The Nature of The Beast

THE NATURE OF THE BEAST

By:  Julie Souza Bradley Lilly

Have you ever worked really hard to change something about yourself, only to revert back to old habits?  If so, you are not alone.  Even the Apostle Paul struggled:

“I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.” – Romans 7:15 NIV

And the struggle we feel controlling our physical habits, is the same struggle we can feel spiritually. Old habits die hard.

We can dye a dogs coat to look like a tiger, and even teach it a couple tiger-like behaviors, but no matter how much we try, it will still do doggish things. That is the nature of the beast.

So what is it about those couples who not only can complete one another’s sentences, but they even begin to look land behave like one another?  What causes them to change?  The answer is LOVE and QUALITY TIME TOGETHER.

My parents always warned me to be careful about those I spent time with, because, there is a battle inside every believer.  And, good or bad, there is a tendency to become like those we spend the most time with.  To become MORE like Jesus— to have greater character and self control— we need to love and spend MORE time with Him and in the Word, and to allow Him to have His way.

Beloved, who do you spend the most time with?  Do they cause you to look more or less like Jesus?  In this crazy time in history, are you nurturing or neglecting your relationship with the Lord?

Father, we want to change, but on our own we can only change for a season before reverting back to what is natural.  Lord, what we need is a change of nature, so new behaviors come more naturally.  Lord, change us!  Give us a taste for Your Word and a hunger for Your presence, that time with You will change us from the inside out, transforming us into the image of Jesus.  In Jesus’ Name ❤️

https://www.facebook.com/Prayers-of-a-Ragamuffin-Warrior-171515087035441/

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