The Christian's Battle

The reason why many believers walk in daily defeat is because they misunderstand the nature of their enemies and battles. They erroneously think their enemy is a person or an obstacle that needs to be removed. Because of this, they spend their energy fighting unlawfully.  In the Old Testament Israel's enemies were people and the nations around them. They also used swords and spears to fight them and destroy them. The battle was for lands, cities, and territories. When Jesus came, His disciples were still thinking He was going to establish an earthly kingdom and rid them of their Roman enemies. But Jesus came to deliver them from much greater tyrants than Rome or Caesar. These tyrants are called "self" and "sin" and can only be conquered with the mighty weapons described in the verses below.

2 Cor 10: 3,4 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, 4 for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. (NASB)

Spiritual battles must be fought with spiritual weapons. Jesus came to help us defeat the real enemies of Satan, self, and sin. If we understand that our real enemies are not people, we will refuse to argue and fight with them. Our focus must be to first overcome all the "cities" within us and posess our "land" for the Lord, then we can become warriors in His Kingdom to fight and defeat the enemies in other people's lives, and to lead them to a victorious life.

Lust, worldliness, envy, and jealousy are a few of the enemies we must overcome! Gossip, slander, and hypocrisy are a few more that we can focus on! Jesus taught the disciples that the things that really defile, are things that come from within. So, we must conclude that our true enemies are not external but internal. Even worldliness is a matter of the heart and mind. many churches focus so completely on externals that they miss dealing with the real issue. The Bible's description of the world is, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. 1 John 2:16. It takes the power of Christ in the heart to change a man! 

What a powerful weapon faith is! Faith is the most important weapon in spiritual battles! The Apostle Paul tells us, "Above all, use the shield of faith to quench all the flaming missiles of the wicked one." Eph 6:16

May God help us to know our real enemies, and to fight them with the right weapons, and then we will have true victory!

The Pit

 A friend sent me a poem that is amusing and yet so true! There are so many ways that man looks at a situation, but only Jesus has a lasting solution and can bring sweet deliverance.

Do You Love Correction?

One of the signs that we are living in the last days is the rampant lawlessness seen in Christianity. What some are proclaiming as freedom is nothing less than lawlessness hidden under a pretence of spirituality and rebellion disguised in religion. One thing has never changed. A person with a heart that has been changed by true repentance will become teachable and will love correction. He will become like clay in the hands of the Potter and will not retaliate in anger when rebuked or corrected. A heart that has been changed by true repentance will desire to know the truth and will love and embrace correction. On the other hand, a person that has made a profession of religion but has never experienced true repentance will still rebel and resist correction. If the change has only been outward or superficial and the heart has not been transformed by a deep inner work of the Holy Spirit, when an unexpected correction or discipline comes, that person will react according to the nature within. The old nature cannot and will not be subject to the law of God, but will naturally rebel when confronted with correction or rebuke.

A lawlessness person is against any absolutes. He lives, thrives, and hides in the shadows of the "gray areas."  He likes to think in relative terms. Lawlessness is against defining black and white. It is against lines and wants to remove them so it can roam and wander without restraint into the mud and muck of the world and not feel condemned or convicted for doing so, and gets uncomfortable when sin is exposed. It is only the one who loves his sin that likes to hide in the darkness.

When the light of the "word of correction" shines upon our lives and exposes us, we will either respond in humility and repent of anything that is sin, or retaliate in pride and reject the "word of correction" and criticize the messenger that God has used to deliver it.

There are times when a man can be tricked by the enemy to fall into sin and be blinded by lust, like David was, yet when the prophet Nathan pointed his finger at him and said, "Thou art the Man", he repented and received the correction even though he was the King of Israel!! He did not retaliate like some other kings and cast the prophet into prison. Instead he humbled himself before the Lord and recognized that God had sent Nathan to correct him and to save him from self-destruction. One of the most beautiful examples of humility and repentance is found in the Psalm he wrote afterwards. It has become the prayer and song of millions of believers who like David have been stumbled by their own pride and lusts. It stands as a "beacon of hope" for fallen believers of the depth of the love and mercy of God! However, there must be a "desire of correction" in the heart.  

Ps 51:1-4

Have mercy on me, O God,
because of your unfailing love.
Because of your great compassion,
blot out the stain of my sins.
2 Wash me clean from my guilt.
Purify me from my sin.
3 For I recognize my rebellion;
it haunts me day and night.
4 Against you, and you alone, have I sinned;
I have done what is evil in your sight.

