Sin (Part 2)

Genesis 4:7b

……..But if you do not do what is right,

sin is crouching at your door;

It desires to have you, but you must master it.

Sin desires to have you…..

To control you….

To own you.

This thing…..

This power…….

This death dealing manifestation…..

It stands in opposition to…..

Goodness......

And Hope…..

And Love….

And Life…

And….

God Himself……

This sin….

It is an evil…..

It desires to have you…..

To lure you into pain and death.

Its subtle.

Its deceptive.

Its unrelenting in its attacks.

It seeks to destroy you…...

You, and everything, and everyone, you care about.

To make matters worse,

This thing called sin…..

Though it is not us…

Still exists in us.

We carry it around with us….

Like some phantom that haunts our soul.

We cannot escape its allure….

We cannot get away from its callings…..

There is no avoiding it………. and so…….

We must fight.

Ah, but Christian…..

There is much good news.

Though this enemy be formidable….

Though sin’s wooing be inescapable…….

Though there be an ongoing fight for Love and Life…….

It is a fight……..

That has been won.

We have the means…….

The means to master this enemy…..

Until he be put away….

Once and for all.

Guys,

I tell you now….

The victory is sweet………

And will be all the sweeter……

As we take our place in the battle…..

In the battle for Life.

The Very Life of God has invaded this earth in Christ Jesus….

This same Christ Jesus who lives…..

In you and I.

Let’s take our place in our Lord’s great story of Life.

Let’s take our stand for all that is good.

Let’s join our Lord Jesus, and so…..

Even today…..

Live!

Ephesians 6:10-14a

¹⁰ Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power.

¹¹ Put on the full armor of God,

so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.

¹² 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.

¹³ Therefore put on the full armor of God,

So that when the day of evil comes,

you may be able to stand your ground,

 and after you have done everything,

To stand.

Lord Jesus, Almighty God, Holy Spirit,

I ask for Your Life and Love and Energy today to stand.

All Praise be to You.

Amen

Psalm 110 Are you Willing?

Psalm 110:3

Your people will be willing

On Your day of battle.

Could it be?

Could it be that today…….

Today is the Day of Battle?

I promise you all,

Our enemy knows it is.

He lives this brief time

To make war on God’s people;

To wreak havoc on all that is……

Living and Good and True.

Revelation 12:12

…….But woe to the earth and sea,

Because the devil has gone down to you!

He is filled with fury,

Because he knows that his time is brief.

I do not write this to scare you-

I do not write this to heighten drama-

I write this…….

I bring this up…….

To call you into the battle.

Are you willing?

This Christian Life is not some game we play,

Manipulating our way with God to get what we please.

Oh no, there is much more at stake…….

There is much more to this great story God has ………

Written us into.

Are you willing on this day of battle?

Will you take up the arms of……..

Love

Kindness

Courage

Mercy

Forgiveness

Prayer

Generosity

Faith……….

Oh Christian,

Let’s go out today,

Today and tomorrow and evermore,

Living from the Power and Truth that……..

Christ is in us,

To Live through us,

To bring………

Life!

Are you willing?

Almighty Father, Lord Jesus, Holy Spirit,

Open Our eyes to the truth.

Move in our hearts to join the battle.

Thank You Almighty God for all that You are doing,

All that you will allow us to be a part of,

Even today.

Amen

On Enemies, Weapons and War

Facebook Post of a Friend, "The devil chase me every day of my life- I just pray he never catch me". As a hawk circles slowly above- Gliding along the air currents against the backdrop of a pristine blue sky- the ducks below calmly sit atop the sparkling water ............. floating peacefully .................oblivious to the enemy above preparing his onslaught. Another time- Another place- Another hawk- Perched high on a pine limb surveying his domain- in search of prey- When suddenly out of the sky come 2 Mockingbirds on the attack- The Mockingbirds move in and out with no hesitation- Using stealth and superior maneuverability to drive this devil away.

What about us-That old devil is there- Watching for his chance.

Do we run in fear? Do we sit in oblivion?

Lost to the reality of the threat.

Or maybe.......................It's time to fight!

Ephesians 6:10-18 (Excerpts) "Be strong in the Lord and His Mighty Power......Take your stand against the devil's schemes..........When the day of evil comes, stand your ground..... Stand Firm then with Truth, Righteousness, the Gospel of Peace, Faith, Salvation, the Word of God and Prayer.

Colossians 3:12-14 Clothe yourselves then with Compassion, Kindness, Humility, Gentleness and Patience. Bear with each other and forgive as the Lord forgave you- And over all these things put on Love, which binds them together in perfect unity.

Strange weapons aren't they- things like Love -Compassion- Forgiveness and Humility? Yet these are the very weapons our Lord used to defeat our great enemy- to overcome death and bring us to Life.

Hey Guys- Let's go to war today- Let's fight using the weapons of Love and Mercy and Forgiveness. Let's take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of us- Our Freedom and the Freedom of all those God brings our way today. No more running- No more trying to simply stay one step ahead of a scheming enemy- No more sticking our head in the sand- acting as if all the garbage we endure is just part of life.

No- Today let's take our stand- let's do it by intentionally, courageously Loving on every single human being God brings into our radar today. We can do this. We can rise up in Courage to advance the Kingdom of God- Today- One person at a time. We can do this.

Lord God Almighty, give me eyes to see today- to see all those places Love can make a difference. Lord Jesus, give me Courage today to come out of myself and show Your Life and Glory to all You bring my way. Holy Spirit of the Living God, move in me today to bring the Love and Grace of God to bear on every moment of the Life You give me.

Amen