‘Twas the Day After Christmas

12/26/201612/25/2016Leave a comment

‘Twas the day after Christmas and all through the town

The ones who weren’t Christians were feeling let down

The stockings weren’t hung by the chimney anymore,

And boxes and wrapping covered the floor.

The kitchen was covered from floor to ceiling

With enough dirty dishes to set Mother reeling

The children were whining over what they didn’t get

And rather than sharing, they were throwing a fit!

The malls were bustling with post-Christmas shoppers

Searching for bargains on racks and in hoppers.

The salesmen looked haggard, the shoppers looked worse

As credit cards flew out of wallet and purse.

There were no joyful sounds of carolers singing,

And the only bells heard, were registers ringing.

The scene was altogether too grim,

For all the people who didn’t know Him.

If only this unhappy crowd could know

That the Spirit of Christmas isn’t tied with a bow

And stacked in piles underneath the tree,

He lives forever in you and in me.

He didn’t start in presents piled up in a sleigh,

He started with Christ being born in the hay.

The perfect gift from our Father above

Sent to us sinners to show us His love.

He came without wrapping or boxes or strings,

No glitter or glamour or other vain things.

He came with a promise of hope for all men,

That even in death, we’d have life again.

The next face you encounter covered with strife,

Introduce them to Jesus and change their whole life.

Teach them that Christmas is a daily thing,

That comes from intimately knowing the King.

Someone sent this poem to me years ago and I thought you’d enjoy it. I trust you had a great Christmas.

If you haven’t already done so, I’d like to invite you to download a copy of our 2017 Bible Reading Plan. Pastor Chris Thompson shared this plan with me when he was here this summer and I loved it. Here is the link: 2017 America’s Keswick Bible Reading Plan. If you’d like a hard copy sent, send me your email address.

I look forward to you joining us for a new year of Freedom Fighter blogs in 2017. On behalf of our writing team, God bless you.

Written by Dr. Bill Welte, President/CEO of America’s Keswick: He has been married to his child sweetheart for 40+ years, and has three married kids, one that is engaged, and 10 amazing grand kids. He loves music and is an avid reader.

The Daily Bible Reading: Psalm 56; Proverbs 26

Daily Quote: The early Christians did not say in dismay, ‘Look at what the world has come to,’ but in delight, ‘Look what has come to the world.’ Carl F. Henry

This Week’s Verse to Memorize:

I will be glad and rejoice in Your mercy, For You have considered my trouble; You have known my soul in adversities. Psalm 31:7

25 Promises for Hard Times

12/12/201612/12/2016Leave a comment

Christmas is supposed to be the “most wonderful time of the year.” But for many, this is a tough time. Over 65 of our friends lost loved ones this year. Many of them are struggling with overwhelming grief.

My adopted Mom found a copy of this Freedom Fighter that I did a number of years ago and suggested I use it again. Great reminders.

1. God promises to care for me. Matt: 6:28-29

2. God promises to provide for me. Matt. 6:31-33

3. God promises to help me deal with what happens that day! Matt. 6:34

4. God promises to give me rest! Matt. 11:28

5. God promises to lift me up! 1 Pet. 5:6-7

6. God promises to give me peace! John 14:27

7. God promises to give me real treasure. Matt. 6:19-21

8. God promises to increase my faith. James 1:24

9. God promises to give me strength whatever the financial situation. Phil 4:12-13

10. God promises to meet all my needs! Phil. 4:19

11. God promises to protect me from fear! Ps. 46:1-3

12. God promises to bless me and will bless others through me. Prov. 11:25

13. God promises to give me something to look forward to! 1 Cor. 2:9

14. God promises to answer my prayers! Matt. 7:7-8

15. God promises to work for my good. Rom. 8:28

16. God promises to comfort me and others through me. 2 Cor. 3:4

17. God promises to bring me joy! Ps. 126:5

18. God promises to give me the desires of my heart Ps. 37:4

19. God promises to reward my faith. Matt. 17:20

20. God promises to reward my patience. Gal. 6:9

21. God promises to give to me as I give… Luke 6:38

22. God promises to direct my decisions. Prov. 3:5-6

23. God promises to give me wisdom. James 1:5

24. God promises to renew my strength. Isa. 40:31

25. God promises to be with me! Isa. 43:2-3

Read daily and add “and I believe it” to each one – until you do!

