"Beyond Just"

"The LORD is righteous: he hath cut asunder the cords of the wicked." (Psalms 129:4)

  As we might pretend to be not keeping track, there are some real advantages to seeing the progress we have made in dealing with things in our lives; first of which, is we can actually take back some of the ground that might have been lost to the enemy. You know what I am talking about, so don't act like you don't. I have shared this before, but when I first set out to have family devotions, when my son was about nine or ten, it was hard to get things going; either he was not interested, or my wife was preoccupied with dinner; something seemed to always be distracting us from getting together to pray and read God's word as a family. But, once it was put in motion, there was only one way that it could be stopped: I was the one that changed the rules! I can see that in many other areas of my life. You would be surprised how many people our watching you; and you hardly even know it till you give up doing something good, then you notice some others around you do the same. They are just following your example, even if it might not be the right one. This is part of the battle, the part we can be sure to understand, as spiritual warfare! This is how spiritual warfare works: the enemy looks for an opportunity to get in, and when you leave the door open, he rushes in and take captive the hearts and minds of the unsuspecting. What happens next might surprise you, because the battle is fought and lost on the spiritual battlefield, but in the physical world around you, your actions most surely make a difference! First of all, the love we have for those we care about must be stronger than the love we have for ourselves; if that is even possible, it is only possible in Christ. Paul uses the need for those around him and in his life to express this, saying, "I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me." (Philippians 4:13) The point of which he makes is regarding any state, whether it be cold or hungry, warm or filled, that he continue as someone dependent upon Christ for strength; regardless of the need or lack thereof for strength, because without Christ we can do nothing! How that works out in our lives is as much as the previous example of measuring our success is in giving us a feeling of entitlement to sin. The way that might look in real life, is that we become dependent upon our ability, instead of living in our inability and depending upon Christ. If you are wondering what in the world this might have to do with anything, then I would point to the whole point of who Israel is and what it represents, because it also means, "to fight with God," which represents who is on our side...

"And I said, My strength and my hope is perished from the LORD: remembering mine affliction and my misery, the wormwood and the gall. My soul hath them still in remembrance, and is humbled in me. This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness." (Lamentations 3:18-23)