desires

Desire and Willpower

Dr. Mike 2025 , , ,

If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.”   Genesis 4:7

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For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.   1 John 2:16-17

Where does evil that corrupts the world come from? How does one escape from it?

Don’t we all have the tenancy to point a finger at others when we notice they did something unrighteous? Yet when we do, are we also not pointing three at us?

I love the passage from 1 Peter 3:10-12. “Whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit. Let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

We may all desire the good life, but how we manage ourselves forward is the challenge. We have the misconception that evil, sin, and the uglies are out there somewhere. That if everyone was more like me, this would be a better world. Yet when one meets Jesus, who is the reflection of the perfect God, one’s own mirror reveals otherwise.

There is not a person who ever lived on planet earth who is morally perfect with the exception of Jesus. HE had the immunity of the Holy Spirit from birth. His divinity gave him strength to resist temptations. The rest of us however have had our spirit corrupted with the sin virus. But those who have surrendered their kingdom to God’s kingdom are now being sanctified. We are being prepared for eternity through the workings of the Holy Spirit in us. But the process is slow.

It starts in the heart. We need to desire the good. This starts with first learning what good looks like. The anti-god crowd have their definition. But how does the Triune God define the situation? This is why coming to know God’s heart is important if you are a serious student of Jesus.

We discover God’s Truths through the pages of the Bible as well as throughout creation. This is the foundation of divine knowledge. As we begin to seek HIM through prayer and other disciplines, HE draws closer to us. HE begins to reveal HIMSELF to us. The more you seek HIM, the more you will come to know HIM. The more you come to know HIM, the more you come to know HIS ways. HIS desires. HIS values.

But then the work begins. No, you are not saved by your work. We cannot earn salvation. We are all saved through the grace of God. It is HIS gift to us. But as we are being saved , we exert effort to walk with HIM in doing good work. Where we fall short or fail, HIS grace sustains us. As HE molds and shapes our spirit from the inside/out, our behavior follows. We begin to exert energy for doing good. This is not an overnight change. Our character, until then, has been ignorantly shaped since our birth. Our habits and automatic responses need to be rewired. The hurtful pasts and painful triggers need to be reprogrammed. There is much healing that is needed.

Evil desires need to be replaced with holy ones. The Willpower needs to be reshaped and exercised to follow these new attributes. You may even join others in the gym of practicing spiritual disciplines. This helps you keep your mind and focus on Jesus in your daily routines.

Over time others begin to see more and more of Jesus’ reflection in you. God’s divine nature begins to shape you and prepare you for eternity. The evil desires are now replaced with a heavenly heart. Your heart begins to bloom with action. You become a servant of God’s kingdom doing good work that HE has prepared for you from the beginning of your birth. You are now living your potential for HIM. You begin to reap the benefits of a Christlike life.

Yes, it takes a lifetime to convert godly desires with habitual willpower into action. Otherwise, who are you going to become? As others who have gone before us have shown, the adventurous journey of transformation in Christ is worth the effort. Both for this life and the one to come.

Rooting For You in Christ!

Dr. Mike

Faith-Integrator, Encourager, Scribbler

“We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives,” (Colossians 1:9)

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Money. Sex. Power.

Dr. Mike 2021 , , , , ,

Colossians 3:5

Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.

I am surrounded by a culture predominately immerse with money, sex, and power. Whether it’s portrayed in the movies, on the internet, or social media, I am constantly shaking my head asking myself how did we as a nation get here.

Why does this world seem to take what is good, wholesome, and beneficial for mankind and rampantly exploit their features? Like the sugar addict who can’t get enough, we as a people take what God has created for our good and dismantled it into a commodity. We buy and sell money, sex, and power because we can and we don’t even consider the downside and the pain and misery we produce along the way. All we care is we get our share and the hell with anyone else. At least that is how I have come to witness the culture being thrown in my face without my approval.

When the apostle Paul wrote his letter to the Colossians church, God’s people were likewise dealing with similar worldly vices. In his letter, he emphasized that we do not control the world around us but we are responsible for our own personal behavior. And personally, we are instructed to kill our carnal desires.

Whenever any desire for a goal, commodity, or experience supersedes our desire for a more intimate relationship with the Triune God, trouble naturally follows. Throughout human history, most of us humans never seem to get enough money, sex or power. At least, my unscientific study seems to indicate that these are the three most abused desires; when run rampant, they leave a trail of destruction. We want more and more and more, but yet are never satisfied. Lives are shattered, families destroyed, and eventually nations crumble.