The Daily Bible Reading: Psalm 42; Proverbs 12

Daily Quote: Objection: “Our church is too big to celebrate the Lord’s Supper each Sunday during the worship service. It’s a logistical nightmare!” Response: Somehow giant churches still manage to collect money every Sunday, and I’ve never heard anybody complain that it was a logistical nightmare!

This Week’s Verse to Memorize:

But let all those rejoice who put their trust in You; Let them ever shout for joy, because You defend them; Let those also who love Your name be joyful in You. ~Psalm 5:11

Pride – the Ugly Sin

12/05/201612/04/2016Leave a comment

A man’s pride will bring him low, But the humble in spirit will retain honor. Proverbs 29:23

It’s something that rears its head so often in our lives and yet sometimes we are blind to it. Maybe?

Pastor and Author Lou Priolo says that “Pride is the AIDS of the soul … Pride blinds us not only to itself, but to every other sin tucked away in the recesses of our hearts and lives. It causes us to hate correction and reproof. It hides our sin from us, it justifies our sin, it excuses our sin, and it keeps us from repenting of our sin. It deceives us into thinking that we are spiritually well when, in fact, we have a deadly cancer and are in desperate need of the Great Physician’s Balm.”

Puritan preacher, Richard Baxter really lays it out for us: Pride is a deep rooted and self-preserving sin; and therefore is harder to be killed and rooted up than other sins. It hinders the discovery of itself … It will now allow the sinner to see his pride when he is reproved; neither will it allow him to confess if he sees it; nor to loathe himself and forsake it. Even when he recognizes all of the evidence of pride in others, he will not see it in himself. When he feels himself despising reproof, and knows that this is a sign of pride in others, yet he will not know it in himself. If you would go about to cure him of this or any other fault, you shall fee that you are handling a wasp or an adder; yet when he is spitting the venom of pride against the reprove, he does not perceive that he is proud; this venom is a part of his nature and therefore is not felt as harmful or poisonous.

Pastor Priolo suggests several things about deadly pride in our lives:

1. Pride is the delusion that our achievements are primarily the results of our doing.

2. Pride is esteeming ourselves above and beyond the condition and proportion that God has appointed for us.

3. Pride is the desire to be esteemed by others above and beyond the condition that God has appointed for us.

4. Pride is the desire to exult ourselves above and beyond the condition and proportion that God has appointed for us.

In the Valley of Vision – Prayers of the Puritans, I found this prayer regarding pride:

Lord, let not pride swell my heart. My nature is the mire beneath my feet, the dust to which I will return … Help me see myself in Your sight, then pride must wither, decay, die, perish.

Humble my heart before You, and replenish it with Your choicest gifts. As water rests not on barren hill summits, but flows down to fertilize lowest vales, so make me the lowest of the lowly, that my spiritual riches may exceedingly abound.

When I leave duties undone, may condemning thought strip me of pride, deepen me in devotion to Your service, and quicken me to more watchful care.

When I am tempted to think highly of myself, grant me to see the wily power of my spiritual enemy; Help me to stand with wary eye on the watch-tower of faith, and to cling with determined grasp to my humble Lord; If I fall let me hide myself in my Redeemer’s righteousness, and when I escape, may I ascribe all deliverance to Your grace. Keep me humble, meek, lowly. Amen!

Are you struggling with pride today? If so, grab your online concordance and look up verses to help you see God’s perspective on pride. The opposite of pride is humility. Lord, make me more humble today.

The Daily Bible Reading: Psalm 34; Proverbs 4

Daily Quote: The man who thinks he is too big for a little place is too little for a big place. ~Vance Havner

This Week’s Verse to Memorize:

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Let’em Eat Stuffing!

11/22/201611/21/2016Leave a comment

“May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His Beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” ~Colossians 1:11-14 (ESV)

It’s that time again!! Time for turkey, pumpkin pie, cranberry sauce and for me to wonder if the Dallas Cowboys will ever play the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving Day. For some (including yours truly), it’ll be a day of football, cooking, eating, and the sudden urge for someone at the Thanksgiving table to say a little something before they carve up some white meat (please pass the gravy with that). For others, it’ll be a day of difficulty because things in life haven’t gone in such a way that they can feel being thankful let alone see it at all. Yeah, Thanksgiving Day can be a rough day to get through and those “Black Friday” ads shoving a commercialized Christmas down our throats doesn’t help either.

