THE SAINTS FOE

“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”

(Eph. 6:12)

The Christian’s real foe is not physical but spiritual. The spiritual can and does use the physical; but at the root it is always to be found in the spiritual, as in the case of Peter (Matt. 16:230.) Therefore, because of this fact, Paul tells us our weapons in this ongoing warfare are to be spiritual, not carnal or flesh (2 Cor, 10:4). You cannot fight spiritual battles with carnal means; it’s a no-winner! Jesus overcame Satan by the use of spiritual means (Matt. 4:1-11). Notice also what John says in 1 Jn. 2:14b.

Generally speaking, Israel's physical foes in the Old Testament become our spiritual foes in the New. For example, the book of Joshua applied this way brings great enlightenment and encouragement to a child of God in his or her daily spiritual battles. This is why it is so important, I believe, to be familiar with the the Old. The writers of the New Testament used the Old Testament in this way. The book of Hebrews is a good example. We need, what I like to term it, an encyclopedic knowledge of the Word.

“God’s two-edged sword slices both ways; both to wound and to heal”

(rds)

CAN IT REALLY BE?

THE CREATOR AND HIS CREATURE

In the book of Joshua we find these words recorded, “...the Lord hearkened unto the voice of a man.” What a startling statement! It would not be of any surprise to read, “A man hearkened unto the voice of the Lord,” but for the Creator to respond to the wishes of His creation is almost more than one can conceive. Can it be that clay can have such a relationship with the Potter?

A PRAYER HEARING AND A PRAYER ANSWERING GOD

Though it is mind baffling, the answer is, “Yes!” Our Great God hears the prayers of His “poor and needy” creatures. David knew this wonderful truth, he recorded, “O thou that hearest prayer, unto thee shall all flesh come.” But it gets even better. He not only hears our prayers, He has promised to answer them. “Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.”

IT'S A TWO-WAY STREET

But God is no bell-hop; He only responds to requests when accomplishing His Will is uppermost in our lives. When God heard and answered Joshua’s prayer, he was doing the Will of God in accordance to the Word of God. When the warrior had used all the natural means at his disposal, it was then God answered by doing the supernatural. You do your part and you can be sure God will do His. Are you praying for a miracle? Make sure you have used up all the means at your disposal. When you have, it is then God will perform a miracle.

“Miracles follow the plow.”

(A.W. Tozer)

THANK YOU LORD!

And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off: And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed. And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan. And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine? There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger.

(Lk. 17:12-18)

THOUGHT

At Lazarus tomb; when the seventy returned; in breaking the loves; when eating with His disciples; our ELDER BROTHER thanked His Father! The lone leper was truly Christlike, from the first.

THE PREREQUISITE TO THANKFULNESS

“I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content...And having food and raiment let us be therewith content...be content with such things as ye have...Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ”

( Phil. 4:11;1 Tim. 6:8; Heb. 13:5;Eph. 5:20)

I personally do not believe it possible to be thankful and discontented at the same time. Contentment is a prerequisite to thankfulness! If contentment does not come before thankfulness, you can be sure thankfulness will not follow after. Complaining is a sure sign of the absence of contentment; thus, it cancels out a thankful spirit.

Discontent will keep one from being thankful for what they do have. As the Puritan Thomas Watson said, “A drop or two of vinegar will sour a whole glass of sweet wine.” He went on to say, “The devil blows on the coals of discontent, and then warms himself at the fire.” Jacob said, “All these things are against me”; but just the opposite was true, as in our case.

“The ‘Thank Offering’ of the Old Testament was not mandatory, it was voluntary.”

(rds)

THE WORTH OF YOUR WORD

Years ago, a crooked contractor took the church I was pastor of for some twelve-thousand dollars. When I showed an attorney the contract and the man’s signed name to it, his reply was: “Preacher, that name is of no more value than the paper it’s written on.”

There was a day when a man was as good as his word. But I’m afraid those times are far in the past. But I guess that is to be expected. When an individual can break God’s Commandments without any conscience of wrong doing, he or she will break their word to another human, without blinking of an eye.

A Christian should keep his or her word to God, as well as to other believers. Paul’s principle for Believer’s was, if you promise it, perform it. The wise man tells us God does not take lightly those who break their word to him. And your brother or sister in Christ has little use for one who does not follow through with their pledge.

Let’s get back to being honorable men and women. If we promise something, let us perform the doing of it.

GOOD ADVICE

But he forsook the counsel of the old men, which they had given him, and consulted with the young men that were grown up with him, and which stood before him...Every purpose is established by counsel: and with good advice...blessed be thy advice, and blessed be thou.

(1 Kgs. 12:8;Prov. 20:18;1 Sam. 25:33)

THOUGHT

If you want to know what is down the road ask one who has traveled it.

LIVING WHAT WE PREACH

“And the high priest Ananias commanded them that stood by him to smite him on the mouth. Then said Paul unto him, God shall smite thee, thou whited wall.”

(Acts 23:2-3)

“And the contention was so sharp between them, that they departed asunder one from the other.”

(Acts 15:39)

The old term, “Living what you preach” is good in theory but doesn’t always work in practice, no matter how badly we may want it to. In the first text, mentioned above, Paul didn’t turn the other cheek, Matt. 5:39. And as to the second, there was no second-mile religion involved in either man’s case, Matt. 5:41. The truth is, in both cases cited, the incidences were contrary to what Paul preached to others.

