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THE MEDITATIONS OF MY HEART

10/29/2021

October 29, 2021 THE MEDITATIONS OF MY HEART
Psalm 19:14 “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.”
In just a few words, this verse out of the Old Testament gives us a picture of what we learn in the New Testament in regards to walking according to the Spirit. Under the New Covenant we get a new heart; but living out of our new heart is not automatic; we must ‘put on’ our new heart-our new self. This verse serves as an acid test that reveals whether or not we are living out of our new heart. First, when we are living out of the new creation that God has made us, the words of our mouth will be pleasing to the Lord and they will be life-giving. Our words reveal our heart. Second, what we meditate on in our heart speaks volumes; we meditate and think about what is important to us. What do we think about often, and what is our self-talk like? Do we find ourselves pondering and meditating about God-who He is; what He is like; how we relate to Him; what does He want from me; does He speak to me; is the way I live pleasing to Him; what does a certain scripture mean; what is my identity in Him; what does it mean that I have been made new and joined to Him. The point is, our heart meditates on something. The truth is, our heart meditates on what is important to us. We can try to be disciplined and make our heart meditate on God-but that does not work. Here is the truth we must understand: only when we know and experience the love of God-when we discover who we are in Him-and when we come to know that He is our life-will our hearts meditate on Him. Meditating on God is a result-it simply happens when our hearts are captured by Him. The key is to ask God to work us in such a way that our heart turns to Him, and knowing Him becomes our chief desire in life. It is God’s work in us that changes us, but we become great candidates for His working in us when we begin to read and study His word and when we are quick to obey His commands. God reveals Himself to those who seek Him with their whole heart. Remember, God has given us a new heart; it is not about refurbishing our old heart, but about living out of our new heart.
Ezekiel 36:26 “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.”
Psalm 139:23 “Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my anxious thoughts; and see if there be any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way.”
Blessings,
Buddy

FITTED TOGETHER

10/26/2021

October 26, 2021 FITTED TOGETHER
Ephesians 4:14-16 “As a result, we are to no longer be children, tossed here and there by waves, and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all respects into Him, who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by that which every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.
Most would agree that even before the advent of iPhones and computer technology, we were an independent minded people. But today, by observation, it appears that many are actually addicted to their iPhones. (I underastand; I have to guard against overuse of my cell phone.) However, most would also agree that one downside of almost constant cell phone use is that we have become more individually isolated. I say all that to say that God has designed us in such a way that we need each other, but yet, our culture under minds that reality. God has given each of us certain gifts; we are unique individuals with our own temperaments, backgrounds, strengths, and weaknesses. As believers, we ‘supply’ one another; one may have a need that you are I can meet; one may need the encouragement we can supply; one may be living in a way that is not pleasing to the Lord, and God can use us to admonish him or her to turn from their ways; God may give us an insight of a particular scripture that would bless others, and etc. Each believer has gifting’s that others need. The body of Christ grows and is held together by that which each joint (you and I) supplies; where one lacks, others can supply. An antidote to turning from being focused on the things of the Lord is to be connected to the body of Christ-which is the church. (You will likely have to search for a local church that is desiring to be a church that is seeking to be the church as God designed it to be.) The word for us today is for us to resist the temptation to be ‘lone rangers;’ to resist the tendency to isolate ourselves from the input of other believers; and to find our place in the body. You and I are needed. You have something that others need. (See 1 Corinthians 12.)
1 Corinthians 12:11-14, 18 “But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills. For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. For the body is not one member, but many. If the foot should say, ‘Because I am not a hand, I am not a part of the body,’ it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body.” “But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired.”
Blessings,
Buddy

