“Although the
devil's words are deadly weapons, he does not have the last word in spiritual
warfare-- God does.
Even if you did
not falter at the first stone Satan hurled-- the lie that holiness hinders
pleasure-- he has another in hand ready to throw at you. He is not such an
inexperienced hunter that he goes into battle with a single shot; expect him to
aim another at you as soon as he sees that he has missed you with the first
one.
Here is how the
second runs: "You really should not get involved with this holy kind of
life unless, of course, you are willing to lose everything you have worked hard
to get. And do not forget, people are depending on you. Just look at the most
prominent men in the world-- did their wealth and affluence come from being
holy? Why, if they had been as strict in their consciences as you are, and tied
to the rules of a holy life, they could never have arrived at such success. Now
if you want some of their prosperity the first thing you must do is to take off
the breastplate of righteousness-- or at least unbuckle it so it will hang
loose enough to give your ingenuity some room. If you do not, you may as well
close up shop, for all the profit you will show for your hard work."
Although the
devil's words are deadly weapons, he does not have the last word in spiritual
warfare-- God does. Let us study four facets of it from His point of view.
You can fly to
heaven without a penny in your pocket but you will not get there at all without
holiness in your heart and life. And wisdom urges you to take care of that more
important requirement first.
There is a remnant
of people who gratefully accept God's gift of salvation, if only they can
arrive at heaven's glorious city. And God does not have to bribe them with
prosperity and a problem-free walk; they resolve to be holy at all costs. Do
not even consider what you might be missing-- if you loved God, you would
abandon the whole world anyway rather than part with Him.”
”Quoted material from, ”The Christian in Complete Armour Daily Readings
in Spiritual Warfare” by Gurnall and James S Bell. http://www.moodypublishers.com/pub_productDetail.aspx?id=41823&pid=53617
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