It’s been quite a while since I have written. I don’t exactly know why other than it takes effort and energy that I haven’t wanted to spend. I find myself to be lazy when it comes to certain mental exercises. I think of writing often, and snippets of subjects come to mind on many occasions. But I get lost in procrastination and the thoughts are gone in a very short time.
I’m trying to become more disciplined in many things, particularly in the realm of my walk with Christ and in the areas of my mind. But I find that the more fervent my attempts are the more futile they become. More and more, and day after day, I am faced with the realization that any attempt at the transformation of my mind is a work that I am not cut out for. My "humanness" seems so very inadequate for the task. I am seeing that for me to have the “mind of Christ” is something I cannot accomplish even in the slightest way. I seems it must be totally a work of the Spirit.
Recently I heard John Piper state, in a very strong manner, that the enemy (devil) has a strangle hold on this world. Have you ever heard a truth so many times, and in so many ways, that after a while you claim to know it, but found out that it really hasn’t impacted your life? For some reason, (of which I can only believe is God’s sovereign providence), his statement seemed to jolt me as never before. It was as if I heard it for the very first time. And now, I’m beginning to see this truth afresh.
The enemy has worked well in keeping me from understanding the role he plays. Everywhere I look, there are reasons and circumstances that keep me from doing the very things I desire to do. I don’t often see them as the forces they are and therefore, out of my ignorance, I don’t even attempt to battle them. I can be so completely blind at times.
But what about the times when I have had some inkling of the enemy’s strategies and attacks, and still did nothing? What can be said of that? I can only conclude that at those times I don’t fight because of one thing. I know how feeble my fight would be. I know the state of my faith. It’s weak and shallow. My sense is that I will be defeated completely.
Over the years I have heard so many sermons, and so much teaching on fighting the devil. Today, I believe that a lot of the teaching I heard was incorrect and at times detrimental. But some was good, though I can’t always say that the teacher’s motives were for the benefit of the church’s health more than it was for the teachers own exaltation. So now I feel ill equipped. Have you ever been in a position where you weren’t sure what to believe any more? I find myself in that position a lot. But I do know this: the devil is more real than we often give him credit for. As Piper went on to say, the devil is a million times stronger than we are and if we attempt to fight him on our own, we will be soundly defeated every time. Only by the work of Christ in us will the enemy be defeated in our lives. It must be nothing of us, and everything of Him.
That’s not to say that I have never experienced a victory or two. There have been small skirmishes that I have won. Or at least at the moment I thought I won. You see, anyone can muster up within themselves enough temporary strength to win occasionally. But in the long run, there are infinitely more defeats. Why? I think it’s because the enemy will allow us a few victories so as to continue to think we are still in the fight and that there really is something to our faith. So we continue to believe we are fighting with weapons that work not realizing that we have brought a pocket knife to a nuclear war. These “victories” are won in our own strength and by our own methods. Not God’s.
We have been told that we must do certain things (works) to keep the enemy at bay. Much of what we have heard preached and what we have read tells us the steps we need to take to live a successful Christian life. Like: 5 Steps to Christian Living; 7 Steps to a Victorious Life; 4 Ways to Defeat the Devil. We have been taught a very pragmatic type of faith that is always looking for ways to stay in the battle. If we can just find the “secrets for successful faith” then we will be victorious. We think we are supposed to live a successful life but all the time being blind to the defeat we actually walk in. Our understanding of success is based on a worldly concept perpetuated on us by the enemy and false teaching. I believe this has kept us from even coming close to understanding what Jesus is really after. In no way am I stating that now my understanding is full and clear. By no means! But I have seen how our feeble attempt to be “successful” Christians has made us fall so very short of what Christ calls us to. Often I wonder if we understand salvation at all.
Beyond the devil’s working against us, I am also becoming more cognoscente of how my own flesh fights against the disciplines I desire. Countless times when I am prompted to take time to read and study the Word, my mind will almost automatically begin to look for reasons to do something else. It’s amazing how quickly this happens. In the matter of an instant, my mind will suggest any number of other activities that it would prefer I do, Even things that may not be attractive at any other moment. The Holy Spirit can prompt me to read the Word, or spend time in prayer, and suddenly my mind suggests that I vacuum the carpet instead. Now I have sat around all day long (on a weekend) and didn’t think about vacuuming, or cleaning the toilet, or washing the dishes, or taking a nap, or running an errand, or whatever else comes to mind. But suddenly it seems like the right time to do it. And my mind will tell me that I’m being disciplined because I’m doing something that needs to be done. The activity seems good… and it is. It’s always a good idea to keep the house (apartment) clean. And now seems like the perfect time to do so. So my mind is telling me that I’ll be doing a good thing. But I’m actually trading the most profitable thing I could do regarding my soul for a much lesser “good” thing. I think we all do this a lot.
