My first trip to Disney World was not all that spectacular. I've seen pictures but I don't recall a thing about it. My older siblings sure seemed to have had a good time, though. Lynn and Mark had bright smiles and eager anticipation written all over their faces...according to the polaroid snapshots.
I didn't have much to smile about. From the looks of things, I only got to ride one ride over and over again. We might as well have stayed home, as far as I was concerned. Disney World was, to me, no different from anywhere else I'd ever been. Wherever my mother went, I had to go. I didn't have a choice. I was still in the womb.
Oh well. At least I got in free!
Church is like that for a lost person to some degree. The only difference is, I was alive. Lost people are spiritually dead.
Yet, neither of us could connect with our surroundings. I couldn't feel what my brother and sister felt, taste what they tasted, or see what they saw. I was there, but I was barricaded and surrounded by a bubble of flesh that kept me cut off from all that they were experiencing.
The man or woman who does not have a living relationship with Jesus feels the same way in a church that's alive. He or she won't feel what the brothers and sisters feel. Nor can they taste and see what surrounds them because they, too, are surrounded by a bubble of flesh that keeps them cut off and detached from what is going on around them spiritually.
Interesting paradox. Because I was inside my mom, the physical world was dead to me. Yet when Jesus lives inside us, the spiritual world comes alive to us! And we get in free!
I went back to Disney World nearly nine years ago. It was a very different experience for me than the one I had 37 years earlier. I was in the same place. But this time, I had been born. I was no longer trapped inside a cocoon of flesh.
The same thing happens to a person who is born again and goes back to the same church he or she went to before. A new spiritual awakening occurs when the flesh gives way to the Spirit.
Jesus said, "You must be born again" because "that which is born of flesh is (only) flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit (a new reality that cannot be known in the flesh alone)" (John 3:6-7, parenthesis mine).
By the way, I compared pictures of my second trip to Disney World with pictures from my first trip. My smile is much more noticeable.
There's a picture of me with Goofy but you can't tell which one's which...
Perry Crisp
Showing posts with label flesh. Show all posts
Showing posts with label flesh. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Monday, February 9, 2009
How the Greatest War Was Won
Two opposing forces, Flesh and Little Spirit, do battle with one another constantly. Little Spirit fights hard against Flesh, but loses control with nearly every battle.
The Law was brought in to restrain and control Flesh. But the Law's demands were too much for both Flesh and Little Spirit. Neither could ever satisfy the Law. The Law had pinned them both and had become a weight that smothered and crushed them.
Into the arena stepped Big Brother Spirit. Big Brother Spirit came from the Maker of the Law and met the demands of the Law perfectly. He never failed once to meet the stringent demands of the Law.
Big Brother Spirit delivered the Law a crushing blow, thus releasing the Law's grip on Little Spirit. So that now, every little spirit that reaches a hand toward Big Brother Spirit can find release and freedom from the death-grip of the Law.
"But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law" (Galatians 5:18, HCSB). Go back up four paragraphs and replace the name "Little Spirit" with your name and insert "Jesus" in place of "Big Brother Spirit" and "God" in place of "Maker of the Law." Now, read it again.
God gave us the law to show us the things that are wrong and the things that we should avoid. But the law only points out sin. It does not change the sinner. A burglar alarm does the same thing. It points out a burglar, but has no power to change the burglar's behavior. It can't arrest a burglar, detain a burglar or rehabilitate a burglar. All it can do is spot a burglar and point him out.
The law never died for you. It just points fingers at you. You can try with all your might to serve it, but failure is inevitable. It is too heavy a burden for a sinner.
But Jesus - Big Brother Spirit - DID die for you. You now have the privilege of living with Him as His Spirit lives inside you. If you will accept Jesus as your personal Savior and friend, His Spirit will make His home in your heart and guide you away from the bad and toward the good.
Galatians 2:20,
Perry Crisp
The Law was brought in to restrain and control Flesh. But the Law's demands were too much for both Flesh and Little Spirit. Neither could ever satisfy the Law. The Law had pinned them both and had become a weight that smothered and crushed them.
Into the arena stepped Big Brother Spirit. Big Brother Spirit came from the Maker of the Law and met the demands of the Law perfectly. He never failed once to meet the stringent demands of the Law.