NOT OUR OWN

10/24/2021

October 24, 2021 NOT OUR OWN
Psalm 100:3 “Know that the Lord is God. It is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture.”
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.”
1 Peter 2:9 “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;”
1 Corinthians 3:23 “and you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.”
Ownership is important. The thought that we are not our own, that someone else owns us, may sound rather strange to a culture that promotes independence and self fulfilment; we do not think in terms of people being ‘owned.’ Some may accept the fact that God owns us in a spiritual way, but not our physical bodies. Yet, in the verse above, we see that when God bought us, He bought all of us-including our physical bodies; our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit, and we are to glorify God in our physical bodies. The price God paid for us was a great price; the price was the death of His Son on a cross. Because we are His possession, we are to live under His Lordship in mind, spirit, and body. This really sounds ‘way out there,’ but we really do not have a lot of options-and that is a good thing; contrary to human thought and reason, we enjoy ultimate freedom when we embrace the fact that we are no longer our own, but belong to God. As God’s possessions, our purpose is to walk in His ways and to enjoy a relationship with Him. There are many distractions in life, but if we keep if the forefront of our mind that we belong to Him and that we are under His lordship, we will stay focused and be about doing all we do in a way that pleases Him. You cannot have a game of football without boundaries; boundaries are good and they are freeing; boundaries enable us to enjoy either playing, or watching a game of football. As His possessions, we also have boundaries; we are not free to do as we please. In a broad sense, our boundaries are the word of God. However, if not careful, our keeping His word can become legalistic and mechanical; we keep His word because we love Him and because we belong to Him-He is our Father, and He is our Lord. The awesome good news for us is that we enjoy ultimate freedom when we live according to our design; and God has designed us to know Him and to walk in His ways, and His ways lead to life that is fulfilling. Let us thank God that we belong to Him and not to ourselves and that we are not left to figure out life on our own. Out of God’s great love and mercy, He purchased us and made us His own, rescuing us from ourselves and our futile way of living. What a blessing it is to be His possessions! Let our life tell the world that we belong to God.
Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in Me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”
Blessings,
Buddy

WHY SO DOWNCAST

10/22/2021

October 22, 2021 WHY SO DOWNCAST
Psalms 42:5: “Why my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God.”
We all know what means to be “downcast” in our soul with feelings of despair, a sense of hopelessness, and emptiness. Many times despair and being downcast come because of disappointment over things not turning out as we had hoped for. There are many forces at work that would cause us to be in despair and it seems that despair knocks on our door all too often. We live in a culture that seems to set the stage for despair. None of us are exempt from the effects of broken relationships, addictions, materialism, loss of moral character and integrity, crime, corruption in high places, financial pressures and conflict throughout the world. Often, feelings of despair just seem to come out of nowhere-unexplainable-with no apparent reason. David knew that putting his hope in God and praising Him was the cure for being downcast-and so it is for us. It is interesting to see that David talked to himself-this is in itself a powerful truth that would benefit us as well. David was instructing his soul to “shape-up” and put its focus back on God! David took dominion over his soul. We easily lose sight of the fact that we have the power to rein in our soul when it is being influenced by the wrong perspective. We face those times when Mr. Downcast knocks at our door; but the key is not to open the door. If he slips in the back door, then quickly usher him out! Even though David was a man after God’s own heart, he committed sins that had a tremendous negative impact on him and his family. David repented and God forgave him. I’m sure that David had much regret for what he had done. Also, there were other times in David’s life when he had to deal with despair that came as a result of his enemies’ desire to destroy him. Whether the despair was a result of sin, or from his enemies, David knew that he did not have to live being downcast; by putting his hope and trust in God and by praising God, despair was defeated. Our Father made provision for us so that we do not have to live being downcast. There is no power that can over-rule the peace of God in our lives. God is the true source of purpose and direction in life and He fulfills the desires of our heart. Another door for despair to enter is that of having no vision. In God’s kingdom, there is no lack of vision if we are in tune with His purposes for our lives. May we not allow a feeling of despair to take root in our life and thereby rob us of the overflowing life that God has for us. Yes-we do face problems, challenges, difficulties, and trials on a regular basis, but we do not have to succumb to despair and our soul does not have to be downcast, because we can put our hope and trust in God and we can praise Him. Try it-when you feel despair, verbally praise Him and put your trust in Him. He is there and He is ready to restore your soul.
2 Corinthians 10:5: “We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.”
Colossians 3:15: “And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful.”
Romans 12:2: “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”
Blessings,
Buddy

