#70 How Long Can You Tread Water?

The Book of Genesis Day 70 Ge 6:3 And the LORD said, "My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he is indeed flesh; yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years." Want to hop in a time machine and see what life was like in these 120 years before the flood? It was a war of epic proportions between the flesh of men and the Spirit of God! This war continues even to this day as we read in Ga 5:17, “For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh;” and as Luther put it in his hymn “A Mighty Fortress,” “Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing, Were not the right man on our side, the man of God’s own choosing. Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus it is He, Lord Sabaoth His name, from age to age the same and He must win the battle! For a complete picture of how wicked the world had become in the days preceding the flood, we need only read Ga 5:19-21, “Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” Imagine living in a world where these kinds of behaviors are unchecked by all but eight people! Other than Noah, they all steadfastly resisted the “umpiring” of the Holy Spirit! That’s the way it was in the days of Noah WORLDWIDE, and (more localized) in Sodom in the days of Lot. Both cases ended in judgment and destruction by God! Ro 8:5-8, also speaks of this battle: , “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. 6 For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. 8 So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.” Don’t you see? If you live “all in” with your flesh, you will meet a terrible end that will go on for eternity! But if you go “all in” with Jesus as Noah and Lot did, you will live! God gave no quarters in this matter before the flood. These people were fleshly minded and they died. They did not inherit the kingdom of God! God, likewise will give no quarters today or tomorrow either. Those with the same unrepentant attitude of Noah’s day will likewise not inherit the kingdom of God. We desperately need the help of the Spirit to put to death these deeds of the flesh, and that help only comes to those who have surrendered their lives to Jesus. It’s surrender to Jesus or, “How long can you tread water?” Reflect: Do you have any fears concerning water or fire? Look at Gal 5:19-21 again. How many of these behaviors can you define? Are you guilty of any of these behaviors? What can you do about it? Pray: Lord, I confess that I am guilty of giving in to the ways of my flesh. Help me to resist the temptation and forgive me when I fail.