Big Brother Spirit delivered the Law a crushing blow, thus releasing the Law's grip on Little Spirit. So that now, every little spirit that reaches a hand toward Big Brother Spirit can find release and freedom from the death-grip of the Law.
"But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law" (Galatians 5:18, HCSB). Go back up four paragraphs and replace the name "Little Spirit" with your name and insert "Jesus" in place of "Big Brother Spirit" and "God" in place of "Maker of the Law." Now, read it again.
God gave us the law to show us the things that are wrong and the things that we should avoid. But the law only points out sin. It does not change the sinner. A burglar alarm does the same thing. It points out a burglar, but has no power to change the burglar's behavior. It can't arrest a burglar, detain a burglar or rehabilitate a burglar. All it can do is spot a burglar and point him out.
The law never died for you. It just points fingers at you. You can try with all your might to serve it, but failure is inevitable. It is too heavy a burden for a sinner.
But Jesus - Big Brother Spirit - DID die for you. You now have the privilege of living with Him as His Spirit lives inside you. If you will accept Jesus as your personal Savior and friend, His Spirit will make His home in your heart and guide you away from the bad and toward the good.
Galatians 2:20,
Perry Crisp
Monday, December 29, 2008
Hand Over Your Cup!
Daphne made her way around the table filling coffee cups and chatting with some of her regular morning customers at the diner. As she was about to fill the fourth cup, Mack told the punch line of a joke and everyone at the table roared with laughter.
Daphne was laughing so hard she didn't notice Clyde's hand covering the top of his coffee cup. Clyde didn't want coffee. But he got it anyway. Hot coffee hit his hand, splattered up his arm, and ran down the table into his lap. It must've been instant coffee because Clyde was drenched before he knew it.
"Be filled with the Spirit" (Ephesians 5:18) is the daily challenge of every believer. The challenge is not due to the hesitancy of the Spirit, but to the hindrances of our own flesh. Like Clyde, our flesh gets in the way, makes a mess, and we get burned.
All the Spirit of God needs is an open, empty vessel. But too many times there's too much "u" in the "cUp."
Welcome to the table this morning. Have a seat. The Holy Spirit is pouring.
Who needs a refill?
Perry Crisp
Daphne was laughing so hard she didn't notice Clyde's hand covering the top of his coffee cup. Clyde didn't want coffee. But he got it anyway. Hot coffee hit his hand, splattered up his arm, and ran down the table into his lap. It must've been instant coffee because Clyde was drenched before he knew it.
"Be filled with the Spirit" (Ephesians 5:18) is the daily challenge of every believer. The challenge is not due to the hesitancy of the Spirit, but to the hindrances of our own flesh. Like Clyde, our flesh gets in the way, makes a mess, and we get burned.
All the Spirit of God needs is an open, empty vessel. But too many times there's too much "u" in the "cUp."
Welcome to the table this morning. Have a seat. The Holy Spirit is pouring.
Who needs a refill?
Perry Crisp
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Bon Appetite
HARD FLESH CAFÉ
Menu
(Menu might best be understood by reading Galatians 5:16-26)
Fleshly Appetizers……………….………………………….………$Your Purity
(Includes Sauteed Sexual Immorality, a generous sample of Moral Impurity a la Mode and a side dish of Peppered Promiscuity)
Idolatry/Sorcery Combination Platter…………………………$Your Soul
(Choose from a wide variety of idols or a spicy array of sorcery. For those who enjoy a variety, why not combine your sorcery with your favorite idols for a taste you won’t soon forget!)
Hatred Buffet………………………………………………..$Your Relationships
(Many of our customers enjoy battling our bountiful buffet. You will find succulent strife, jaw-tingling jealousy, and old-fashioned outbursts of anger that will remind you of home and keep you coming back for more.)
From the Dessert Table:
“Selfish Ambition” (Hard Flesh Café’s most popular dessert!)
“Dissension” (You won’t want to share this delectable dessert with anyone!)
“Factions” (Comes in generous portions!)
“Envy” (Everyone’s eye will be on THIS dessert when it comes to your table!)
Beverages:
(Free Refills!)
Drunkenness
Carousing
Manager’s Note: There is much, much more available to you than is listed on the menu. If you think of something your flesh desires, ask your waiter or waitress. We will bring it right out!
Whatever That French Word is for "Enjoy your meal,"
Perry Crisp
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