But you know what? Thankfulness was an important subject to the Apostle Paul and is an extremely important component in the Word of God. The Greeks used some really fancy words to express the concept of thankfulness (charizomai homologeo…told ya it was fancy) and in our language, it means to basically acknowledge or confess grace. That’s why it is always important to be thankful in prayer, none the matter of circumstance, we need to acknowledge the grace imparted to us by God. Even Secularland gets grace imparted to them, “For He gives His sunlight to both the evil and the good, and He sends rain on the just and the unjust alike.” (Matt 5:45b) Don’t forget the air to breathe, food to eat, clothes to wear…you get the picture.

For those of us who do call ourselves children of God being thankful in all things should be a reflex. Yeah, I know, we fail at this and so do I but, never-the-less, being thankful says we recognize God exists in our everyday lives, in the big moments and those small still ones. Besides, we’re commanded to do so in Scripture, “Enter His gates with thanksgiving; go into His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him and praise His name.” (Psalm 100:4) “Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.” (1 Thess 5:18) are just a few examples to go with and remember, “All of this is for your benefit. And as God’s grace reaches more and more people, there will be great thanksgiving, and God will receive more and more glory.” (2 Cor 4:15)

Now I have a warning for you, there is a dangerous consequence to thanklessness and Secularland knows it all too well. “Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship Him as God or even give Him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused.” (Romans 1:21) Bitterness, complaining and grumbling are the by-products of an unthankful heart and they promote pettiness and an unhealthy occupation of self, people and problems. This stuff creates depression and feelings of hopelessness because we have become focused on the stuff around us and not on the person of Jesus Christ.

So, Christian do yourself a favor and keep living in the Word of God (it’s where your focus should be anyway) and yes, I am preaching that to myself as well. Allow the Holy Spirit to direct your steps on the narrow road. Being a child of God is a pretty cool thing so that alone deserves your thankfulness, remember your calling, “And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful” (Col 3:15) and to “Look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God. Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many.” (Heb 12:15)

This Thanksgiving, before we watch the games (one day it’ll be Dallas against Detroit, I have faith), bless the food (pass the stuffing), and thank those around us who have meant so much to us; let’s take more than just a few minutes to assess if we’ve been living a thankful life. Let’s assess the way we have been living before a gracious and forgiving God. Let’s seek His forgiveness for putting Him on the shelf and re-commit to thankful living, so a very selfish and thankless world will see Him in how we live and ask “why?” And if they choose to turn a deaf ear to us…Let’em eat stuffing anyway!! Amen?

Written by Chris Hughes: Chris, a graduate of The Colony of Mercy (11-2003) is married (Kathy) with two adult children (Kevin and Karen) and has been a Freedom Fighter contributor since 2008.

The Daily Bible Reading: Psalm 22; Proverbs 22

Daily Quote: “We tend to take all the gifts and pleasures and happiness and the joy without saying much to God. We take our health and strength, our food and clothing and our loved ones, all for granted; but the moment anything goes wrong we start grumbling and complaining and we say ‘Why should God do this to me, why should this happen to me?’ How slow we are to thank and swift to grumble.”—Martyn Lloyd-Jones

This Week’s Verse to Memorize:

⁶So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. ~II Corinthians 5:6

Finalizing Your Battle Plan

11/21/201611/20/2016Leave a comment

Here is the last step in preparing to fight temptation in your life. I trust that these steps have been a help to you in your daily walk.

Don’t Go There – Take the Way of Escape

I have chosen to be faithful; I have determined to live by your regulations. Psalm 119:30

a. Stop thinking about it. The battle starts in the mind.

Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. 13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. 14 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. 15 Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death. James 1:12-15

Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. Philippians 4:8

Do not look at temptation with a wandering eye if you do not wish to be taken by it, not allow your mind to dwell on that which you do not want lodged in your heart. William Gurnall

b. Purpose where you can and cannot go. Strategize ahead of time. If you don’t plan in advance where you can and cannot go, you have set yourself up for failure. Recently a good friend of mine had to miss a family birthday party because he knew going there would be a big step toward relapse. He chose to stay home and for him. That was a good move. c. Take the way of escape that the Father ALWAYS provides for you.

