Current topic: Pray with Us for Struggling Christians and Persecuted Church. Remember you can still pray for Families and the Church.
Good morning.
In our previous message we started to discuss the need to watch out based on passages like: “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak,” (Matthew 26:41) and “Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful,” (Colossians 4:2).
Paul compares the Christian walk to being a soldier. “Join with me in suffering, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding officer,” (2 Timothy 2:3, 4). One of the qualities a soldier needs is watchfulness. Whether he stands guard at the base or patrols by foot, he certainly has no time to sit or walk chatting and having a smoke. Danger is luring everywhere – an ambush can await the patrol or the base can be attacked. The soldier has to be on the lookout all the time, noticing movement, listening for suspicious noises like cracking twigs, etc.
The war of the Christian is in the mind. “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms,” (Ephesians 6:12). How do you respond to circumstances that threaten to overpower you? What goes on in your mind after you had a bad day and everything seemed to turn against you? Do we sulk and complain at the Lord, do we get depressed and eventually turn to anti-depressants and do we allow these negative and depressing thoughts to increase in intensity and take over our being. Jesus said “the thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full,” (John 10:10). Satan, the father of lies, is out to rob us of our joy in the Lord and the fullness of life Jesus has for us, by attacking our thoughts with lies.
“Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour,” (1 Peter 5:8). We therefore have to watch out all the time for attacks and recognise them as negative thoughts. It could be anything that relates to sin and self, such as being critical, sulking, angry, etc. The moment you recognise such attacks you need to “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you,” (James 4:7).
Anybody who has been persecuted, either physically or in their mind, knows what it’s like to watch out. If we don’t take these thoughts captive, make them obedient to Christ, and replace them with passages like; ‘I’m more than a conqueror in Christ, the joy of the Lord is my strength, perfect love drives out all fear, the peace of the Lord guards over my heart and my mind’, etc. they will continue to attack us and the result will be despondency, faithlessness, joylessness and even all kinds of depressive illnesses.
Negative thoughts are sin and we want to be pure before the Lord, don’t we? So when any negative thoughts or temptation enter my mind, I capture them immediately, starting by saying ‘praise the Lord’, for if I allow them to mature they turn into sin against the Lord and the enemy has won that battle (James 1:13-15 http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=james%201:13-15&version=NIV1984). The death James talks about is the death of our relationship with the Lord. As a soldier, if you’re not watchful and the enemy hits you, you’re dead. If you allow sin to conceive, you lose your connection with the Lord. You may have everything you desire, but that peace and joy that come with the presence of the Lord are lacking.
I think it’s worth being on the watch. How about you?
Lord, help me to be on the watch.
Thank you Lord that your Word went out from your mouth, via your servant’s pen, and it will not return to you empty, but will accomplish what you desire and achieve the purpose for which you sent it.
If you benefited from this, why don’t you link it to your Facebook or Twitter or forward the e-mail reminder to make it available to your friends? You can also use the e-mail link to pass it on. Please pray as well for its distribution to those who need it and feel free to ask questions or discuss thoughts.
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