SO THAT YOU MAY KNOW

10/20/2021

October 20, 2021 SO THAT YOU MAY KNOW
Ephesians 1:17-20, 2:5-6 “that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him form the dead, and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,” “even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus,”
THE thing that makes the difference in the life of the believer is to “know what is the hope of His calling.” We cannot come to know this truth, this hope, apart from God revealing it to us. Paul prayed that the eyes of our hearts would be enlightened, so that we could know the hope of His calling, the riches of His glory of His inheritance in the saints (you and I), and what is the surpassing greatness of His power to those who believe. What a prayer! These things came about when God raised Jesus from the dead, and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places. Do we understand all of this? No-but that is exactly what happened-we receive it and believe it by faith. God wants us to know what awesome things occurred when He raised Jesus from the dead. He wants us to know that even though we were dead in our sins, we have now been made alive with Christ, raised up with Him, and seated with Him in the heavenly places. (I do not fully understand what it means for us to be seated with Christ in heavenly places; but I do know that we are in Him, and He is in us, and nothing can separate us from Him.) We are no longer bound by or limited by mere human experience; we have become the sons and daughters of God; have been made new; have been given new hearts, minds, and spirits; have the Spirit of God living in us; and have a new destiny. We are awaiting for that day when we will receive our full inheritance as His children; but even now as we live in this temporal body, we can know and experience the power of God and His working in us. We can spend a life time of discovering more of who we are in Him and all that He accomplished on the cross on our behalf. I said above that we can know these things only if God reveals them to us; we could assume that all we can do is just wait and hope that He will reveal these things to us. However, it’s clear in scripture that God responds to those who love Him and keep His commandments; He says that all who seek Him, will find Him. If we seek Him first, if our heart is fully turned to Him, and if we read His word to learn of Him, He will reveal Himself to us. As a starting point, let us just believe that God has done awesome things for us through the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, and ask Him to open the eyes of our heart to see what awesome things He has done for us. Pursuing Him is the greatest activity we can do in this life.
Matthew 6:33 “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided to you.”
Blessings,
Buddy

PUT ASIDE

10/17/2021

October 17, 2021 PUT ASIDE
Colossians 3:5-8, 10 “Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry. For it is on the account of these things that the wrath of God will come, and in them you also once walked, when you were living in them. But now you also, put them all aside: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech, from your mouth.” “and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him”
Ephesians 4:22-24 “that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lust of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which is the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.”
Often when someone is commenting on, or trying to justify their wrongdoing, they say something like, “That’s just the way I am wired,” or “That’s just the way I am.” It is an awesome truth to know that we can lay aside, or put off anything about our life or about our personality that is unlike God! Of course, we can only do so by the Spirit of God who lives is us-BUT we can do it! We do not have to spend our lives being ill-tempered, angry, being harsh, looking out for number one, worrying, being unkind, or whatever-thanks be to God. God has made us new creations, as we read in 2 Corinthians 5:17; “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” He did not refurbish us, or just make us ‘better.’ We are to grow in faith and the knowledge of God, but we have already been made new; now, it’s all about understanding and discovering who we are in Christ; about learning of our true identity as His new creations. The amazing truth is that this new self was created by God, and He created it in His likeness! That has huge implications for us; we are not God, BUT we are like Him when we walk by our new identity in Him-when we walk by the Spirit. We can think like God thinks; we can respond like God responds; and we can be pure and holy in all our behavior. 1 Peter 1:15-16. The Christian life is not about trying to improve on, or modify our behavior; it is about discovering our true identity as sons and daughters of God. We have been exposed for generations to the lie that says even though we are saved, we remain sinners who continue to sin. God has broken the power of sin and has set us free and has made us new creations who can live lives that are pleasing to Him and lives that resemble Him. ‘Trying’ to live the Christian life is frustrating, burdensome, and doomed for failure. Let us reject the lies we have heard and let us embrace who God says we are; let us lay aside whatever is unlike God, and let us put on the new self that God has created in His likeness.
1 Petr 2:9 “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellences of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.”
Colossians 2:10 “and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over every ruler and authority.”
Colossians 3:12-14 “And so, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another; and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. And above all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful.”
Blessings,
Buddy

