Then the God of Peace Will Be With You

Tuesday, July 09, 2013    Then the God of Peace Will Be With You

“So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace.”

Romans 8:6

When I read Romans 8 I feel like a kid in a candy shop. I think that just about everything I know about living as a child of God can be found in Romans 8. Scholars have written entire commentaries just on Chapter 8, because it is so densely packed with revelations of how God intends for his children to be transformed by the death, burial, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ.

Paul shows us in Chapter 8 that when we confess faith in Jesus, God accepts us in the here and now as his children, and places His Spirit within us. God’s Spirit comes to live in our sinful, mortal bodies. Every moment of every day, we get to choose where we will focus our attention: “So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace” (Romans 8:6). When he says “letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death,” he is not suggesting that we flow in and out of a state of grace depending on whether our mind is controlled by our sinful nature or by the Spirit. Remember, at the end of Chapter 8 Paul very strongly affirms that absolutely nothing can separate us from God’s love. In verse 6, Paul is teaching us that when we choose to ignore the leading of the Spirit, we will forfeit the peace of God that passes all understanding.

I remember visiting a woman who was very anxious about a scheduled surgery. I noticed her bookshelves were filled with Stephen King novels. I didn’t see the first Bible, Guidepost, Upper Room or any other spiritual material. She was entirely focused on the potential negative consequences of her pending surgery. The Apostle Paul teaches us that we can focus on our problems, or we can focus on God’s promises. The Spirit-controlled mind focuses “on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Then the God of peace will be with you” (Philippians 4:9-10).

Is it really that simple? Yes! It was the Apostle Paul’s ambition to “take every thought captive to obey Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5b NRSV). This can be our ambition as well when we embrace the truth of Romans 12:2 “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”

In Christ, we get to choose where and how we will spend our time. Throughout the day, will my thoughts and conversations focus on my worries and anxieties, or will I focus on the faithfulness of God whose mercies never come to an end?

Will I choose to feed my Spirit or feed my sinful nature?  

Sē’lah

<><  <><  <><  <><

(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  In addition to this BLOG they are distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com. The BLOG is also available on Amazon Kindle, by subscription

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

·        Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com. The Kindle version will follow soon.

·        The second edition First Think – Then Pray has been released as an e-book on Amazon Kindle.

·        Meditations on The Story of My Life as told by Jesus Christ has been released as an e-book on Amazon Kindle.