Enjoying the Journey
Posts Tagged ‘flesh’
The Danger Of Conservative News
Have you heard the news today? It is easier than ever in our digital age to keep up with what is going on in the world. Usually if you listen for 15 minutes you have the general picture…the next several hours will just discuss it in 100 different ways. While it is good that news can travel fast in our world, there are also some inherent dangers in it. The same news that can fill your mind with information and ideas can also drain your soul. After listening to local and world news I often feel “sapped” of strength instead of renewed. Why is that? The Danger Of Time You can be so connected with the news and opinions of…
Read MoreThe Danger Of Shipwreck
As I ran along the coast in a Florida community some time ago I saw one of the most vivid reminders of the dangers of life. The sun was shining bright and the skies were clear. People around me mingled in the park, walking their dogs and talking to one another. Expensive private boats floated along the pier. And there in the middle of all that beauty was the wreckage… No doubt, the boat had served some useful purpose. Perhaps a family had enjoyed wonderful days onboard. Now it sat at the bottom of the harbor. The only evidence that it existed was the mast still sticking out of the water. A severe storm had revealed some weakness in the…
Read MoreYou Are What You Eat.
This is not an article on health and wellness. It is much more important than that. (If my mother is reading this I want to go on record as saying that I do believe we all should eat our vegetables! Love you, mom.) The question is: why would we take better care of our bodies than we do our souls? A man’s spirit is most important because it is the eternal part of him. This is what the Apostle Paul taught when he wrote to young Timothy, “For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come” (1 Timothy 4:8). The greater thing…
Read MorePut Up Your Sword
Our world and our churches are full of hurting people. Far too often those hurts have come from those who are supposed to be fighting in the same army. Friendly fire. The sword of another brother in arms. There is a spiritual sword that we are commanded in Scripture to use. “The sword of the Spirit” is the Word of God (Ephesians 6:17). This sword is not to be admired and held – it is to be used! We use the sword of the Spirit on the enemy as Christ did when tempted by the Devil. And, yes, the Spirit uses it on us (Hebrews 4:12). It cuts deeply, severing from us those things that do not honor God. This…
Read MoreThe Battle That Never Ends
As a young Christian I imagined that some day it would get easier. My flesh would not rear its ugly head; the world would not seem as attractive; the devil would not fight so fiercely. That day never came. In fact, there is a battle that rages all of the days we live on this earth. And most shocking of all is the realization that my greatest enemy is the man I see in the mirror each day. Lester Roloff was fond of saying, “The first thing I do every morning is jump in the grave!” He meant by that, of course, that flesh has to die daily. Martin Luther said, “Flesh dies hard.” And so it does. This is…
Read MoreVictory Over Temptation
We all want to live in victory over sin. The key to victory over sin is learning victory over temptation. “Resist small beginnings”, a wise man once said. Deal with the seed and you will not have to overcome a forest of sin’s consequences. Temptation is a fleshly assault by the enemy. He appeals to our lust, our pride – our flesh. It is impossible to combat fleshly temptation with the energy of the flesh. Pastor Sexton has often said that you must deal, not only with the devil, but the devil’s friends! He has a friend in me and in you. Flesh is complicit with the temptation because we desire to please ourselves! The only way to meet fleshly…
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