No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it. 1 Corinthians 10:13

Can you ever think of a time when you faced temptation where God did not provide a way of escape?

d. Don’t boast about temptations. “I don’t struggle in this area …” “I can’t believe he blew it in that area … how could they be so stupid?”

Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. 1 Corinthians 10:12

e. Find someone who will hold you accountable. Ask the tough questions, hold your feet to the fire, not be afraid to get in your face.

d. Play the tape to the final conclusion. What the consequences if I do this? How will this all unfold/unravel? What about my wife? My kids? My ministry?

O what desperate madness it is to accept the wrath of God for joy that lasts but an hour! William Gurnall

Conclusion:

Today you are not alone against temptation because the One who is your Savior is also your fortress, your hiding place, your defense.

Today you will fight temptation, but not alone because a Warrior Spirit lives inside you and fights on your behalf. Dr. Paul David Tripp

I am a fellow struggler. I am in this journey with you. But with God’s help and a strategy, we can be more than a conqueror.

The Daily Bible Reading: Psalm 21; Proverbs 21

Daily Quote: The Bible characters never fell on their weak points but on their strong ones; unguarded strength is double weakness. —Oswald Chambers

This Week’s Verse to Memorize:

⁶So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. ~II Corinthians 5:6

Past Performances

11/17/201611/16/2016Leave a comment

Moment of rest

He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake. ~Psalm 23:3

Not many of us learn from our mistakes, if we’re honest the truth is we usually are creatures of habit. A habit is defined – as a settled or regular tendency or practice, especially one that is hard to give up. Our reputation is based on our past performance as well as how we may react or conduct ourselves given the current circumstances. What we need is our souls restored. There are times when we can surely say “my soul is satisfied”. Unfortunately, this is not always the case.

The transformational healing message of the Gospel is that we no longer have to react according to our past performances. Our next move or reaction will be determined by whether we are walking in the Spirit or the flesh. I am someone who can be overwhelmed by anxieties usually brought on by fear, so when I find myself in a situation where I’m about to react, there’s an uncomfortable knot in my stomach that is ready to explode. It’s then I have a choice, a pure antidote for putting the deeds of the flesh to death is scripture. I can recite certain verses such as

“The LORD is my shepherd;

I shall not want.

He makes me to lie down in green pastures;

He leads me beside the still waters.

He restores my soul”

To be able to allow God to “Restore my soul” is a sure fire way to step out of your typical “Past Performance” and walk according to the Spirit. I love when I am out of character especially when the character displayed resembles Jesus. I have often walked away from a situation thinking to myself, “that wasn’t me.” No, I would have not handled that well apart from the help from God.

I was in church recently and one of the songs during our worship time we sang “God with us, God for us, nothing can come against, no one can stand between us”. I was reminded of the passage in Romans 8:31 “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?”

There is a truth that we need to be reminded of and that is we belong to God. When I commit myself to God’s word it allows the Holy Spirit to restore my soul. I then respond to things according to the Spirit.

What are your anxieties today? What are you fearing? I believe God is waiting for you to come to Him so He can do what only He can do.

Our poor past performances no longer define us, we can walk in a newness of life when we commit ourselves to Jesus. Amen

Written by Rob Russomano: Rob is married to Terri, he is a graduate of the Colony of Mercy and a full time staff member. He is also available as a speaker of the grace of God with a message of Hope for church events. You can contact him at rrussomano@americaskeswick.org.

The Daily Bible Reading: Psalm 17; Proverbs 17

Daily Quote: The greatest tragedy of life is not unanswered prayer, but unoffered prayer. ~F.B. Meyer

This Week’s Verse to Memorize:

¹⁰that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, ¹¹if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.– Philippians 3:10-11

He Pursued Jesus With His Voice

11/15/201611/14/2016Leave a comment

Man with megaphone in hand on the white background

“When Bartimaeus heard that Jesus of Nazareth was nearby, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” “Be quiet!” many of the people yelled at him. But he only shouted louder, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” ~Mark 10:47-48 (NLT)

In Matthew’s account of this story he tells of two blind men alongside the road between Jericho and Jerusalem. They cry out “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David”, but the crowd that is hanging with Jesus tells them to be quiet. It’s a multitude of people you see and they are on a mission with Jesus so you two “undesirables” need to know your role, sit there and beg in the quiet of your misery. Yeah right, like that was gonna fly with them. So, they yell out (just a wee louder) a second time, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David”, and with that Jesus stops and asks them, “What do you want Me to do for you?”

