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The Two Wolves
by Mick Alexander "I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life." (Deu. 30:19) Whenever someone repents and accepts Jesus as Lord of their life, the Holy Spirit comes to live within them and, from that point on, a spiritual battle exists between their sinful nature and the Holy Spirit. Gal. 5:17 describes this battle: "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." Our sinful nature is a powerful force which will continue to rule our lives unless we submit to the Spirit just as Gal. 5:16 tells us, "live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature." The following parable describes the battle within us: An old Cherokee chief was teaching his grandson about life... "A fight is going on inside me," he said to the boy. "It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One wolf is evil - he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, self-doubt, and ego. The other wolf is good - he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. This same fight is going on inside you - and inside every other person, too." The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, "Which wolf will win?" The old chief simply replied, "The one you feed." (Author Unknown) This parable truly describes the spiritual battle every Christian faces. Which wolf are you feeding? Rom. 8:13 also tells us that there are two ways we can live: "if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live." 1) You can feed the evil wolf and live according to your sinful nature and die or 2) You can feed the good wolf and through the Spirit put to death the misdeeds of the body and live. You need to choose wisely as only "those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God" (Rom. 8:14). Choose life and through the power of the Holy Spirit put to death the misdeeds of the body so that you may inherit eternal life. This article can be downloaded as a PDF or an MP3 from - http://www.christianissues.biz/downloads.html Mick Alexander Email: [email protected] Website: www.ChristianIssues.biz Mick Alexander likes to spread the gospel and encourage believers in their faith. He has a website at http://www.christianissues.biz His Christian blog is at http://www.christianissues.biz/blog/wordpress/ His YouTube videos are http://www.youtube.com/user/christianissues Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |