Paul McKenzie

Memory Verse, Wednesday, April 29, Romans 8:6

"For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace."

This is a law. A universal one. Even people in the world get inklings of the attributes of the Spirit, and what they can bring. We were all originally made in God's image, so those traits, though corrupted because of sin can still show themselves in mankind.

They show themselves in the whole of creation. It's interesting to see in Scripture that our sin is responsible for the state of this fallen world, not only in ourselves but in nature as well. We'll see soon that "the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God" (8:19). For from the beginning, we were given the mandate to rule the earth:

"And God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth." (Genesis 1:28)

But we'll get to that when we get to that verse. The point I want to make is how the remnants of God's glory still are seen in this earth. His beauty still shines through the darkness we have brought into it. And even sinful man sees glimpses of God's glory. And when they do, they get a sense of life and peace—a life and peace eternally available to them if they fall upon His mercy.

But we, instead of God's stewards, have made ourselves God's enemies. We do not submit to Him, but live according to our own desires, and our desires do not have the life of God, so we die in them.

Only in God there is life. From the moment we are in this world, we are allotted mortal life out of His mercy. We see His Glory, His attributes, and attribute them to ourselves and our own selfish desires. We become slaves to this law of sin and death. We behold the perfect Law of God, and reject it, or twist it according to our desires. We make ourselves little "gods". We have a better way, or so we think. And that better way moves us away from the true Light, which lights everyone that comes into the world.

You can be free from this! Listen to the words of Jesus:

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

"And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God" (John 3:16-21).

"He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor the will of the flesh nor the will of man, but of God.

"And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth…." "…For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ." (John 1:10-14,18)

Because of our sin, the Law, though perfect, was unattainable. God, in His grace, inserted Himself into this world, took upon our flesh and showed us the way to another Law, the Law of the Spirit of Life.

And that is where His children set their minds.

Today if you hear His voice, harden not your heart.

Memory Helps

"For TO SET THE MIND ON THE flesh IS death,
but TO SET THE MIND ON THE Spirit IS life and peace."

Again, written to make it very memorizable. Set your minds on it today.

Linking verse numbers:

My memory character for verses five is my friend "Joe", because J=6 phonetically, vowels fillers. We add roller skates on him because "skate" rhymes with chapter 8, and we put a "laurel crown" on him to represent the old "laurel wreath crowns" Romans used to remember Romans.

Again, we have two frames of "Joes". One we picture maybe the "skull and crossbones" to represent "death" lodged in his "mind" as he is skating around with that wreath on his head. On the other we have a "dove" to represent "the Spirit" lodged in his mind. Make sure you get a good picture in your mind of the character you are choosing. Maybe you have a friend "Joe" you can picture. If not, google a famous one and make him your character for verses "6". This way I link Romans 8:6 to this verse.