June 20 Thought for the day...time to say, "No"

Have you ever found yourself believing things that God has already told us are not true? These are things that rob us of our future and blessings. Paul challenges us to, just say, "No."

"Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord." Roman 6:11

Left unchecked our flesh will mess with us in very intense ways. It will try to make us lazy, saying to us, " you have done enough" or "no one really cares what you do or appreciates you" it will lie to you every time to rob you of your dreams, joy, and destiny. If that isn't enough, it will tell you, you are not smart enough, talented enough, or worth enough to do certain things God has already gifted you for. The flesh wants to be slothful so it can continue to do nothing. If you should come into agreement and live in regret because you failed to make wise decisions earlier in life or that others were born better off than you, what good would complaining do to change your circumstances? These are the times we need to say to our flesh, "No," God has promised great things!

The word "reckon" is not a term we use anymore but in this case needs our attention because the Holy Spirit is telling us to "think about, consider, count something as done" and we are to do these things continually, always not just one time.

The word "dead" means dead, a corpse, no life at all or possibility of life. The Holy Spirit is challenging us to be non-responsive to sin those thoughts that would limit God's plan and purpose in our lives.

He does not leave us hanging there He goes on to say "alive to God." Sin and the flesh's limitations in our lives would like us to settle or hold us back from all of the plans that are exceeding and abundantly beyond all we could hope or ask, that God has for us.

In other words, if we continually say "No" to the limitations the flesh wants to place on us and kill it off, then we will find all of the unique blessings and destiny God has planned from the very beginning! Saying, "No" to the flesh is saying "Yes," to God's amazing future for us!