“Battle Wise”

 Galatians 5:17

The old sinful nature loves to do evil, which is just opposite from what

the Holy Spirit wants.  And the Spirit gives us desires that are opposite

from what the sinful nature desires.  These two forces are constantly

fighting each other, and your choices are never free from the conflict.  (NLT)

     The battles for your physical life and that of your eternal soul begins the very moment you are conceived.  Our world and everything is infected with sin, decadence, and death because of our rebellion against God.  The battles that we face are indeed difficult and unpredictable, but the real battles for our hearts minds and souls are against the evil powers of Satan, who wants to keep people from knowing the Living God and to destroy everything that belongs to Him.  Satan was once God’s most beautiful and powerful angel who, in his quest to take over God’s Kingdom, persuaded a third of all the angels to follow him in an uprising against God, but of course they failed.  Satan was kicked out of Heaven and has been wreaking havoc upon the people of earth for thousands of years.  Satan is the dark force of evil that drives this world; a force that every man, woman, and child must face every waking moment of their earthly lives.  The unseen evil forces are very dangerous, because they not only threaten our very existence in this life, but the life of our eternal souls.  The devil is alive and working overtime in our world, and to make matters worse, our human hearts are born with a wicked and deceitful nature that loves to sin. 

     The evil we face is powerful and its darkness is overwhelming and it will get even more so until that glorious day when our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ, returns to set up His Kingdom on earth.  And at that time Satan will be bound in chains and locked in the bottomless pit for a thousand years, where he can no longer deceive the world.  But until that great and awesome day, the battles rage on—battles you will fight until you breathe your very last breath—battles that you cannot win apart from God.  The only hope you have in overcoming our Satan induced, evil nature to sin is found in the Power of the Holy Spirit, which you receive when you are born again in Christ Jesus.  When you turn your life over to the care and control of the Lord, He will help you win the everyday battles of good and evil.  With the renewing of your heart, you will gain the strength and wisdom to fend off the attacks of the devil.   Never doubt the powerful hold that sin has over you, my friend, and never doubt the inherent weaknesses you possess in fighting that power. For without the resurrection power of our Almighty God, you will remain enslaved by sin and Satan your master.

                                           A Whisper of Hope

Awaken, dear child…for your very life depends on it.  You can love this evil world or you can love Me.  You can love to sin and follow Satan into Hell, or you can love Me and journey Home.  You can hide in the darkness and lose, or live in the Light and win.  It is a choice of  life or death.

2 Peter 1:3, 4

As we know Jesus better, His divine power gives us everything we need for

living a godly life. He has promised that you will escape the decadence all

around you caused by evil desires and that you will share in His divine nature.  (NLT)

                                         Fight the good fight of faith 

                                       (1 Timothy 6:12)

                     “Vainly Living”

 Psalm 127:1

Unless the LORD builds the house, they labor in vain who builds it;

Unless the LORD guards the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.  (NKJ)

     Unless you know, love, and live for the Lord our God, your life is lived in vain, because apart from our Creator we gain nothing worth dying for.  Without knowing the Truth of God's written Word there is no purpose for anything.  Without a God driven life we run around in circles, making the same foolish mistakes hoping for better results.  When you merely live for the sole purpose of existing, you end up living for the moment and hoping it is not your last.  Without the absolute Truth anything and everything is game.  Without knowing how you came to be and who you were created to be and for what purpose you are here and where it all leads, there is only confusion, disappointment, doubt and death.  People who live apart from God and do whatever they feel like doing are living on the edge of the abyss.  When your life becomes all about yourself, it leaves you empty and living in vain.  When you live by our own rules and for your own sinful passions you are of no value in the Kingdom of God's Garden and the Gardener will cut you off and throw you into a heap to be burned.

     The life that God has graciously given you is not an accident my friend, but a careful, well thought out plan by the Creator and Master Gardener.  Without the Gardener the garden would have never been planted.  Without God’s gardening precision, the universe that supports garden Earth would be spinning wildly out of control with no purpose, much like a garden without a gardener would turn wild with very little produced.  Without God’s direction and intervention, people would feed on anything in the garden that would satisfy their appetites regardless of the consequences, much like eating from a garden without knowing what is good or what is poison.  People who deny the existence of the Master Gardener have an emptiness so deep that it will never be filled.   People who live apart from their Savior are left unprotected, unaware, and helpless prey for the jaws of Satan.   However you are living and whatever you are building, if God is not in the plan it will crumble into a heap of rumble to be burned forever!

                                         A Whisper of Hope

Without Me as your Foundation…life's storms will bring you down.  Without My sustaining power your life will spin out of control.  But a life build on the Foundation of Truth will stand strong through the many storms of this fallen world.  Build wisely, child and I will bring eternal purpose to your life. 

John 15:5-6

“Yes, I am the Vine; you are the branches.  Those who remain in Me,

and I in them, will produce much fruit.  For apart from Me you are nothing. 

Anyone who parts from Me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. 

Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned.”  (NLT)

                    But on the judgment day, fire will reveal 

            what kind of work each builder has done.  The fire 

               will show if a person's work has any value. 

                                    (1 Corinthians 3:13)