This is why a relationship with the Triune God is necessary. For you and I are wired to become one with HIM. When the Triune God is allowed to fully express HIS life in you and me, then HIS divine nature which includes self-control is a force to subdue our inner carnal desires. HE also gives us the knowledge through the Bible of what is good, but that alone is not enough. Mankind needs HIS Spirit living in us to fully control the dark side of human nature. And even then, we may occasionally fail, but HE in HIS divine grace, has already forgiven and restored us in Christ Jesus. We are included with Jesus in the Triune circle of life.

We don’t have to partake in this world’s culture of in-your-face excessiveness. Instead, we can quietly and humbly walk with our God, allow HIS Spirit to direct us toward living an abundant life full of real love, joy, and peace which the world truly wants but has no understanding of how to make it happen. Yes, you can even enjoy money, sex, and power bridled under the domain of God’s heart. Because after you had a taste of real life with HIM, you than come to know how to effectively manage and measure real satisfaction and fulfillment in your world.

Rooting For You in Christ!

Dr. Mike

Encourager & Author of e-Books

 *  Dancing With God: Life-Giving Theology Explained
 *  Great Business Emulates a Good God
 *  Be Radical…Follow Christ!
 *  Simply The Messenger
 *  Unequally Married

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Self-Destructive Desires

Dr. Mike 2021 , , , ,

Romans 7:18

For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.

Galatians 5:16-17, 5:24

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do…And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

Ephesians 4:22

…put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires,

Jesus spoke much about your heart – that you worship what you treasure. The apostle Paul likewise reiterated the same train of thought through the above Scriptures. The battles we face are best managed by how well you and I channel our desires.

Without allowing God’s Spirit access into our deepest desires, the carnal wants will have their way with you and I. When we focus on the Spirit and God’s character, we are aiming towards the eternal, long-term benefits which we all know is good and beneficial for all, but delayed gratification is not one of humanities greatest strengths.  

The other day, I had a strong desire for chocolate. Our neighbor, who loves to cook, stopped by with a plate of peanut butter cookies along with a plastic bag of chocolate bars. Good, expensive, dark chocolate. The type that is good for you. However, if you have an addiction towards sweet foods, not the best thing to have around. In less then a day, I had devoured the entire bag and could have eaten more. Thankfully there was nothing more available.

I slipped and satisfied my bodily desires. If I had immediately gotten rid of them the moment they entered into our house, I wouldn’t have indulged in my lust. But, I didn’t. Instead, I gave into my fleshly desire and consumed ½ pound of chocolate within minutes.

Though this is a small, carnal desire in comparison with other more harmful, destructive acts, it’s a lesson that I remind myself of the importance of walking with God’s Spirit in full surrender at all times. That the battle we face each day is with how we respond to the desires that continually are filtered through our inner world.

Over the years there are many times that I simply pushed the chocolate away from me without any temptation. Other times when I least expect, the temptation comes and I give in. The solution is knowing yourself and how best to fight against your weaknesses and perceived strengths.

When we are prayed-up, focused outward based on a Christ-centered base, the temptation is simply batted away. However, when we are empty, swaying far from the center of reality and truth, our self-centered, carnal desires easily flow with no godly boundaries in place. We are like a castle whose walls have been penetrated by the enemy. The battle is soon lost.

But thankfully we have a God who gracefully understands our human weaknesses and loves us even more than we can fathom. He restores us like the child who falls for the umpteen time, but her loving dad picks her up and encourages her to keep on trucking. Eventually the falls occur less and less, and maybe, the child even grows up and wins a goal medal in the Olympics.

Who knows what the future brings? But until then, the battle lies with the desires that explode us. I for one am grateful for our King who has gone before us, won the battle with the enemy, and now mentors us on how best to fight the carnal desires that evade us.

How? Holy Spirit have your way with us!

Rooting For You in Christ!

Dr. Mike

Encourager & Author of e-Books

 *  Dancing With God: Life-Giving Theology Explained
 *  Great Business Emulates a Good God
 *  Be Radical…Follow Christ!
 *  Simply The Messenger
 *  Unequally Married

Encourage a Friend…Share Today’s Message!

Copyright 2013-2021 Abbaco LLC | All Rights Reserved