I make a lot of stupid decisions. I stay up way too late; I don’t read the directions before cooking in the kitchen, and I continue to believe the Tar Heels will make an amazing comeback and redeem the season. My heart also covets, lusts, murders with my thoughts, worships things created like sports, television, and friendships more than the  Creator over all of them.
 
Sure I make some good decisions sometimes, but the more I see how sinful and twisted my heart, the more I see that the good decisions are rarely from me. Jeremiah 17:9 says that “the hear is deceitful above all things and desperately sick.” The center or human emotion, intellect and decision making is sick. We call this “flesh.” The New Testament echoes this as well in the book of Romans, “All have turned aside, together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one” (Rom. 3:12).
 
Typically, this is the part I understand the most. I grew up in a God-fearing and mommy and daddy fearing family where obedience kept you from spankings and punishment. The second part of understanding that our flesh is sick, is that God has given the believer in Christ a new spirit (2 Cor. 5:17), and a new heart (Ez. 36:26). The Bible says that we have the mind of Christ (Philippians 2:5-11), and that we are capable through the Holy Spirit, of making godly and healthy choices.
 
The flesh and Spirit are directly opposed to one another (Galatians 5:16-17), and both reside in the believer. So what is the key to obedience to the Holy Spirit and freedom from making decisions from the sick heart? It’s surrender to the Holy Spirit. Jesus puts it this way, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily, and follow me” (Luke 9:23).
 
One of my applications to this lesson is to have this be one of the first things I pray to repeat to myself before my day starts. If I don’t continually remind myself that I’ve been crucified with Christ, then my flesh will reign in my life, and I will not live a life with the realization that I am dead to sin and alive to Christ, that he has bought me with a price. My old heart still remains in me, but because of Christ, it does not rule in my life any longer. I am aware and conscious of sin, and therefore I need to run to my Savior to simply remember his work on the cross in my place.
 
(Prayer)
Jesus, thank you for redeeming me. Thank you for giving me a new heart and a new mind. Thank you for giving me the capacity to obey you today. Keep me far from evil, and obeying what will give “Matt” glory, but rather give glory to You, my redeemer and Savior.
 
 
References (Romans 5-8)