Portrait of a Struggling Christian
We're not short on desire to do good, but when it comes to pulling it off, why do we keep blowing it? Paul answered this question in Romans 7.
We battle the Devil. The Devil, also called Satan, was an elite angel who rebelled against God, seeking to steal His glory and usurp His authority. He became the commander-in-chief of a war against God so God cast him out of heaven with a minority of angels now known as demons. Satan and his demons operate by deceiving us, seducing us, blinding us, accusing us, and seeking to influence us in such a way as to defeat us and thereby rob God of His glory (Ephesians 6:12).
To be victorious we need four ingredients.
We're not short on desire to do good, but when it comes to pulling it off, why do we keep blowing it? Paul answered this question in Romans 7.
Courage is just another word for inner strength. God’s Medal of Honour winners are made in secret, because our most courageous acts occur down deep inside, away from the view of the general public. That takes courage. It takes a strong resolve.
“How does a person get wisdom? I realize we are to be men and women of wisdom, but few people ever talk about how it’s acquired.” His answer was quick and to the point. “Pain.”
Those who flex with the times, who refuse to stay rigid, who resist the mould and reject the rut…ah, those are the souls distinctively used by God.
Who had more of God than the Israelites in Moses’ day? But they were ungrateful, hardened, and faithless. Their Great Deliverer, in their eyes, had become a cruel taskmaster.
Over the decades, the people have not changed but the ministry has. There has been an undeniable pressure to adjust the model of church.
But this heaven-bound path we’re on is also a warpath. We are engaged in a fight every single day of our lives. It’s a fight about truth, trusting God, and believing His Word. It’s a fight against lies and deception.
The key to loving our enemies is to consider God’s love for us.
Jude also exhorted his readers to stay on target themselves, to get their act together, and to stand firm in the faith against all opposition. His message remains the same for us today as we stand for unchanging truth in a world of fiction.
Unlike many today who tolerate heresy to keep the peace, Jude demonstrated clearly that the battle for truth demands our effort.