Daily Devotional – I’m Normal.™ I AM Ministries
“To promote Godly living in a culture committed to destroying it”
Wednesday, June 1, 2016
Kill Your “Self”
Today’s topic sounds provocative, but it is actually Biblical in nature. As the title indicates, I hope to convince you today it is normal to kill your “self”. First, be assured I wish no physical harm to you or your body, I pray a spiritual change will take place. The death I hope will transpire is one that will actually save you from great spiritual harm.
Also notice that I did not say “kill yourself”, I said “kill your ‘SELF’”. I exhort you to do this at the recommendation of Paul, who told his brothers in Corinth that, “I die every day – I mean that brothers – just as surely as I glory over you in Christ Jesus our LORD” (1 Corinthians 15:31).
The question is – to what is he dying? Paul is telling us to die to our sinful nature, our sinful minds, and our selfish desires. He is telling us to die to the sinful flesh that causes us to be separated from God because of our transgressions. Instead, he calls us to lead a better life through Christ: “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God.” (Galatians 2:20).
Paul knows it is our sinful minds and selfish desires that get us into trouble. “The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.” (Romans 8:6-8).
The secret to succeeding is to allow the Spirit to replace our sinful minds and flesh, to which we must die every day. We must extinguish our burning, selfish motives and bury them beneath Christ’s infinite love. “But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your Spirit is alive because of your righteousness.” (Romans 8:10). “So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other so that you do not do what you want.” (Galatians 5:16-17).
Paul is telling us we must connect with the Spirit in order to be victorious in our living for Christ. This means we must exorcise or kill our “self” every day, even many times per day, as we are tempted to put our needs ahead of others’ needs (Matthew 22:39). In our usual behavior, we are subject to the acts of the sinful nature (Galatians 5:19-21). The sins of the world will consume us unless we live by the Spirit.
When we are born again, we receive the promise of the Comforter, the Holy Spirit. We as believers are indwelt by the Spirit that gives us the power to live according to God’s normal ways. Living by the Spirit means surrendering your life daily to the LORD and submitting to His will, not yours. It is a commitment to spending time each morning in prayer and in the Bible reading God’s Word. This gives us the guidance and strength to meet the challenges of sin we will encounter each day. It is a commitment to living the Ten Commandments (Deuteronomy 5:7-21) and displaying the Fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). Obedience to God is all about killing your “self”.
Killing your “self” is one of the most crucial and difficult things we can do as Christians because it goes against our very nature. It is an on-going process that allows the Spirit to guide and control our lives instead of living in the death of the flesh. I pray today that each of you will commit to a daily process of killing your “self” so the Holy Spirit can make you a normal instrument of God.
In His love and service,
Jeff Myers
A servant of Jesus Christ
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