"The War Inside"

"Yea, mine old familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heal against me." (Psalms 41:9) There are just some things which become to easy to accept; no, let's say, to live with and to accept as normal. Having gone through the Bible many times over the last 33 years, and even several times prior, at least the New Testament, I have come to the conclusion that man is really his own worst enemy, and that if not for God's unconditional love, then we all don't have a snowball's chance in hell of making it into heaven. It seems as though, as soon as we have a little success at doing anything, then we let that success go to our head, and before you know it, we are gathering things unto ourselves, as if they have been earned by our success. I might try to explain that a little more later, but for now, I really want to focus on "mine old familiar friend"; because the way I see it, since we are our own worst enemy when it comes to living for God, this old familiar friend is none other than our own fallen nature. As we read Paul's version of how this works, he reminds us that sin lives in us, and since sin lives in us, it is always wanting to come out to play and to be satisfied (Romans 7:14-25). There is a constant battle going on inside of us, the flesh and the Spirit are at odds with one another, and only one of them is truly our Friend; while we might like to think that our old nature is who we are, so really, we are really one with it; but the whole point of becoming a new creature in Christ, is that the old man can be done away with and the new man can rise up in Christ, thus having the power and the authority over that which has been done away with, once and for all. Therein lay some of the problem, not that Christ has given us power and authority over the flesh, but that we have been given power and authority at all; because as soon as we think we are strong and successful in anything, we are surely going to gather things unto ourselves, such as little tributes of our own accomplishments. If you now the parable of "The Sheep and the Goats", then you might recall how the goats had placed upon themselves all kinds of works that they had done for the Lord, yet the sheep, they wondered how that they had given the Lord food, or drink, or clothing; in other words, the sheep were just loving others as they had been instructed by the Spirit within them, while the goats, they had just been loving themselves, and had been counting all their works as things of great value; but the only thing of any value at all is our relationship with Jesus Christ, for He, and He alone has laid down His life for us, and there is no greater friend we have than that... "Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of concision. For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh. Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more: circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee; concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is the law, blameless. But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, and be found in Him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: that I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death; if by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead." (Philippians 3:2-11)