Our sinful flesh is at times completely opposed to the things of God. Even those of us who have been justified by God’s sovereign grace continue to fight a battle against a sinful nature that seems unrelenting in its opposition to knowing and following Christ. I wish it were not so. At times my spirit hates my flesh and my flesh hates my spirit. I feel this almost constant inward struggle for my being. The question of my soul is answered. I am His. But my flesh doesn’t like the idea of not being in control. My spirit longs for intimacy with Christ and the joy of being under his authority in all things. Yet my flesh continues to strive for its own exaltation. It wants control and recognition. It wants the glory of owning my destiny. But my spirit knows that the only joy that will satisfy my soul is in glorifying God and his son Jesus. So how do I win? How do I allow my spirit to know the joy it desires and bring my flesh into submission to God?
I believe it’s a matter of counting myself as dead to the things of this world, including my flesh and its sinful nature. Paul says in Romans 6:11 So, you too consider yourselves dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus and Galatians 2:19,20 …I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me… and Galatians 5:24, 25 Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with is passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, we must also follow the Spirit. The sinful nature that resides in me must be counted as dead. For my spirit to be joined and operating with the Holy Spirit, this must happen. There is no role for my flesh to play. It must be considered dead so that the law of the Spirit can reign in my body. Romans 8:1-13 states this as clearly as anything I read in the Bible. To this day, and after 30 years since my conversion to Christ, Romans 8, to me, is the most powerful text in scripture. By that I mean that it has ministered to me more that any other I can think of. I go back to it continually. And now I’m back here again.
So this is my prayer: That my soul will find joy in discipline. That I would be aware of the devils schemes to keep me living a mediocre, defeated, and fruitless Christian life. That the mind-set of my flesh will die and that I would be transformed by the renewing of my mind (Romans 12:2) so that I would know the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord (Phil 3:8).
It’s now 12:30am. I had no idea it was this late. More later.
I’m trying to become more disciplined in many things, particularly in the realm of my walk with Christ and in the areas of my mind. But I find that the more fervent my attempts are the more futile they become. More and more, and day after day, I am faced with the realization that any attempt at the transformation of my mind is a work that I am not cut out for. My "humanness" seems so very inadequate for the task. I am seeing that for me to have the “mind of Christ” is something I cannot accomplish even in the slightest way. I seems it must be totally a work of the Spirit.
Recently I heard John Piper state, in a very strong manner, that the enemy (devil) has a strangle hold on this world. Have you ever heard a truth so many times, and in so many ways, that after a while you claim to know it, but found out that it really hasn’t impacted your life? For some reason, (of which I can only believe is God’s sovereign providence), his statement seemed to jolt me as never before. It was as if I heard it for the very first time. And now, I’m beginning to see this truth afresh.
The enemy has worked well in keeping me from understanding the role he plays. Everywhere I look, there are reasons and circumstances that keep me from doing the very things I desire to do. I don’t often see them as the forces they are and therefore, out of my ignorance, I don’t even attempt to battle them. I can be so completely blind at times.
But what about the times when I have had some inkling of the enemy’s strategies and attacks, and still did nothing? What can be said of that? I can only conclude that at those times I don’t fight because of one thing. I know how feeble my fight would be. I know the state of my faith. It’s weak and shallow. My sense is that I will be defeated completely.
Over the years I have heard so many sermons, and so much teaching on fighting the devil. Today, I believe that a lot of the teaching I heard was incorrect and at times detrimental. But some was good, though I can’t always say that the teacher’s motives were for the benefit of the church’s health more than it was for the teachers own exaltation. So now I feel ill equipped. Have you ever been in a position where you weren’t sure what to believe any more? I find myself in that position a lot. But I do know this: the devil is more real than we often give him credit for. As Piper went on to say, the devil is a million times stronger than we are and if we attempt to fight him on our own, we will be soundly defeated every time. Only by the work of Christ in us will the enemy be defeated in our lives. It must be nothing of us, and everything of Him.
That’s not to say that I have never experienced a victory or two. There have been small skirmishes that I have won. Or at least at the moment I thought I won. You see, anyone can muster up within themselves enough temporary strength to win occasionally. But in the long run, there are infinitely more defeats. Why? I think it’s because the enemy will allow us a few victories so as to continue to think we are still in the fight and that there really is something to our faith. So we continue to believe we are fighting with weapons that work not realizing that we have brought a pocket knife to a nuclear war. These “victories” are won in our own strength and by our own methods. Not God’s.