I like what Oswald Sanders penned in his book, Paul the Leader. “In Christ we find inspiration from a real man who never failed, while in Paul we gain encouragement from a man who fell and rose again. A perfect man reveals what the ideal is: a man defeated and finally victorious discloses what, by the grace of God, we may become. We need Jesus on one side of us and Paul on the other if we are to walk in triumph.”

And what is the lesson we can all learn from this? Simple: we need to give one another elbow room. Paul asks the believers at Rome, “Preachest a man should not ... dost thou?” Then he went on to say that they do the same things. Not necessarily the same in kind, but the same by analogy. We who like to call attention to the smug on our brother and sister’s face need to look in the mirror: it can be embarrassing!

A WILDERNESS WONDER

I don't think any would argue John the Baptist was a unique character. But is it not so with all whom God uses; are they not all unusual in some respect? Is there not a strong spirit of individualism among each of them? The only mark of being "same alikes" (my daughter Charity's term when a child), was and is in their Christ-likeness in spirit. 

Consider these five things about individualism.

1. The world and religion attempts to pressure each of us into a mold of uniformity to their standards. It has been this way from the caveman to contemporary man. As Emerson said, "Conformity is the virtue most in demand in society." Every effort is made to intimidate individuality; repression of expression, as one has so quaintly put it.  

2. If you cherish your God given distinctiveness, then as Oswald Chambers says, "Allow God to be as original with others as He is with you." Think, if everyone was like you, then you'd lose your own identifying traits. You'd be just a carbon-copy Christian.

3. When Paul admonishes, "Follow me," he refers to principle. Speaking of Titus, he says, "walked we not in the same spirit? walked we not in the same steps? Elisha had the same spirit as Elijah, but physically and temperamentally, they were worlds apart.

4. Christianity is unquestionably a religion of individualism. For example, we do not all pray alike. Some kneel, others sit, still others lie prostrate. Then there are those who stand, while many walk to and fro. We do not all kneel on a prayer rug praying toward Mecca five times a day.

5. Last and most importantly, meditate on Christ and His disciples. As strong a personality and as influential as our Lord was, He made sure each of His followers remained his or her own man or woman. They didn't become someone else, but for the first time in their lives, became who they really were, both in their own eyes as well as in their Maker's. 

George H. Morrison said, "There are hands which can wield no sword, but which can carry a cup of water beautifully. There is something thou canst do in thine own way. Do that, and do it with all thine heart, and perchance thou shalt do more than thou hast dreamed." 

IS THERE ANY WORD FROM THE LORD?

Wanted to share a quick blessing with you, my readers. Just finished my devotional reading of Ezekiel. Found the answer to the political and moral dilemma concerning alien children born here of non-citizen parents; are they automatically a citizen? 

Ezk. 47:22, "And it shall come to pass, that ye shall divide it by lot for an inheritance unto you, and to the strangers that sojourn among you, which shall beget children among you: and they shall be unto you as born in the country among the children of Israel; they shall have inheritance with you among the tribes of Israel."

LAUGHTER IS GOOD FOR THE SOUL

Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing: then said they among the heathen, The LORD hath done great things for them. The LORD hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad.

(Psa. 126:2-3)

THOUGHT

He who laughs lasts.

HITTING A BRICK WALL

Walled, and very great

(Num. 13:28)

THOUGHT

If you can’t walk through your wall, God may have you come at it another way. Ezekiel digged through his wall, with his hands (Ezk. 12:7); David leaped over his, by God’s help (Psa. 18:29); and Israel walked around theirs (Josh. 6).

PEOPLE LIKE US

“I see men as trees, walking. After that He [Jesus] put his hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up: and he was restored, and saw every man clearly.”

(Mk. 8:24-25)

If the story of the blind man’s healing found in the above text teaches us anything practical it most certainly teaches Jesus would have us see men as they actually are, not with a distorted magnification. It is essential we see the saints in scriptures as people like us. If we do not, the consequence will be an impotent Christian life. Their spiritual achievements will be unattainable to our way of thinking: their prayers, endurance, deeds, etc.

Search the scriptures: you will never find saints allowing others to think more highly of them than reality warranted. Paul and Barnabas said to those who would make gods of them, “We also are men of like passions with you” (Acts 14:15). James echoes the same when speaking of the feats of Elijah, “Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are” (Ja. 5:17). It’s possible to learn more from a life than a doctrine. Their lives were doctrine in shoe leather.

True, some characters of the Bible were men and women of stature, but they would have frowned upon anyone making a statue of them. Even those who excelled over their brethren had holes in their armor; and they would be the first to admit to this fact! Their recorded, condensed lives should be an encouragement to each of us. As the Greek saying went, “An ocean of meaning in a drop of speech.” The short account of their lives can take us a long way.

“No man is without a divinely-appointed task, and a divinely-bestowed strength adequate for its fulfillment.”

(Ruskin)

STOP YOUR COMPLAINING

Wherefore doth a living man complain...And when the people complained, it displeased the LORD: and the LORD heard it; and his anger was kindled... I complained, and my spirit was overwhelmed...Rid me, and deliver me from...complaining.

(Lam. 3:9;Num. 11:1;Psa. 77:3;144:11,14)

THOUGHT

A man with one leg said he thought himself bad off-until he saw a man with no legs.