Living in the Spirit – The Remedy for Times of Weakness – Purity 1860
Purity 1860 01/13/2026 Purity 1860 Audio Podcast
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Good morning,
Today’s photo of the light of the setting sun being reflected in the place where the Hudson River meets the Schodack Creek comes to us from yours truly, as I had the presence of mind to capture this magic moment when I went out to get the mail at my place “down by The River”, yesterday afternoon.
Well, it’s Tuesday, and I am rejoicing this morning because I was able to live an entire day intentionally on Monday. Even though I can’t claim food plan success because of some late-night impulsive eating, I have learned that the only way I can overcome the flesh is live in the Spirit. This truth was really brought home through a combination of my experience and what I read in Steve Goss’ “Win the Daily Battle” yesterday. During my Christmas vacation, I didn’t work out in the mornings and let loose of the reins of self-control with my eating. Even though I got back on track with my workouts last week, I was only able to have one day of “food plan success” because I chose to get rid of the remainder of the “binge foods” in my house, by eating them mid-week, and then decided to let myself “cheat” over the weekend.
Can I tell you, cheating on your food plan or having “cheat days”, is only cheating yourself of progress toward your health goals, and it opens the door to the negative influences of the world, the flesh, and the devil.
With my food addiction, I don’t know if the causes lie primarily in the flesh, the world, or the devil, but yesterday I was reminded of the remedy for all the works of the flesh. The way to overcome the negative consequences of fleshly living is to live in the Spirit and to avoid the insanity of double minded living, we have to choose to “live in the Spirit” in all the areas of our lives, continually, otherwise we will have all the disappointment and frustration of a vicious cycle of “sin-confess, sin confess”, which I am currently trying to surrender my way out of.
However, even though I “fumble the ball just before the goal line” last night food-wise, I spent the vast majority of the day “living in the Spirit” and exercising self-control and intentionality. I have undiagnosed ADHD and know that part of my problems lie with my self-awareness and impulsiveness, so yesterday I planned my day and set alarms on my phone for every hour on the hour to structure my day and to keep me on track. Shortly after I started the day, my “flesh” cried out for food, sleep, and other distractions. These temptations to deviate from my schedule were challenging to overcome, but I was able to stay the course – all the way to the end of the day – that is, until I didn’t have any more activities and failed to go to sleep at the time I planned to.
I had some snacks in the fridge that I forgot I had bought last weekend, and when I didn’t have something planned for after 8 o’clock, I decided to remove them from my house through my stomach. The snacks are gone now, though and I plan on following in yesterday’s footsteps but relying more on God and making better choices at the end of the day.
When you give in to the flesh, your weaknesses work against you, and the only way to get out of that fleshly cycle is to choose to live in the Spirit. When we choose the way of the Spirit, we choose a new life of peace; when we choose the way of the flesh, we choose the death of our peace. Speaking of our weakness and the choice between giving into the flesh or living by the Spirit, Sunday’s In Touch with Dr. Charles Stanley devotion spoke on this topic, and I am sharing it on the blog today to encourage us to choose life, life in the Spirit. Dr. Charles Stanley writes:
“In Times of Weakness
When temptation comes, run to God for strength to make the right choice
Judges 16:1-31
Unless weaknesses are addressed, they have potential to cause trouble in our life. Vulnerabilities can either drive us closer to God or blind us to His love, as two Old Testament stories demonstrate.
Joseph and Samson faced similar temptations but responded differently. Day after day, Potiphar’s wife tried to entice Joseph, yet he rejected her advances (Genesis 39:7-9). He endured hardship for his choice, but in the end, God’s servant received immeasurable blessings. Samson, on the other hand, willingly gave in to Delilah (Judg. 16:15-17) and experienced something very different.
Samson had been consecrated to God, and the Holy Spirit was moving in his life (Judges 13:24-25). Nevertheless, he chose the path of self-indulgence. Because Samson rationalized his weakness, it soon began to dominate his life. He exchanged God’s blessing and supernatural strength for earthly pleasures.
