Soul living...

Week 40:

I Peter 2:11-12 ¹¹ Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul. ¹² Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.

Some time back I wrote an article on All your Soul…  This article was one in a series of loving God with all out Heart, Soul, Mind, And Strength.  In the article I touched on part of living from the Soul.  In order to gain some understanding of the Soul, one must be in touch with the Holy Spirit.  Today, I want to touch on another part of the Soul.  This is an action part of the Soul, prompted by the Spirit.

I want to move backwards from the end of the verse.  Good deeds are an indicator of a healthy Soul.  Now, as we know, good deeds are not restricted to Christianity.  There are a lot of good deeds being performed by the people of the world.  But good deeds translate into a language that the world understands.  Everyone responds to good deeds.  Our good deeds will have even the pagans rejoicing in the end.

 Good deeds are an off-shoot of good living.  It is important for me to live a good life.  Now, I do not need to live a fake life that looks good from the outside.  This is not a good witness for the faith.  I also need to remind myself that I do not live a good life in order to earn God’s favor or eternal life.  I live a good life because it is good for my Soul.  I live a good life because of the gift God has given me.  I live a good life knowing that in doing so, it is what is best for me.  Finally, I live a good life because it influences others.


Living a good life and doing good deeds allows for the first part of the verse.  By living this way, I am creating a world where I can abstain from the sinful desires that wage war on the Soul.  The battle for the Soul is ongoing.  If I fill my Soul with good living and good deeds, then the battle is easier. 

Each day is a Soul living day.  I am challenged to do Soul work every day.  To gain this victory and feed my Soul, I must be intentional about my good living and my good deeds.  If not, then I have a much larger battle to fight when I have grown tired of my weary Soul.  When those times come, I realize that I have not been an example for the faith I need to be. 

The steps back in are listening to the Spirit and good living.  Time to love the good and do what is right.

Questions/challenges:

1.      What sinful desires require work for you?

2.      What parts of your life need good living?

3.      What are some of your favorite good deeds?

4.      In what state of health would you say your Soul is in right now?

5.      This week, watch for opportunities to do good for the sake of Soul living.

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