Daily Devotional

The fruit of the carnal mind and body is death. When we indebt ourselves to the flesh we reap a spiritual death. Jesus said, "If thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not the whole body should be cast into hell."

Paul says that we need to "mortify" the deeds of the body. In other words you need to daily destroy what the carnal mind is thinking; destroy what the carnal flesh is trying to reap and we need to make the Spirit more and more alive within us.

Sounds easy? But of course, it is not. With so many worldly pleasures that we can divulge in, there is no way we can beat the body into subjection unless we have somebody who has already done this for us on our side. We can try in our own mental and physical power to overcome the works of the flesh, but we need the Holy Spirit to quicken us and to make us alive to the things of the Spirit and we need Jesus on our side.

How do we overcome the carnal desires and allow the Holy Spirit to become more alive in us:

1. Read the Bible daily. The Psalmist David wrote, "Thy Word have I hid in mine heart that I might not sin against thee."

2. Pray. There is immense power in praying. If you are having difficulty praying, start with simple praise and worship. If you must, put on a good gospel CD that you can sing with and have your own church service at home.

3. Fast. Make fasting a reality in your life. If you have not fasted for a while, start with half a day, and gradually increase. Remember, effective fasting always requires immense praying. You cannot fast and not pray.