I have been trying to memorize Romans 8…the whole chapter.  It began when I came across the story of Katherine Wolfe. Because of Katherine’s love for this particular portion of Scripture, her friends and family have started the Romans 8 Movement and are asking folks to memorize Romans 8 in her honor.  So…I have been trying.

I have not gotten very far in the way of memorization, but I have read it dozens of times over the previous weeks and I love it more and more each time.  I have been focusing on verses 1-11 in an attempt to get as much as possible out of it.  I don’t want to memorize just to be able to say I did it.  I want the truths to be buried in my heart and for them to mean something.  For the past 3-4 days I have been focusing on Romans 8:5-6.

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.  For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

It is so hard not to be focused on the things of the flesh…those things that seem to affect me daily.  Yet, really, if you read and take in this portion of Scripture, it is absurd the things I worry about…the things I spend so much energy trying to control. 

I have the Holy Spirit living in me, the awesome power of the living God at my fingertips…He who raised Christ from the dead, through His Spirit, dwells in me (Romans 8:11.) Yet, so often, I choose to forego that power and live in the fleshly realm.

The question the Lord keeps putting before me this week is “What am I setting my mind on?  Things of the flesh or things of the Spirit?”  I can attempt to justify it, but I know that I have been dwelling on things of the flesh.  I have been kind of down this week thinking that something I thought would happen may not happen…and have really lost sight of the fact that God is the same this week as he was last week when I was on the mountain.  I am kind of embarrassed by how quickly I became discouraged.

God is still good today.  He who did not even spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for me, how shall He not also freely give me all things? (Romans 8:32) God still wants to bless me today.  But, he wants me to trust Him…trust that He knows how to bless me.  He does the blessing.  I just need to set my mind on the things of the Spirit.  I don’t know exactly what that means for me right now…but I do know that I probably should take the focus off of myself for awhile and let God bless as He sees fit.