Battles & Wars Part Two: Knowing Our Battles.

In the last post, I ended with a verse that is so very relevant to my life these days:

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Ephesians 6:12 (KJV)

I have been familiar with that verse for many years, but it seems that just recently my eyes are opened to it like never before. God has really been moving in my heart about the times we are living in right this moment, and I find myself asking other people if they are feeling the same way. Everyone I have asked has replied with a strong "Yes!"

Think about what the Bible is telling us here: we are wrestling with something, and that 'something' is not flesh and blood.

I'm no Bible scholar, and I'm not the most intelligent person in the world, but I don't need to be to understand God's words. He is speaking to anyone who studies on His words with sincere prayer.

When I have think about this verse now, I think about it in very real terms. I think about what the 'principalities', 'powers', 'rulers of the darkness of this world' and 'spiritual wickedness in high places' mean.

We are in a war and we need to be identifying for ourselves who the opposing forces are. For me it was pride and arrogance. I was always pursuing anyone and anything that made me feel important and special. I focused a lot of time and energy on these pursuits.  This went on for so long that I convinced myself that I had no purpose outside of finding a niche for myself within those goals.

Other people get caught up the same way in other things: their love of some form of entertainment, or their dreams of being successful at something, and so on.

There is one other story in the story in the Bible that brings all this home for me personally. It's the story in Mark 10 of the rich man who encountered Jesus:

As Jesus was starting out on his way to Jerusalem, a man came running up to him, knelt down, and asked, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

“Why do you call me good?” Jesus asked. “Only God is truly good. But to answer your question, you know the commandments: ‘You must not murder. You must not commit adultery. You must not steal. You must not testify falsely. You must not cheat anyone. Honor your father and mother.’”

“Teacher,” the man replied, “I’ve obeyed all these commandments since I was young.”

Looking at the man, Jesus felt genuine love for him. “There is still one thing you haven’t done,” he told him. “Go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

At this the man’s face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions.

Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God!”  (Mark 10:17-31)

I would like to think that, had I been that rich man, I'd be able to give up everything to follow after Jesus. But, truth be told, there are so many things that stop people from following Jesus. When I put myself in the place of the rich man, substituting riches for my love of other things, I know that I am being a hypocrite to judge the man in that story.

For years, I was that man. I wanted to hold on to defending things I did, people I associated with, and my love of certain things. I would clean some things out of my life, but hold on to other things. And I was really good and convincing myself that to do so was harmless.

If you want to think about that point on a personal level, ask yourself what would be hard to give up right now?

I know that I am redeemed. I know that I will never be sinless as long as I live in this body. God loves me and has forgiven me for all that has been, is, and will be. I know that, but I want to honor Him with my obedience.

Picking our battles has to start with admitting we have battles.

If we are supporting, being involved with and being entertained by blasphemous relationships, people, goals and ways, then we are like that rich man. What are we willing to walk away from to walk into the arms of Jesus?

I really do feel that time is getting so short for any of us who have not accepted Jesus' pardon. Since none of us know whether we will make it alive into our sleep tonight or wake up in the morning, it's time to pay attention.

Peace
--Free

Battles & Wars Part One: Picking Our Battles

There's a piece of advice I've always liked because it fits just about any situation: "Pick your battles." I used that with my niece just a bit ago.

My great-nephew (I call him my grandson when he's not being a little terror) was in a mood for whining about everything when he woke up. My niece is not feeling well and had to fast all night to go out early for blood work.

I'm fine with a whining child as long as they aren't making themselves (or me) sick. DJ was not making himself (or me) sick, but he was tap-dancing on my last good nerve. But he's three and he's not usually in his worst moods for long. However, my niece isn't feeling well today so I advised her to give in to his wanting to eat while sitting on the couch instead of at the table.

That advice about picking your battles is one that my mother used, but she added a reason: "Pick your battles because the war isn't over."

Good advice, right? Especially for Christians today. The problem some of us have is that we don't focus on the fact that we really are in a war. We don't recognize the battles we face every moment of every day. And there are many battles all around us:

• Sin that we have to deal with in our own lives.
• Dealing with acquaintances, neighbors, co-workers - even loved ones - who aren't helpful in our lives of faith.
• Struggling with the assault on our senses from the media and the world we are living in.
• Trying to love and witness to people who don't really want to hear it.

The list goes on and on. We wake up every day to a life lived in a body that tries to defeat us. We have to deal with health issues, stress issues, mental issues, etc. That's to be expected. We are human with these bodies made of flesh and blood.

The battles we pick are often ones to do with these bodies. We work at looking younger, thinner, and more 'beautiful'. We will endure all kinds of stress and mental anguish by working for more money and prestige and other ego-related reasons.

The battles we don't even recognize are the ones that the Bible told us about. 

Watch how we choose our battles:

• The Bible tells us to take care of our bodies and minds, but we don't even read about that. When a celebrity or popular doctor tells us about some new miracle diet, exercise or meditation technique, we jump right on it.
• We spend a lot of our time bad-mouthing preachers and other Christians than we do praying for them. Meanwhile, we can't live without the music and movies and other entertainment featuring people who not only hate our God, but are working to promote other gods.
• The Bible has laid out all the information we need about what will happen and how we are to respond, but we won't study that. We read stories in the news and don't question any of the sources or motivations. 
• God gave us answers for dealing with and enduring life's problems. When we get stressed and anxious, we seek out all sorts of strange therapies, illegal drugs and questionable methods for relief. 
• We have access to the greatest Therapist, Friend and Comforter, but we go on Facebook and Twitter and all the other social media sites to gossip, discuss our sex lives, and play passive-aggressive games with people in our lives.

I know that, until recently, I was choosing the wrong battles. My problem was that, while I loved the Lord, I wasn't taking time to study the Bible. It's the field guide for his war that we are in. 

One of my biggest mistakes was spending more time studying the world around me than preparing for the world to come. I got caught up in and fascinated by talented people I admired; trends and social cultures; and trying to be recognized and accepted for the few talents I have.

Now that I am focusing on God and the Scriptures, I am learning to more carefully pick my battles. It helps a lot that I know what the true battles are.

 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Ephesians 6:12 (KJV)

In Part Two, I'm going to talk about my personal battles with specific things.

Peace

--Free