You can live your best life now

Good morning, everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Sound doctrine, strong faith”

Our Bible verse for today: “So then, brothers and sisters, we are not obligated to the flesh to live according to the flesh, because if you live according to the flesh, you are going to die. But if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” Romans 8:12-13

Our thought for today: “You can live your best life now”

In Romans 8:13-14 Paul used the word “obligated” in a negative context by saying that we are not obligated to live according to worldly ways and the desires and passions of the flesh. The word obligated means to feel a strong responsibility to do something, to behave in a particular way, or to produce certain expected results. It’s the feeling that others expect certain behaviors from us and there is pressure upon us to conform and comply.

Many Christians do go along with the pressures from the world for precisely that reason – they feel obligated, or pressured, or compelled to do so. But Paul tells us here that as a child of God you owe no allegiance to the pressures of the world – you are under no obligation to them, nor should you feel as if you are.

The implication in the passage is the opposite, that as a child of God you are under an obligation to conduct yourself in a way that honors your Father in heaven. You have no obligation to the world, but you do have a huge obligation to honor the family name of God. What’s being described is an intentional decision made by a redeemed person to live differently than you used to. You belong to your Father in heaven, and you want to honor that fact by conducting yourself in a way that pleases Him.

This is more than just religious rule-keeping. This is more than having a list of dos and don’ts to use as a sort of checklist. This is a way of living that comes out of a heart of love for the Father and a genuine desire to please Him. And it is not even something that we must grit our teeth and strive to somehow implement in our lives. Instead, a life like this is a direct result of fully surrendering to Jesus Christ and to the guidance of the Holy Spirit. It then becomes our nature to live that way because it’s simply who we are as a child of God.

This life of holiness and righteous living isn’t a forced thing. Instead, it grows naturally out of serious discipleship. As the Holy Spirit molds us and shapes us, our character changes and we just naturally begin conducting ourselves in ways that please our Father and which bring honor to the family name.

In John 10:10 Jesus said, “I have come that they might have life, and have it abundantly.” When Paul writes in Romans 8:13 that when you are fully surrendered to life under the guidance of the Spirit that you will “live”, this is what he’s talking about. The best life any of us will ever have is the one that is lived right in the middle of God’s will. That’s the life that God wants for you as His child, and you can have it, right now, beginning today. Live life by the Spirit not by the flesh and you will begin to live your best life now.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

(If you like what you are reading in these daily devotionals and if you would like more content from Oak Hill Baptist Church, join us on Sundays at 10:00 – in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you just can’t make it, online at www.YouTube.com/@oakhillbaptistcrossville

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