2012-09-05
Good Morning Dear Ones,
We have seen from MK 14: 38 that “the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.” This is no reason to despair though, because our help comes from the Lord when we are wise enough to ask for it, especially when we turn to Him first. From HE 4: 15, we learned that our High Priest in heaven has gone through all the same temptations to which we are exposed, and that He set an example for us in avoiding them with perfection. We may not be perfect- otherwise we would be with Him in heaven- but we do have His help in avoiding them, either by not placing ourselves in temptations’ way in the first place, or by asking for His strength in fending them off when they hit us. We need to remember that as per, EPH 1: 18-20, Christ has given us the power, that same power the Father used to raise Him from death to eternal life, to be victorious in spiritual warfare in His name.
God is omniscient, and thus, sees our struggles. Any temptation, even that to be negative in our attitude or to not place our trust in God, is fair game for the devil. It’s what are his fiery arrows directed at our vulnerable places-- things like doubt, confusion, chaotic thinking in the face of stress, destructive anger, our acid tongues and a seemingly endless list of sinful responses. 1 PET 5: 6-11 is crucial reconnaissance given to us by God through the apostle, Peter. “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand that He may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on Him because he cares for you. Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. And the God of all grace, Who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will Himself restore you and make you strong, firm, and steadfast. To Him be the power forever and ever, Amen.” These are not only practical approaches, but they give us God’s perspective, so that we won’t feel like our trials are suffered alone. We are to remember that God’s power, that power we see in the Holy Spirit is greater than that of the world-the devil’s power [1 JN 4: 4].
What the devil did to me was to arrange for me to raised to have very little self-esteem. This may not seem like the most serious problem in the world, but it led to a lot of emotional pain and some poor decision-making in my early life. Those who know me know that I, like many others, have a weight problem [which I later was told was due to an inherited condition over which there is little control]. Later in my life, I was diagnosed with another illness that caused me to lose my hair permanently and be partially disabled. I have been tempted to lack self-esteem from that too. But I am in reality a blessed person, blessed by faith in the Lord. It is He Who gives me the inner peace I know have; it is He Who has convinced me that the world’s model for beauty is not His; it is He Who convinced me that I am loved, lovable, and a worthy person despite my looks. That is how God teaches me to fend off all the negativity and self-loathing that the devil wants me to have.
It is Christ’s amazing capacity to love that drives His choices. Upon careful inspection, we can see a parallel between the covenant of friendship between David and Jonathan [1 SAM 18: 3-4] and the Covenant of Grace, the Lord’s covenant with us [1 COR 11: 23-25]. You’ll remember that Jonathan, the son of King Saul, had a terrifically difficult choice to make after he and David cemented their covenant before God. Saul was chasing after David as he became more and more mentally ill. David retained his respectful attitude toward Saul the whole time, even to the point of saving the latter’s life a few times. But Saul continued to conspire to kill David, and Jonathan decided to honor the covenant he had made with David over his own father. This resulted in David’s life being saved and Jonathan garnering His father’s anger directed at him- something clearly within God’s will. If we consider it, our salvation and covenant relationship with the Lord Jesus wouldn’t have been possible without Christ losing His physical life on the cross and the (horrific-for-Him) period of separation from the Father that resulted while Jesus made Himself an acceptable sin-sacrifice for all our sins [JN 3: 16; RO 3: 14-15]. In the course of Christ’s Atonement, something else happened for us who believe in Him. We became His friends and adopted family [RO 8: 14-16; RO 5: 8] RO 5: 9-11, “Since we have now been justified by His blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through Him! For if when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through His life! Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through Whom we have now received reconciliation.” For our repentance and willingness to have faith in the Lord Jesus, we are being heaped with great blessings, the kind that will last for eternity. At last, we have the power to choose to not sin and to thwart the devil when he tempts us!
PRAYER: O Lord, we come before Your throne to offer You our utmost thanks and praise for the help You give us when we are tempted to sin. We honor You and acknowledge Your superior wisdom and power. We accept that without You and our faith in Jesus Christ, we would not be able to banish the devil or fend off his fiery arrows shot at us. We submit to You, Dearest Abba. JAS 4: 7, “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” These words are on our minds. The same is true of the story of how the devil tempted Your Son in the wilderness [MT 4: 1-11]. We can’t ignore the power of Your words, the same ones that He used with when the devil tried to tempt Him [MT 4: 4; DT 8: 3; MT 4: 7; DT 6: 16; MT 4: 10; EX 20: 1-5]. Our submission to You is a great decision from a practical standpoint. We not only acknowledge Your greatness, but we acknowledge our need for You in our lives. MT 5: 3, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” We simply can’t avoid temptation without Your answer to our appeal for wisdom in the face of it or to finding ways to not place ourselves in compromising situations. PS 51: 6 and PS 119: 125, “Sincerity and truth are what You require; fill my mind with wisdom…I am Your servant; give me discernment, so that I may know Your teachings.” We are sinful by nature, and only the Lord Jesus and Your Holy Spirit will lead us to making choices that are right in Your sight. We thank You for the help You give us and for Your wonderful presence in our lives. In Christ’s holy/mighty name, we pray. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: At the behest of the Holy Spirit, I will begin the next segment of “Our Covenant,” which is called “Christ’s Love Drives His Choices.” This subject was already begun in this message, but I’m led to further elaborate on it. In the meanwhile, we need to bear PS 16: 1-2 in mind. “Keep me safe, O God, for in You I take refuge. I said to the Lord, ‘You are my Lord; apart from You I have no good thing.’” This reminder of what He does for us will help us not to feel so lost and without help. PS 46: 1, “God is our Refuge and Strength, an ever-present Help in time of trouble.” Ezra faced trials when he led a group of the Jews back home to Israel after 70 years of exile in Babylonia and later, Persia. And yet, he was able to express his covenant relationship with God in EZRA 7: 28. “I was strengthened, as the hand of God was upon me.” Many years later, Paul expressed the same thing in PHIL 4: 13, “I can do all things through Christ, Who strengthens me.” Such is the nature of our covenant relationship with our Lord. He strengthens us, directs us, and leads us away from sin. With Him, we can overcome our sinful natures, by the power of the Holy Spirit. So, I will end today’s devotion with RO 15: 13 for all of us. “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Praise, honor, glory, and thanks be to our God!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn
JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson, 2012. All Rights Reserved.
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