Ps 51:10-11
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God.
Renew a loyal spirit within me.
11 Do not banish me from your presence,
and don't take your Holy Spirit from me.

Prov 3:11-12

11 My child, don't reject the Lord's discipline,
and don't be upset when he corrects you.
12 For the Lord corrects those he loves,
just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights.
(New Living Translation)

Lastly, correction is a proof of love, and must always be given in the spirit of love. True love is willing to be misunderstood for the sake of saving another from destruction. True love does not seek it's own. Sadly, today many pastors and preachers love their own reputations more than the sheep and therefore are scared of delivering a message of rebuke and correction. The most loving of all shepherds is the Lord Jesus Himself. In His rebuke to the Laodicean church He says: 

Rev 3:19-20 Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; be zealous therefore, and repent. 20'Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him, and will dine with him, and he with Me. (NASB)

Walking In Humility

One of the most important graces in a Christian's life is humility. The Bible says in 1 Peter 5: 5 that we should be "clothed with humility." No one in his right mind would walk around naked, yet how many times have we walked around without this very important cloak of humility? We must not only deal with pride when it shows up in our thoughts or actions, but also clothe ourselves with humility.

Phil 2:2-5 make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. 3 Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; 4 do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. 5 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, (NASU)

Humility must be sought for, strived for and cultivated in our lives. It is not something that grows of its own accord. It is a grace that must be diligently sought after. It is a seed planted into our life by the Holy Spirit, and only as we continually pull the "weeds" of pride, selfishness, or empty conceit, will this very important of graces be allowed to grow.

I remember as a boy growing up in Paraguay, how we used to go out into our soybean field and pull the thistles that wanted to choke out the crop. We would be out there for days hoeing and pulling weeds! The rows looked long and endless! I'm sure the weeds grew twice as fast in Paraguay as anywhere else! At least it seemed that way! But it was the only way to have a good harvest.

Pride will grow without any help. It is as natural as weeds. It will choke out any good thing planted in our lives. We must judge ourselves continually and deal with any squirming of pride. Only as we do this will the beautiful plants of love and humility grow up in our lives.

Long before a man falls into some great error or sin, pride grows unchecked in his personal thoughts or secret life. Self-centeredness is our greatest enemy, it is not the devil! I believe he gets the blame for many things that were only a result of our pride.

Nothing sets a person so much out of the devil's reach as humility. -Jonathan Edwards

Has God used you in ministering to others? Walk in humility lest pride trip you up! Your greatest temptations and tests will come after a time of great blessing or usefulness! Spiritual pride is the worst kind and deadliest of all prides.

Once when Hudson Taylor, the Founder of the China Inland Mission, was to speak, he was introduced as "our illustrious guest." Mr. Taylor stood quietly for a minute and then said, "I am the little servant of an illustrious Master."

What a beautiful example of offering to the Lord the honor given by men! Humility will never take credit for something another has done. It is the Lord that works through us!

Go Light Your World

1 John 1:5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

There is no darkness in God's ways or His dealings with us. Even though He chastens and rebukes us, there is always redemption in His heart toward us. Man tends to have the "serves him right" attitude when a person is suffering hardship because of disobedience. God's intention is always to restore us when we fall. He shines His light into our lives to expose the darkness within us. He never accuses when He corrects. He is never harsh and critical. All His dealing with us is in love. If we walk in the light, He will constantly expose any work of darkness that is still lurking in the corners of our hearts. Our goal should be to become like Christ and walk as he walked. He walked continually in the light of His Father's love. He went about doing good, dispelling darkness, exposing sin and hypocrisy but always in love.

1 John 1:7... if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another......

Nothing hinders true fellowship more than the darkness of suspicion, jealousy, a critical spirit, mistrust, gossip and many other such attitudes that can lay undetected in our lives until He shines the bright searchlight of His Holy Spirit into our hearts and begins to expose the darkness within us. We can never be a vessel of His light if there is so much darkness within us. If we have any darkness within us, it will cause us to judge others critically. If there is darkness within us, that which we claim to see in others could well be a reflection of ourselves. We can never see others clearly and minister to their needs if we do not judge ourselves continually by the light of His Word. 

I heard the amusing story of a boy that smeared a little bit of limburger cheese on his grandfather's nose while he was asleep in his rocking chair. When he awoke he sniffed a bit and said, "It stinks in here." Then he got up and went to the kitchen and said, "It stinks in the kitchen too!" Then he goes outside onto the porch and roared, "The whole world stinks!" He didn't realize that the stench was right under his own nose!

Matt 5:14-16  "You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.  15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.  16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.