Walking According to the Spirit.

Romans 8:1-6

"There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by flesh, could not do. By sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.

Lord, let me daily set my mind on the things of the Spirit. Renew my mind daily with Your word and your Spirit that I may dwell--no matter what the circumstances I find myself in--in life and peace. Create in me a clean heart Lord. Teach me Your ways.

The Power of the Cross - beautiful song

Devotion: Psalm 19

The Law of the Lord Is Perfect

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

1The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky above [fn1] proclaims his handiwork.
2Day to day pours out speech,
and night to night reveals knowledge.
3There is no speech, nor are there words,
whose voice is not heard.
4Their measuring line [fn2] goes out through all the earth,
and their words to the end of the world.
In them he has set a tent for the sun,
5which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber,
and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy.
6Its rising is from the end of the heavens,
and its circuit to the end of them,
and there is nothing hidden from its heat.

7The law of the Lord is perfect, [fn3]
reviving the soul;
the testimony of the Lord is sure,
making wise the simple;
8the precepts of the Lord are right,
rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the Lord is pure,
enlightening the eyes;
9the fear of the Lord is clean,
enduring forever;
the rules of the Lord are true,
and righteous altogether.
10More to be desired are they than gold,
even much fine gold;
sweeter also than honey
and drippings of the honeycomb.
11Moreover, by them is your servant warned;
in keeping them there is great reward.

12Who can discern his errors?
Declare me innocent from hidden faults.
13Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins;
let them not have dominion over me!
Then I shall be blameless,
and innocent of great transgression.

14Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be acceptable in your sight,
O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

And I sing with David, Lord, Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. Is not the Word of God like a mirror to the soul? It cuts through the facade and reveals how sinful the words of our mouth and the very thoughts of our heart really are. This reminds me of the words of the hymn: guilty vile and helpless we; spotless lamb of God was he. Full atonement can it be? Halleluja! What a savior.

Great Sermon by Phil Johnson on "Cheap Imitations of Love" Ephesians 5:3-7

Click here for the list of sermons and then click on 2008-07-27am-PJ

I love to listen to Phil Johnson preach. You may know him from the Pyromaniacs blog or from his site dedicated to Spurgeon--The Spurgeon Archive.

This sermon was on the following verses:

Eph 5:3	But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints.
Eph 5:4	Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving.
Eph 5:5	For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.
Eph 5:6	Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.
Eph 5:7	Therefore do not associate with them;

I have to admit that this sermon was delivered on my birthday and I think Phil must have had me on his heart when he preached it. It is a poweful sermon that is bold enough to state unequivocally that if you claim to be a Christian and you are sexually impure or immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, then you are probably not really saved. For those of us who use foul language and find it okay to be in the company of those who do so and who also throw around filthy jokes, Phil exhorts us to realize that this is a biblical mandate to stop and reconsider what we are doing. Paul says we shouldn't even have these things named among us. Needless to say, Phil hits on television, movies, language in the curch and from the pulpit and many other relevant topics. It takes about an hour, but it is well worth the time. I encourage you to start with that one and then work back through the long list of sermons. Then bookmark the site for future sermons.