“On the day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in one place. Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting. Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability.” (Acts 2:1-4)

We are all born with a sinful nature. It’s an inevitable event given that we live in a sinful world. When we come to Christ, when we accept in our hearts the payment He made for our sins on the cross and when we truly live like He is Lord of our life—by dying to our sins as Christ died and rising to life in the Spirit as Christ rose—then we take on a second nature: the nature of the Holy Spirit.

“The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions.” (Galatians 5:17)

Now that we have two natures living within us, we are in the middle of a constant battle. This verse is the source of this blog’s title; this fight is what we are constantly writing about it. The only way true love can exist is through choice, and once we come to Christ we have a choice every single day, multiple times a day, to choose the desires the Holy Spirit gives us or the desires of our sinful nature. Each nature is fighting for our choice, so what do we do?

“Two natures beat within my breast
One is foul, One is blessed.
One I love, One I hate.
The one I feed will dominate.”

I came across this anonymous poem yesterday and find a lot of truth in it about our role in this constant battle. So which nature are you feeding? Do you consume more holy, God-honoring content or content your sinful nature desires? Do you have more God-honoring conversations and thoughts or do your thoughts and words satisfy your sinful nature? 1 Thessalonians 5:19 warns us to not quench the Holy Spirit. This word quench means to extinguish, like pouring water or scooping dirt over a fire. Is the Holy Spirit within you getting extinguished or fed? It all depends on your choices. If you are a Christian, you have been drafted into a battle. You now have two natures and whichever one you feed will dominate. Which one are you feeding?

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.