9/26/2011
Weather Report From Heaven: Sunny and bright, with an abundance of light and lots of singing and rejoicing.
Bible verse of the day: Galatians 5:17 " For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want."
In order to win a battle, you must first recognize who the opposition is and what you are up against. In the book of Galatians, the Bible is very clear that every man is in a raging battle that is vying for their souls. The forces are always raging against each other and they are diametrically opposed. The consequences are eternal, so this is the most important battle in our lives. It will decide where we will spend eternity. We must realize that we cannot win this battle on our own. The forces that are trying to destroy us are too strong. It takes an understanding that we must lean on the Holy Spirit to guide us and to lead us in this battle, or we will get rolled like dice. We must first understand the characteristics of the two sides in the battle, so we can navigate our way through the battle. We must reject the false promises of the adversary and rejoice in the promises of the Spirit. Galatians points out the characteristics of the sinful nature when we live to please our flesh: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery, idolatry and witchcraft, hatred, discord, jealousy, rage, selfish ambition, dissension, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and the like. The Apostle Paul warns us that those who live according to the fleshly traits will not inherit the kingdom of God. In contrast, the fruit of the Spirit living in us produces love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. The world we live in promotes the false ideals of living to please our flesh. We should do what we want to do, when we want to do it, and with whom we want to do it with. Consequences be damned. But the fruits of the Spirit reflect who Jesus Christ is, living within us. It is our light shining out to the rest of the world from deep with in us. We do not want to live any longer for the gratification of our flesh, but for the fruit of the Spirit. We want to live differently than the rest of the world. But how do we accomplish this? This is the hardest thing for me to live out in my life. I struggle so much with wanting to gratify my flesh. I have a hard time resiting temptation. I struggle with my sinful nature just like most people do. I fail often in being as loving as I need to be, as patient as I should be and under as much self control as is called for. But I am human, so I fail when I try to fight this fight on my own. I am just not strong enough and lack the willpower necessary to take on the adversary 24/7. But as I have grown in my Christian walk and have continued to trust God more and fill my life up with Him and poured myself out, I have found that He can win this fight for me. On my own, I have no chance, but with Him all things are possible. As it says in 2 Corinthians 12:10 " for when I am weak, then I am strong." I believe that the unseen, spiritual fight for our soul's is so fierce that unless we have a willingness to let go of our lives and trust them over to the Lord, we stand little chance of gaining ultimate victory. Paul realized this truth when he wrote to the Galatians in Galatians 2:20 " I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." One of the hardest things for me to admit to myself in my prideful condition, was that I wasn't up to winning this fight on my own. As a matter of fact, I had to admit to myself that apart from Christ I can do nothing but sin. That is the truth that I must deal with the rest of my life. I will loose some battles along the way, but with Christ I will win the war. When I fall, I will re-engage, knowing my strength comes not from me but from my Savior who loves me.
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