When we face temptation, we can respond as Joseph did, or we can pursue a course similar to Samson’s. The choice is up to us. In times of weakness, it is essential for us to depend on God, obey Him, and seek the strength to make good decisions—ones that honor God and draw us closer to Him. – Charles Stanley
Amen. The contrast between the choices and consequences of Joseph and Samson should teach us something about giving in to temptation and indulging in a life of the flesh.
While we can rationalize away our foolish choices as weakness and figure that our sins are forgiven in Christ, the cost for indulging in the flesh is greater than we may realize.
Not only is a life in the flesh filled with shame and guilt, but it also leads to bondage that is difficult to escape. The more we sow to the flesh, the more we become addicted to our sin and become “ programmed” to the thoughts, emotions, and behaviors of fleshly living.
When we give in to the flesh, we are moved away from the peace of God into feelings that lead to interpersonal conflict, such as enmity (hatred), strife, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, and envy.
Indulging our selfish desires separates us from God and man and leads to isolation and pain.
But when we ask God for His help and choose to live in the Spirit, He helps us to overcome those fleshly pulls and to find a life of peace and love.
So, choose to agree with the Lord and choose a life in the Spirit and watch as the negative emotions are replaced by peace.
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For those who want more evidence for Christianity than my simple encouragements provide, I offer apologist Frank Turek’s website, https://crossexamined.org/.
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Today’s Bible verse comes to us from “The Quick Scripture Reference for Counseling” By John G. Kruis.
(While Bible verses on various topics of Counseling can be found with a quick Google search, we encourage you to purchase this resource to support the late author’s work. (The Quick Scripture Reference for Counseling By John G. Kruis on Amazon )
This morning’s meditation verse comes from the section on Prayer – Waiting On the Lord.
Acts 12:1–17
Acts 12:5 (NKJV) Peter was therefore kept in prison, but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church.
Today’s verse is the first of two passages of scripture that fall under the twenty-second point of our counseling reference guide resource section on Prayer.
22. God answers intercessory prayer.
Today’s Bible verse directs us on what we should do when a loved one ends up in jail: pray!
While I can’t claim that every prayer to set the captives free will be answered, I can testify that I have prayed for people who have been facing charges and jail time before, and the Lord blessed them with leniency and freedom.
So, pray for those who are in prison and who need help. The Lord moves in mysterious ways, and when it is within His will, He can bring mercy and grace to those who don’t deserve it when we least expect it.
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As always, I invite all to go to mt4christ.com, where I always share insights from prominent Christian theologians and counselors to assist my brothers and sisters in Christ with their walk.
Today, we continue sharing from “Day by Day Along the Way” By Jay E. Adams.
As always, I share this information for educational purposes and encourage you all to purchase Adams’ books for your own private study and to support the late author’s work. This resource is available online for less than $20 at many sites.
Day 359
The Spirit’s fruit is … joy. – Galatians 5:22
Christians are not to be somber and dour people. They have more to rejoice about than anyone else. When they don’t impress others as people characterized by joy, they misrepresent the faith—and its Lord. If you lack joy you are not living as you ought to. That is a given. Have you allowed worry, fear, trials, or anything else to undermine your joy? If so, it is time to eliminate all of these debilitating problems. God can, and even promises to do so, if you will rest upon His promises and obey His Word. The Holy Spirit meant it when He guided Paul to write, “Rejoice, and again I say, rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4 nasb). The word “rejoice” in that verse is translated “be glad” in the Christian Counselor’s New Testament and Proverbs. Count up the things you have to be glad about. No, stop! Don’t even try; it is a hopeless task. You won’t get anything else done today if you do it. Just think about some of them, and go ahead—rejoice! Don’t hold back. Let yourself go—Rejoice![1]
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[1] Jay E. Adams, Day by Day along the Way (Cordova, TN: Institute for Nouthetic Studies, 2020), 367.
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