1 Corinthians 15:33 NKJV
I debated awhile before choosing the title for this writing. I'll say right off that I am NOT infering that this world is enemy territory, although it is definately our spiritual enemies dommain! It is because of this that I write this particular page. For I had a interesting conversation with a good christian brother this morning. I could honestly relate to his concerns, for I've faced this issue myself many times. I like to refer to them as our christian battle scars.
Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
EPhesians 6: 11-12 NKJV
Even though we live in a world where our spiritual enemy wanders, we are not of his flock! No, for we who have accepted our Lord Jesus have a very different destiny, one of eternal life in the presence of our Lord. And yet, we still have the day to day battle which we face here in this life. I'm not only talking about dealing with negative people, but with situations which we know are not of God as well. We must be very careful not to make that mistake where we associate our negative circumstances with Gods anger or punishment. For nothing could be further from the truth. This is not how our loving God operates. Now, that's not to say that our Lord will not bring those into our lives in order to bring something to our attention, or perhaps even that we may bring the message of Jesus to that person. That IS how God operates my friends.
And He said, "What comes out of a man, that defiles him. "For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adultries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within and defile a man."
Mark 7: 20-23 NKJV
It is here in Mark 7 where Jesus gives us some wise teaching, and perhaps a bit of personal conviction as well. Each day we are witness to those who behave badly. Where does this come from? Is it not from within a person? Jesus certainly thought so, and who are we to question that? Now, if Jesus taught that what comes from within defiles a man, then I must be careful in my own interaction with others as well. For even though Christ dwells in me, my flesh still seeks its own way. And it is that flesh that runs contrary to my Lord Jesus in my life. We talk of why we continue to have earthly desires despite knowing in our hearts that Jesus is within us. That, christian, is the flesh. Being totally opposite of Jesus. It may be comforting to you to know that even Christ battled His human flesh as well. For when He asked for "This cup" to pass from him the eve of His death on the cross, it is here that we see the flesh of Jesus. For Jesus knew His ultimate destination, yet His flesh wanted to resist. And so it is with us who are in Christ as well. We have Jesus, but the flesh remains. Knowing this dynamic can also be helpful to us in our dealings with others around us. For if we know and recognize our own flesh within us, then we come to the realization that the flesh is active in others as well. And that flesh, is not of our Lord. Yes, He created us with our flesh and declared it good. However, it is our flesh that wishes our own desires above those or our Lord. That, is a bad thing.
So, we may not indeed be in enemy territory in our day to day walk, although it may definately feel that way. However, we can rest assured that it is by the finished work of our Lord Jesus that it is not the works of this world which define us.
~Scott~
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