“There is another power within me that is at war with my mind.” Ro 7:23 NLT

Today let’s talk about: The enemy within. Your old nature is like a fifth column, always looking for ways to sabotage you. It’s the door through which Satan enters. You have two natures, an old one and a new one. They are opposite, and they are always on a collision course. A great illustration of this can be found in the birth of Jacob and Esau. “Rebekah became pregnant with twins. But the two children struggled with each other in her womb. So she went to ask the Lord about it. ‘Why is this happening to me?’ she asked. And the Lord told her, ‘The sons in your womb will become two nations. From the very beginning, the two nations will be rivals. One nation will be stronger than the other; and your older son will serve your younger son’” (Ge 25:21-23 NLT). Paul talks about his “Dr. Jekyll” nature and his “Mr. Hyde” nature. “I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to sin that is still within me” (Ro 7:22-23 NLT). What’s the answer? Starve your old nature and feed your new one! Again Paul writes: “No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier” (2Ti 2:4). That means you must: (1) regularly communicate with headquarters through prayer; (2) read God’s Word to be sure you’re obeying your Commanding Officer; (3) keep your spiritual morale high; (4) not get entangled with the wrong people or things.

THE BUZZARD

If you put a buzzard in a pen that is 6 feet by 8 feet and is entirely open at the top, the bird, in spite of its ability to fly, will be an absolute prisoner. The reason is that a buzzard always begins a flight from the ground with a run of 10 to 12 feet. Without space to run, as is its habit, it will not even attempt to fly, but will remain a prisoner for life in a small jail with no top.

THE BAT

The ordinary bat that flies around at night, a remarkable nimble creature in the air, cannot take off from a level place.
If it is placed on the floor or flat ground, all it can do is shuffle about helplessly and, no doubt, painfully, until it reaches some slight elevation from which it can throw itself into the air. Then, at once, it takes off like a flash.

THE BUMBLEBEE

A bumblebee, if dropped into an open tumbler, will be there until it dies, unless it is taken out. It never sees the means of escape at the top, but persists in trying to find some way out through the sides near the bottom. It will seek a way where none exists, until it completely destroys itself.

PEOPLE

In many ways, we are like the buzzard, the bat, and the bumblebee. We struggle about with all our problems and frustrations, never realizing that all we have to do is look up! That’s the answer, the escape route and the solution to any problem…
just look up!

Sorrow looks back,
Worry looks around,
But faith looks up!
Live simply,
love generously,
care deeply,
speak kindly, and
trust in the Creator,
who loves us.

The law is…the living word of God which infuses God’s substance into those who lovingly seek Him.

Week 20 Day 4

Repentance and Confession with God’s Forgiveness for His Building

Week 9

The Lord does not want us to consider how to serve Him, how to worship Him, or how to glorify Him, but He wants us to consider Him as our food.

Week 5 Day 2