WHITE AS SNOW

10/15/2021

October 15, 2021 WHITE AS SNOW
Isaiah 1:18 “Come now, and let us reason together, says the Lord, Though you sins are like scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be like wool.”
Psalm 103:12 “as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.”
Ephesians 1:7 “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.”
1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us from our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
There is no debate-we have all sinned against God; we were in great need of a Savior. Forgiveness of sin is a core message of the gospel and most believers have heard many messages on the topic of forgiveness; yet, it is possible, and even likely that our sins of the past sometimes ‘haunt’ us. Not knowing in the deepest part of our being the forgiveness of God, robs us of the joy of the Lord, and keeps us imprisoned. If we do not know His forgiveness, we live with a subtle sense of shame and guilt. One reason that we may have trouble accepting forgiveness is our pride; it is difficult to admit and to accept the fact that we sinned-plain and simple. The key part of receiving His forgiveness is that of confessing our sins-we must own it; trying to justify our wrongdoings, explain it away, or trying not to think about it, does no good. The only thing that works is to confess our sins to God and turn from it. Hebrews 8:12 is a wonderful and freeing verse: “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” We may remember our sins, but God does not! Even though we may have confessed our sin, repented, and turned from our sin, sometimes the memory of that sin will come to mind. Rather than feeling guilt or shame when that happens, use it as a springboard to agree that, yes you did sin, BUT God has forgiven you. We need to know that we have a clean slate before God; our sins were like scarlet, but now they are white as snow; and our sins have been removed as far as the east is from the west. (If you travel north, you will eventually start heading south; but if you travel east, you will never start heading west.) God knew that we needed a Savior; the primary reason Jesus came and died on our behalf was that our sins might be forgiven. Even though Jesus has freed us form the power of sin and we are no longer ‘sinners who continue to sin,’ let us always be thankful for the unconditional forgiveness of God.
Colossians 2:13-14 “And when you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us and which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.”
Blessings,
Buddy

IF YOU DO WELL

10/13/2021

October 13, 2021 IF YOU DO WELL
Genesis 4:6-7 “Then the Lord said to Cane, ‘Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it,’”
Cain and Able were sons of Adam and Eve. Cain brought an offering to the Lord of the ‘fruit of the ground,’ and Abel brought an offering to the Lord of the ‘firstling of his flock.’ God had regard for Abel’s offering, but not for Cain’s offering. Abel’s offering involved slaying an innocent-I assume, lamb; blood was shed. Cain’s offering did not involve a blood sacrifice. It is likely that Cain had pride in what he had grown; it was the work of his own hands; but our work, our best, is not an acceptable sacrifice for sin. Abel’s offering was a picture of the sacrifice that God would one day make as He gave His Son to die for our sins. Our focus today is to see how God responded to Cain after He rejected Cain’s offering. First, we see that Cain became angry when God did not regard his offering. (Evidently, there was an on-going rivalry between the two brothers.) It’s important to note that God did not scold Cain; He did ask why his ‘countenance had fallen.’ It is simple, and it is refreshing to see the instruction that God gave Cain; God just said, ‘Do what is well,’-or do the right thing. Instead of Cain humbling himself and bringing another offering that involved the sacrifice of an animal, he pouted, and became angry; his countenance was fallen. When God gave instruction to Cain, at that very moment Cain had a decision to make; if he continued in his anger, sin would have its way with him. As we read on in this chapter, we see that Cain did not follow the instruction God gave him, but instead, he killed Adam. Sin was ‘crouching at the door,’ waiting for Cain to reject the council of God; and sadly, Cain did just that, and sin had its way. Sad story. Sin is always crouching at our door-wanting to see us turn from the ways of the Lord-so that it can have its desire for us. (Satan sees us a means or a tool to get back at God.) As believers, the good news for us is that all that is required of us in order for sin not have its desire for us, is to do the right thing; and the right thing is doing the things that are pleasing to the Lord. God is for us, and He gives us instruction. Just as God told Cain, we must master the sin that is crouching at the door. These passages drive the point home that we have the power of choice when it comes to mastering sin. (Of course it is the Holy Spirit in us that enables us to make right choices.) What sin is crouching at your door? At my door? Whatever it is, we must master it, or it will have its way with us and bring great harm.
Proverbs 8:33 “Listen to instruction and be wise, and do not neglect it.”
Psalm 32:8 “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will council you with My eye upon you.”
James 1:25 “But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it-not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it-they will be blessed in what they do.”
Blessings,
Buddy

