us. The very next verse Jesus says this, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life (live by his flesh) will lose it: and whosoever will lose his life (refuse to live by the flesh) for my sake shall find it.”
I can tell you that the first time these verses found a lodging place in my heart, my heart was broken. This cross the Lord had asked me to bear was great. I could barely make it through a day and He is asking me to carry this cross? I bowed my head and I told the Lord, “ Yes Lord, I choose to die, I accept your will, and I will bear this cross.” That was almost eight years ago. I wish I could say that has been my response to every little trial in my life, but the Lord knows that I am dust.
Our lives are full of little deaths, and all of them are molding and shaping us into the image of our Lord and Saviour. Do you remember the show Sanford and Son? Every time the dad did not get his way he would clutch his chest and say “I’m coming to join you Alice! This is the big one!” It never was, but he sure thought it was! Beloved, that is how we are when we are living by our flesh. Clutching that sin just sure we will die the “big one” if we have to give it up! Remember, sin isn’t just cursing, lying and stealing. Sin can be anything the Lord convicts you about that you refuse to let go of or change.
When Jesus told us to take up our cross He was not asking us to do something He himself was not willing and able to do (I just love that about Him). Christ asked his Heavenly Father, “Let this cup pass from me” “Not my will but thine” (Matthew 26). There was no other way to work out the Fathers’ will, and beloved so it is with us at times. Jesus chose to die. He chose to bear his cross. Not just at Calvary either. The Gospels are full of accounts of Jesus dying little deaths, (picking up his cross) dealing with all kinds of situations and people and circumstances that did not go the way He wanted them to. Hebrews 4:15 “but (He) was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” No doubt that the cross of Calvary at the end of His life was the heaviest, and the most magnificent.
Beloved, so it is with us. At the end of your life do you desire to hear “Well done thou good and faithful servant”. Do you choose to die? Every day, every hour, the little deathblows that wound your flesh and send it into a screaming life and death fight? Galatians 2:20 “I am crucified with Christ nevertheless I live, yet not I but Christ liveth in me and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Amen! What a wonderful Saviour! Not our own faith, because it wouldn’t be enough, but “…. by the faith of the Son of God.” Which has always been enough (the old testament saints entered into Heaven this way) and will always be enough.
Dying to self, to our fleshly desires is a choice. The glorious part is that after we choose to “take it down” (I’m talking football tackle here) all that is left to do is have faith in the one who died for us. You say, “Marcie it is just not that easy.” Well, sister of Eve, listen up. “But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.” (2 Corinthians 11:3) Satan loves to muddy the waters for us. Don’t you let him! 1 Thess. 5:24 “Faithful is He that calleth you who also will do it.” Psalm 138:8 “The lord will perfect that which concerneth me.” “The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me.” I love that verse. Do you believe that? Do you believe that verse applies to your life? Hebrews 11:6 “Without faith it is impossible to please Him.” Pray beloved, ask the Lord to increase your faith, and watch Him work. He wants to work in your life more than you could ever want Him to work in your life.
We choose every day whether we are going to feed our flesh or feed our spirit, and by the way, not choosing is still choosing. Know this, in the battle between the flesh and the spirit the winner will be the one, who has been fed the most. If you take two warriors with equal skills, feed one of them 3 meals a day for a week, and totally starve the other for a week, which one is going to win when it is time to battle? I wonder what would happen if we starved our flesh for just one week. Anything our flesh wanted it did not get! Flesh: I want that cookie! Spirit: No! Don’t boss me! (Did I just come up with a new weight loss program?) Flesh: I am not cleaning that kitchen tonight! Spirit: Oh really, then why am I holding dish soap? Flesh: I cannot believe he just said that to me, I am going to knock him out! Spirit: Remember that verse not rendering evil for evil. Flesh: I am not going to church today. Spirit: I’mmm the leader, I sayyyy when we go! Scripture is always the best way to defeat the flesh. Perseverance will only get you so far scripture will take you the rest of the way. If we chose to die the small daily deaths, wouldn’t the larger ones be a little less difficult.
Choosing to die is really about having a heart of submission to the One who provided a way for us to live forever. Lord, please help me, and these ladies I love, to choose to die to our desires. Help us choose to carry the cross you have chosen each of us to bear, and live by faith in You to believe that You will indeed do all that You have promised. Amen.