Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. (Romans 8:8-9)
Every Tuesday was bulletin day for our pastor. He tapped out articles on a master stencil in his typewriter and then hand-cranked his worn mimeograph printer. I was aghast at his archaic method and volunteered to set up a computer for him.
It was an act of bravery for someone who grew up with horses and gaslights to take word processing lessons. My pastor took notes on each step, from switching on the computer to printing a document. His rote learning never allowed him to intuit the software logic. Years later, he still called me whenever he navigated into a corner and couldn’t figure out how to get back to his home screen.
In the same way, disciplining my corrupt mind with rote laws doesn’t keep me out of the corners of sin. The change won’t penetrate deep enough for me to understand God’s ways. I need his heart. Not just the rules. That’s why he made me the new temple of his Spirit. The forgiveness offered through Christ is huge, but it’s only the doorway that makes it possible for the Spirit of the Most High to move in as my guide.
True faith bubbles up from within. Jesus compared it to yeast, wind, and an artesian fountain, but it’s also like nuclear fission. Fission causes an unstoppable chain reaction of splitting atoms. We can no more stop a Spirit-filled believer from sacrificial obedience than we can contain an atom bomb after fission has begun. There will be a joyful, God-pleasing explosion of loving kindness.
Prayer: Please, Holy Spirit, burst out from within me.