INSPECTION DAY IS APPROACHING

10/11/2021

October 11, 2021                             INSPECTION DAY IS APPROACHING
1 Corinthians 3:11-15, 15:58   “For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Christ Jesus. Now if any man builds upon the foundation with goal, silver, precious stone, wood, hay, straw, each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it, because it is to be revealed with fire; and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work. If any man’s work which he has built upon it remains, he shall receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned up, he shall suffer loss; but he himself shall be saved, yet so as through fire.”          “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.”
A sure foundation is necessary if you are going to have a building that survives the storms. The foundation for life has already been laid, and that foundation is Jesus Christ; there is no other foundation. Jesus came to teach us and show us how to build on the foundation that He has laid. The crucial question for us is what material we are building with-goal, silver, precious stone, wood, hay, or straw. I’m not professional builder, but know that building with straw is a bad idea! The truth that we must keep in the forefront of our mind is that our work will be revealed, and it will be revealed by fire; it is the fire that will test the quality of our work. In light of this revealing by fire, how do we know what material we are building with? Will our work survive the fire? When we love God with all our heart; when we die to our self, when we seek Him first; when we obey His words; and when we let our light shine before men, we are building with gold, silver, and precious stone-and that work will survive the fire. Even though there is joy in serving the Lord and we are blessed as we serve Him, there is also a ‘laboring’ in the Lord; and laboring can be tiring and we may be tempted to give up on the task before us. Verse 58 above encourages us to be steadfast, immovable, and always abounding in the work of the Lord-not doing the minimum, but abounding. I don’t know exactly what kind of fire the above verses are talking about, but I know that fire is fire-and it burns! I think that the ‘fire’ is referring to the difficulties we face in this life; how we respond to troubles and difficulties reveal where our heart is and reveals our level of faith and trust in God. These verses dealing with ‘being tried by fire’ are no reason for us to be fearful or to dread the day of inspection; rather, these verse give us a ‘heads up’ on what the future holds so that we might presently be building with the right material. If we build with the wrong material, we will suffer loss; BUT if we build with the right material, our work will survive and we will be rewarded. In light of what the future holds, let us be faithful to live according to the ways of the Lord and to always abound in His work.
Matthew 25:21, 34 “His master said him, ‘Well done good and faithful slave; you were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things, enter into the joy of your master.’”     “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.’”
Blessings,
Buddy

WARRIORS

10/9/2021

October 9, 2021 WARRIORS
Jeremiah 51:20 “You are My war club, My weapon for battle-with you I shatter nations, with you I destroy kingdoms.”
Joel 3:9 “Proclaim this among the nations: Prepare for war! Rouse the warriors! Let all the fighting men draw near and attack.”
Romans 8:37 “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.”
2 Corinthians 10:4 “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strong holds.”
Psalm 144:1-2 “Praise be to the Lord my rock, who trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle. He is my loving God and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield, in whom I take refuge, who subdues peoples under me.”
“Rouse the warriors!”-that’s you and I. That’s a good word; I fear that many believers do not perceive of themselves as warriors. The scriptures contain many passages dealing with war. In the Old Testament, wars were physical-real sword and spears; in the New Covenant, we fight spiritual wars. (Sometimes there are physical wars we must fight.) Many have given up on the idea of being a warrior-of being conquerors-of winning battles; many are not actively engaged in warfare. Under the New Covenant, all are called to be warriors, no matter the age, race, gender, or physical health. We face battles every day; the battles we face are spiritual, but they often influence the natural. For example; if one is slothful in life, there are spiritual forces at work in that person that are defeating him; by overcoming or by winning this spiritual battle, he ceases to be slothful; he must engage the enemy. We are to be peace makers when we can, but we are not to be spiritual pacifist. God has made us warriors and conquerors; each of us have battles to fight. There are two battle grounds; internal and external. Internally, we must war against the flesh and all that it promotes; that includes out thought life, our self-talk, our attitude, our habits, and our words; the battle is about aliening all of these with the ways of God-of about having every aspect of our lives subjected to the Spirit of God who lives in us. (Someone has said that our mind is the battleground.) The external battle is about waging war on the behalf of others; many are in bondage of some sort-addictions, harmful behavior, anger, depression, the self-life, unfaithfulness, and etc. We fight these external battles by prayer, by giving godly council, and by encouragement; we must be about spiritual intervention. God does not ‘need’ us in order to win His battles, but He has chosen to enlist us in His army so that we may be a part of what He is doing; the good news is that we know who wins. Did you catch what is said in one of the verses above? You and I are His war clubs-wow! Let us take up our spiritual weapons of warfare and engage the enemy. Let us not be overcome and defeated by all that is wrong in the world and by the forces of this darkness; but rather be soldiers of Christ living in victory and being used of God to set others free from what has them bound. May we pull down all the strongholds.
Ephesians 6:16-18 “in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
Blessings,
Buddy