A Battle Raging Within
War is never pleasant. Ask any soldier or sailor who has been thrust into a battle, and we will better understand why PEACE & HOPE remain far better than a BATTLES or a CONFLICT. Consider how Satan deceives us by saying: “You are a failure. Look at you, and you call yourself a Christian, a believer. How can God ever love someone such as you?! You have messed up so badly that there’s no going back—again—this time. Truly, there is no way God could ever love you—again.”
These are Satan’s lies!
Be aware of the warfare battling within each one of us. We cannot deny it, for it exists, a spiritual warfare vying for our witness, for our walk with the Spirit, for our peace God provides, & for our testimony. That’s right. Satan is on the warpath, and he wants to destroy all that is lovely from God.
So, the personal question becomes, one that each person must ask—
“What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you?
(The Letter of James 4: 1 NASB)
Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members?”
Believers in Jesus are under grace and not under the law, even though they must remain in their body of flesh after Jesus has saved their soul and placed His Holy Spirit inside. As His children, followers of Jesus are now under grace and should not submit to evil.
Walk in the direction that God’s Holy Spirit leads & walk free.
Do not walk in the evil schemes of the father of lies, the devil.
“You lust and do not have;
(The Letter of James 4: 2-4a NASB)
so you commit murder.
You are envious and cannot obtain;
so you fight and quarrel.
You do not have because you do not ask.
You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives,
so that you may spend it on your pleasures.
You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God?”
- When we reject the Word of God, we are not wise. &
- When we could receive the LORD’S blessings, instead we forfeit them to another.
- In Christ, we can walk in the Spirit.
- In Jesus, we can be dead to sin.
We are under God’s grace (those who have been saved) & We are not under the law. Thank You, God, for in the power of Your Holy Spirit, we have authority over our own bodies. We can present our bodies to You as living sacrifices, as holy instruments to God; therefore, we are not to give in to the temptations of Satan, as carnal Christians giving in to the will of our flesh. We are dead to the flesh and ALIVE IN JESUS!
“Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
(The Letter of James 4: 4b-6a NASB)
Or do you think that the Scripture speaks to no purpose:
He jealously desires the Spirit which He has made to dwell in us”?
But He gives a greater grace.
When God saved us, He knew all about us & STILL, He sought after us, even while we were still sinners.
- Are we doing things we should not?
- Are we trying to live in two worlds?
- Are we attempting to be a committed follower of Jesus, even while keeping a foot in the enemy’s camp?
Think of the opportunities we are giving to Satan when believers choose to not live committed to the Lord. The Lord will give strength to step away from the desires and lusts of the flesh. Pause to listen to “Armor” by Jordan Feliz, & recall how believers are protected. This is a daily battle, a warzone, one where a war wages, a fight within a person.
- May we humble ourselves before mighty God.
- May we rise up in victory and be exalted by our heavenly Father.
- May we submit to God.
- May we draw near & be cleansed & purified.
- May we proclaim to the world how the Lord Jesus died to set us free from our old sinful selves.
Because we know the TRUTH—“He jealously desires the Spirit which He has made to dwell in us.”
&
Because we know the TRUTH—“GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE.”