What Not to Mix Together
Oil and water don’t mix—just as the life of Christ in us cannot be blended with the flesh.
Devotional insight from Ray Stedman’s Immeasurably More | Photo Credit: Unsplash
Ray Stedman reminds us that Old Testament laws like not mixing fabrics, seeds, or animals were never about the materials themselves. Rather, they were designed to impress upon Israel the danger of mixing opposing spiritual principles—light with darkness, truth with error, faith with flesh. These were training tools to teach discernment. Today, in the New Covenant, we’re not bound to follow these symbols literally, but we are to understand the heart behind them: God does not permit a blending of His life with fleshly ways.
God has always intended for His people to walk in holiness—not through rigid rule-keeping, but through a life that reflects His character. Just as marrying an unbeliever combines two incompatible spiritual foundations, trying to live by grace and flesh at once results in conflict, confusion, and bondage. Stedman also points out the underlying danger in seeking spiritual power apart from God—through mediums, spiritists, or pagan customs. While the outward symbols have faded, the principle remains: God’s life cannot be mingled with counterfeits or compromise.
As new creations in Christ, we are not called to mix our old self-life with our new Spirit-led life. God, who is holy and unchanging, has made His home in us—and He desires to live through us in purity, power, and unblended purpose.
Personalized Journal Entry in the Holy Spirit’s Voice Through Scripture
You were never meant to live by mixture. I have called you out of darkness into My marvelous light. I have not blended your spirit with the world but have made you entirely new in Christ. My desire is not for external conformity to laws but for your heart to remain wholly Mine. Do not graft the old with the new, for the old has passed away and all things have become new.
I am your God, and I dwell within you. The life I now live in you is not a patch on a worn-out garment, nor new wine poured into old skins. You are a temple of My Spirit, and I do not share My dwelling with idols, however subtle or appealing they seem. You cannot serve two masters. The moment you walk according to the flesh, you quench My movement in your soul. But when you walk by My Spirit, you will not carry out the desires of the flesh.
Do not be unequally yoked—whether in relationships, mindset, or in compromise with culture. What fellowship has light with darkness? You are light in Me. Let your life reflect Me purely. I am the Lord your God who sanctifies you. Come out and be separate—not in distance from the world, but in likeness to Me within it. I have not given you laws to burden you, but Myself to fulfill what is good through you. Stand firm, then, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. Live as one clothed in Christ.
Scriptures woven in: 1 Peter 2:9, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Matthew 9:16-17, 1 Corinthians 6:19, 2 Corinthians 6:14-17, Galatians 5:16, Galatians 5:1, Romans 13:14, Leviticus 20:8
Prayer of Trust
Father, thank You for giving me a life that cannot be blended with the old ways. I rejoice that in Christ, I am a new creation—pure, whole, and set apart for You. I trust that You, who live within me, are more than able to express a life of holiness without mixture or compromise. I don’t need to fear deception or failure when I rest in Your Spirit, who gently leads and keeps me. Keep me aware of any place where the enemy would seek to mingle confusion with clarity. Thank You that the life of Christ in me is undiluted, victorious, and yours alone. I yield in joyful trust to You in this moment.