We have been told that we must do certain things (works) to keep the enemy at bay. Much of what we have heard preached and what we have read tells us the steps we need to take to live a successful Christian life. Like: 5 Steps to Christian Living; 7 Steps to a Victorious Life; 4 Ways to Defeat the Devil. We have been taught a very pragmatic type of faith that is always looking for ways to stay in the battle. If we can just find the “secrets for successful faith” then we will be victorious. We think we are supposed to live a successful life but all the time being blind to the defeat we actually walk in. Our understanding of success is based on a worldly concept perpetuated on us by the enemy and false teaching. I believe this has kept us from even coming close to understanding what Jesus is really after. In no way am I stating that now my understanding is full and clear. By no means! But I have seen how our feeble attempt to be “successful” Christians has made us fall so very short of what Christ calls us to. Often I wonder if we understand salvation at all.
Beyond the devil’s working against us, I am also becoming more cognoscente of how my own flesh fights against the disciplines I desire. Countless times when I am prompted to take time to read and study the Word, my mind will almost automatically begin to look for reasons to do something else. It’s amazing how quickly this happens. In the matter of an instant, my mind will suggest any number of other activities that it would prefer I do, Even things that may not be attractive at any other moment. The Holy Spirit can prompt me to read the Word, or spend time in prayer, and suddenly my mind suggests that I vacuum the carpet instead. Now I have sat around all day long (on a weekend) and didn’t think about vacuuming, or cleaning the toilet, or washing the dishes, or taking a nap, or running an errand, or whatever else comes to mind. But suddenly it seems like the right time to do it. And my mind will tell me that I’m being disciplined because I’m doing something that needs to be done. The activity seems good… and it is. It’s always a good idea to keep the house (apartment) clean. And now seems like the perfect time to do so. So my mind is telling me that I’ll be doing a good thing. But I’m actually trading the most profitable thing I could do regarding my soul for a much lesser “good” thing. I think we all do this a lot.
Our sinful flesh is at times completely opposed to the things of God. Even those of us who have been justified by God’s sovereign grace continue to fight a battle against a sinful nature that seems unrelenting in its opposition to knowing and following Christ. I wish it were not so. At times my spirit hates my flesh and my flesh hates my spirit. I feel this almost constant inward struggle for my being. The question of my soul is answered. I am His. But my flesh doesn’t like the idea of not being in control. My spirit longs for intimacy with Christ and the joy of being under his authority in all things. Yet my flesh continues to strive for its own exaltation. It wants control and recognition. It wants the glory of owning my destiny. But my spirit knows that the only joy that will satisfy my soul is in glorifying God and his son Jesus. So how do I win? How do I allow my spirit to know the joy it desires and bring my flesh into submission to God?
I believe it’s a matter of counting myself as dead to the things of this world, including my flesh and its sinful nature. Paul says in Romans 6:11 So, you too consider yourselves dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus and Galatians 2:19,20 …I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me… and Galatians 5:24, 25 Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with is passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, we must also follow the Spirit. The sinful nature that resides in me must be counted as dead. For my spirit to be joined and operating with the Holy Spirit, this must happen. There is no role for my flesh to play. It must be considered dead so that the law of the Spirit can reign in my body. Romans 8:1-13 states this as clearly as anything I read in the Bible. To this day, and after 30 years since my conversion to Christ, Romans 8, to me, is the most powerful text in scripture. By that I mean that it has ministered to me more that any other I can think of. I go back to it continually. And now I’m back here again.
So this is my prayer: That my soul will find joy in discipline. That I would be aware of the devils schemes to keep me living a mediocre, defeated, and fruitless Christian life. That the mind-set of my flesh will die and that I would be transformed by the renewing of my mind (Romans 12:2) so that I would know the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord (Phil 3:8).
It’s now 12:30am. I had no idea it was this late. More later.
2 comments:
Stewart this is a great post!!! i am so on the same page!we are blind to so much and we know so little.i think we'll be really sad when we realize all he had planned and we werent available. too busy. thanks for this post!
hey Stewart good stuff - agree with what you are saying - seems like a lot of time the reason I don't find the wherewithal to overcome is that what I want to overcome is what I want to overcome and not necessarily what the Spirit wants me to overcome. It's His timetable, His subject, His everything which is pretty much OK with me, just have to come to that end and give up - I think you know what I mean.
phil
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