In Mark’s account of this story it’s focused on one of these two and when Bartimaeus cried out the second time, Jesus acknowledges him. “When Jesus heard him, He stopped and said, “Tell him to come here.” So they called the blind man. “Cheer up,” they said. “Come on, He’s calling you!” (Mark 10:49) But the question doesn’t change, “What do you want Me to do for you?” In both accounts the restoration of sight is given to the blind from Jesus Christ Himself. Matthews account say’s He was moved with compassion and Marks says it was shown by faith, I believe it was both or it wouldn’t be in the Bible as such.

Funny how this comes right after two of Jesus’ disciples and their mother have this little discussion about who gets to sit with Jesus in the Kingdom. The NASB put it this way, “And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came up to Him, saying to Him, “Teacher, we want you to do us whatever we ask of You.” And He said to them, “What do you want Me to do for you?” Now notice the difference here. We don’t have these two brothers addressing Jesus with reverence, oh no, we got two brothers who might as well went up to Jesus and said, “Yo Dude hook us up” before they asked this question, “Grant that we may sit in your glory, one to right, and one to your left.”

Now these were two guys that Jesus picked to follow Him. They see what Jesus does as far as miracles go, they hear His teaching straight from Him, He warns them about His death and rising and yet they wanna sit with Him in glory. Bartimaeus and his buddy aren’t privileged like this. They sit on the side of a road putting their hope in the generosity of others for provision. They probably struggle to get to synagogue to hear the writings of Isaiah, “Out of the stump of David’s family will grow a shoot— yes, a new Branch bearing fruit from the old root.” (Isaiah 11:1)

All Bartimaeus wants to do is run into Jesus and when he does all he has is his voice to pursue Jesus with…and what was in his heart. Now I could easily go into a deep discussion on how the High Priests, like Annas and Caiaphas, couldn’t see Jesus as that new branch as they recited Isaiah to those in synagogue or the implications that involved John and James as they thought themselves worthy of the seats to the right and the left of The Son, but both pairs of men thought themselves above guys like Bartimaeus so why bother giving it further mention.

Because I see myself like Bartimaeus, sitting on the side of the road at one time in my life, waiting for life to throw its scraps at me so I could exist. When I came to that point where I yelled out, JESUS, SON OF DAVID, HAVE MERCY ON ME, He was just and true and removed those spiritual scaled from my eyes. When they were opened, I could finally see the grace and mercy that is Jesus Christ. The cool part of the blind man’s story is this, “Then Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road.” (Mark 10:52)

Ya know, I think Jesus was gonna be cool with healing Bartimaeus and getting on down the road to Jerusalem. But He left the blind man with a choice and what did he choose? He chose to follow Jesus. Sometimes in the complexity of reading the Gospel we miss this simple thing…when the heart desires the things of Jesus, then we are to follow Jesus. Even if it means that we are following Him on the road to The Cross. I think, maybe Bartimaeus saw that for himself. Amen?

Written by Chris Hughes: Chris, a graduate of The Colony of Mercy (11-2003) is married (Kathy) with two adult children (Kevin and Karen) and has been a Freedom Fighter contributor since 2008.

The Daily Bible Reading: Psalm 15; Proverbs 15

Daily Quote: “We need never shout across the spaces to an absent God. He is nearer than our own soul, closer than our most secret thoughts” — A.W. Tozer

This Week’s Verse to Memorize:

Well I Got Your Attention

10/17/201610/17/20161 Comment

My Freedom Fighter blog last week resulted in getting people fired up. But that’s ok – that’s what I was hoping to do.

Thanks for joining us on this great adventure in walking in freedom and victory. We don’t take it lightly that you click on our blog posts, and I trust that we are able to offer you encouragement in your walk with the Lord.

Now let me set the record straight:

1. I am not leaving America’s Keswick unless the Board tells me it’s time for me to go. I am as committed as ever to the purpose and mission of the ministry. At our Board meeting on Friday we had a lengthy discussion at how we concerned we are with the current trends and we are taking the steps to at least look more intently at what we do and why to see how we can better serve men and women who are battling addiction.

