We Must Wholly Devote Ourselves to the LORD our GOD
The forehead is the place identified with comprehension. Medical doctors even tell us that it takes about twenty-five years of life for our frontal lobe to become fully closed, thereby protecting the front of our brain. Truly, a blow to the front of our skull could cause us to endure a concussion, could affect our short-term memory, and could cause us great distress. I find it quite interesting that the Bible records the forehead as the location where we wear the mark of our master.
The literal meaning of the word: Adversary is Satan. Maybe pause to re-read that last statement. An accuser, the enemy, an opponent, a serpent, a dragon, the devil—whose sole purpose is to Deceive, Divide, and to Destroy God’s people.
We are at war!
- We cannot allow our minds to become preoccupied with all that we may be facing or suffering, that we do not see those who surround us.
- We cannot lose sight of the devil, but daily, we must place on our bodies the spiritual armor God provides.
- We need to protect ourselves & We must pray for fellow believers who are in the war.
- We must desire more of Christ in our lives than anything else.
This also means that we must pursue holiness in all we say, do, and think.
- Fight against the secret sins.
- Fight against the secret thoughts.
- Fight against the secrets we think we hide from HOLY GOD.
We must look to the cross, for there we discover our true identity: sinners forgiven by the blood of Jesus Christ. We belong to God. & We are His possession. He is our perfect example. & He is our destiny, our glorious eternity.
We have but one simple task: Serve Him With All Our Might.
We Must Wholly Devote Ourselves to the LORD our GOD!
The Word of God is super-clear!
“Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God,
(The 1st Letter of Peter 5: 6-11 NASB)
that He may exalt you at the proper time,
casting all your anxiety on Him,
because He cares for you.
Be of sober spirit,
be on the alert.
Your adversary,
the devil,
prowls around like a roaring lion,
seeking someone to devour.
But resist him,
firm in your faith,
knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world.
After you have suffered for a little while,
the God of all grace,
who called you to His eternal glory in Christ,
will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.
To Him be dominion forever and ever.
Amen.”
We may never drive by the 1ST CHURCH OF THE ADVERSARY on our streets.
However, we may—
- Encounter the ADVERSARY today as we live, even as we prepare ourselves to attend church.
- Suffer because of the sin our ADVERSARY causes.
- Experience the FIERCEST ENEMY.
Jesus loves us more than we could ever imagine & God wants us Devoted Wholly to Him.
Therefore, we may face ADVERSITY as the LORD reveals HIMSELF to us, and we may endure ADVERSITY as GOD’S way of getting our attention.
Solomon did. Here is the most significant part; Solomon encountered the adversary and suffered adversity and experienced the fiercest enemy—when he let down his guard and allowed Satan, the chief adversary to take up residence in his heart.
See the Word of God—
“Now King Solomon loved many foreign women along with the daughter of Pharaoh: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women,
(The 1st Book of the Kings 11: 1-4 & 14 & 23 NASB)
from the nations concerning which the LORD had said to the sons of Israel,
“You shall not associate with them,
nor shall they associate with you,
for they will surely turn your heart away after their gods,”
Solomon held fast to these in love.
He had seven hundred wives, princesses,
and three hundred concubines,
and his wives turned his heart away.
For when Solomon was old,
his wives turned his heart away after other gods
and his heart was not wholly devoted to the LORD his God,
as the heart of David his father had been.”
. . .
“Then the LORD raised up an adversary to Solomon,
Hadad the Edomite;
he was of the royal line in Edom.”
. . .
“God also raised up another adversary to him,
Rezon the son Eliada,
who had fled from his lord Hadadezer king of Zobah.”
- The deceiver is just too smart for that.
- The devil wants to lead people to not see the obvious.
Satan would never have us plaster that sign across the front of our t-shirts, or openly ask us to write his name across the front of our temple, for the whole world to see. However, he would have us move our worship from HOLY GOD to other foreign gods. Satan would have us follow him, rather than God. Our chief adversary would pursue our heart, our desires, our prideful nature, our families, our Christian walk—so that we would be led by our adversary than God’s Holy Spirit.
- Truly—We Must Wholly Devote Ourselves to the LORD our GOD!
- Truly—We Must Demonstrate to the Watching World WHO Owns Our Devotion.
- Truly—We Must Walk in Such a Way, So Those Who We Encounter See JESUS!
See the Word of God—
“Then I looked, and behold,
(The Revelation to John 14: 1 NASB)
the Lamb was standing on Mount Zion,
and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand,
having His name and the name of His Father written on their foreheads.”