Understanding the times
This is all the more urgent, for you know how late it is; time is running out. Wake up, for our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is almost gone; the day of salvation will soon be here. So remove your dark deeds like dirty clothes, and put on the shining armor of right living. Because we belong to the day, we must live decent lives for all to see. Don’t participate in the darkness of wild parties and drunkenness, or in sexual promiscuity and immoral living, or in quarreling and jealousy. Instead, clothe yourself with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. And don’t let yourself think about ways to indulge your evil desires. Romans 13:11-14
Having an understanding of the coming age will help Christians live lives pleasing to God. Rather than indulging in acts of self-gratification, God’s admonition is for His children to clothe themselves in godly living. We are called upon to maintain a healthy spiritual life. Just like physical health, maintaining a healthy spiritual life requires discipline. From the text, Paul urged Christians to see the urgency of living their lives doing things that pleases God. God wants us to grow trusting Him as we wage war regularly with fleshly desires. The more we gain in strength when we regularly experience victories because we exercise our faith allowing God’s power to work within us. Faith grows when we yield to the leading of the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit that will enable us to defeat the pull of sin in our lives. It is the Holy Spirit that constantly reminds us that God is with us. This awareness that He is there with us will help us resist temptations. Instead we realize the obligation we have: “to love one another” (Romans 13:8). This is why it is important that we engage in this present time; “the day of salvation.” The day of salvation is the day we were transferred from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of God. We should no longer find pleasure in following the desires of the flesh once we left our former life. “We don’t belong to darkness and night” (1 Thessalonians 5:5). We walk now by faith and led by the Spirit of God. “The Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires” (Galatians 5:17). Unless you stop relying in your strength trying to live the Christian life on your own, you will find yourself defenseless overcoming fleshly desires. If you surrender to His working, He will guide you and will teach you how to live victoriously. Yielding to the Holy Spirit is a continuous decision. Each day that you decide to let Him lead you will provide you “the shining armor of right living.”
Blessings,
Noel De Guzman
www.my-wbc.com