2. We are not giving up the ministry of addiction recovery. My comments last week were intended to make a point – it is very discouraging to see the devastation all around us in dealing with addiction. But what is even more discouraging is to see how sloppy we’ve become in the church in almost encouraging people in the body of Christ to explore and engage in exercising liberty that could easily become harmful and addictive to some who is weak.

My prayer in all of this is that we can once and for all address this issue without it becoming divisive. My plea to Pastor’s and Christian leaders is to teach the whole counsel of God on this topic so that we are being careful and a good testimony to the world around us.

We as a ministry would love to have open dialog to help equip you and the church to address this issue. I would invite you to write to me or email me at bwelte@americaskeswick.org and hear your thoughts.

Admittedly we are very concern because we are facing daily the devastation of addiction on not just the individual but the family. They say that for every individual who is battling addiction, his or her addiction impacts at least 10 other people.

So hopefully together we can begin to take the steps to begin to make a lasting difference. Sometimes it means me putting aside my freedom in order to help a weaker brother or sister walk in freedom. Sometimes it means watching what I post on Facebook, knowing that what I post could be an offense or a stumbling block to someone else who is weaker in the faith.

It isn’t just all about me – my rights, my freedoms, my ability to exercise my liberty in Christ. There’s a bigger picture at stake and I believe we need to look at it and address it.

I will look forward to hearing from you. May God bless you.

Written by Dr. Bill Welte is President/CEO of America’s Keswick: He has been married to his child sweetheart for 40+ years, and has three married kids, one that is engaged, and 10 amazing grand kids. He loves music and is an avid reader.

The Daily Bible Reading: Psalm 136; Proverbs 17

Daily Quote: Quote: The true Christian ideal is not to be happy but to be holy.

This Week’s Verse to Memorize:

¹⁷For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, ¹⁸while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal. ~2 Corinthians 4:17-18

CLICK HERE to sign-up to receive this devotional via email each morning!

Mind Over Matter

10/12/201610/11/2016Leave a comment

“I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.” Romans 7:25

So, here’s the scene, me, the Teacher and the Principle. The question is posed to me, “don’t you see what you did wrong?” Of course I shrugged it off. This is the question the Holy Spirit asks me today. There seems to be a disconnect at times between what I know to be right and what I do.

The beautiful thing is thanks be to God my mind is now subject to the Spirit of God and I’m able to overpower the flesh. This idea is only possible when I choose to listen and I have been in God’s word in order for my mind to be convinced that I am an overcomer.

Paul sets up Romans 8 perfectly by spelling out the system in which God works. He is able to write Romans 7 from a firsthand account because that is his testimony. Don’t you see the set up? “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit”. When I understand that by responding to the Spirits prompting I agreeing that what I do is sin and He is not there to condemn but to restore. Going back to the scene in the Principles office I was defending myself because I didn’t see the good only the condemnation.

The word “mind” here is referring to “reason in the narrower sense, as the capacity for spiritual truth, the higher powers of the soul, the faculty of perceiving divine things, of recognizing goodness and of hating evil” (Blue Letter Bible).

Paul will tell us in chapter 12, “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God”. Each time I miss the mark and respond to the rebuke of the Holy Spirit I prove what is that good, acceptable and perfect will of God.

So, the next time you mess up you have the opportunity to agree with God, isn’t that cool? I hope it helps you to know that God can be glorified even in our “mess ups”, just don’t make a habit of it, Amen!

The Daily Bible Reading: Psalm 131; Proverbs 12

Daily Quote: I would have no desire other than to accomplish thy will. Teach me to pray; pray thyself in me. ~Francois Fenelon

This Week’s Verse to Memorize:

16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. ~2 Corinthians 4:16

CLICK HERE to sign-up to receive this devotional via email each morning!

Freedom Fighters

A Daily Email Encouragement for Men!

Tag: learning

‘Twas the Day After Christmas

25 Promises for Hard Times

Pride – the Ugly Sin

Let’em Eat Stuffing!

Finalizing Your Battle Plan

Past Performances

He Pursued Jesus With His Voice

Well I Got Your Attention

Mind Over Matter