OUR INNER REBELLION

"Can you honestly say that when God first came to you your thoughts were pure and your intentions holy? Were you not already armed with weapons of rebellion--a covetous spirit, a deceitful heart, a lying tongue? Oh, yes, you had a nature fully charged with enmity against God. It lay like unfired gunpowder, waiting for a flame! Fall on your knees in humble gratitude to the One who sent His Spirit and grace to stop you, even while your nature meditated on nothing but war against God and His laws.

One reason we are so easily persuaded to sin is because we do not understand Satan's purpose. He does with men in sinning as generals do with them in fighting. Captains beat their drums for volunteers, promising pay and promotions to all who enlist. The guarantee of such excellent benefits makes soldiers come streaming in, with little or no thought as to whether the ground of war is just. Satan entices to sin by giving golden promises of rewards for entering his service-- power, fame, or fortune. Many foolish souls are won by his clever arguments and the prodding of their own greedy natures. Few bother to ask, "Why is the devil so eager to have me join his ranks?"

Shall I tell you? Do you think your pleasure or profit is his goal? Not likely! His aspirations are all for himself. He has a personal grudge against God, and he brings you, by sinning, to join his quarrel. What he fails to mention is that you jeopardize your very soul to defend his pride and lust. But he is hardly worried about your welfare. He loses no more sleep over your certain damnation than a demented general does over the men he sends on a suicide mission. Knowing this, why would you ever join Satan in his fight against God? He sends you on a suicide mission! This bloody Joab will order you where no one ever came out of alive. If you stand where God's bullets fly, you are a dead man, unless you throw down your arms and surrender at once.”

Today take a stand and serve God. While other people and spiritual enemies will be unhappy you and all who serve God will rejoice!

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

PRACTICE SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINE

"I sincerely believe a poor foundation is the reason many are not steadfast today.

Christians who are not instructed in the fundamentals of Christianity are not likely to mature into solid saints. I sincerely believe a poor foundation is the reason many are not steadfast today. Dear saint, do not be too proud to go back and learn the basic precepts of the Gospel if you have not yet mastered them. Too many are more concerned about their reputation than their salvation.

Wait on the ministry of the Word. The apostle cautioned the Hebrew Christians not to neglect church attendance Hebrews 10:25. If you say you want to know God's truth, but neglect to go where the Word is preached, you are as insincere as the man who says he wants to watch the sun set but will not bother to turn his chair toward the west.

To know God, you must come to where He has appointed you to learn. If there is a church, go. If there is none, study your Bible diligently and wait on the ministry of the Spirit at home. You can trust your heavenly Father to use extraordinary measures to honor your demand for spiritual food. He is like a father who, if there is no school in town, teaches his child at home and turns him into an excellent scholar. God, Paul tells us, "makes manifest the savor of His knowledge by us in every place" 2 Corinthians 2:14.

God's Word is filled with good things for your soul. He wants you to have them all, so see to it that you are a wakeful and attentive student. Strive to be like Lydia, who "attended unto the things which were spoken by Paul" Acts 16:14. When you go to church, try to fix your quicksilver mind and set yourself to hear the sermon. Above all, make sure your heart is consumed with love for God, and your will is in submission to His desires. The mind goes on the will's errand; we spend our thoughts on what our hearts propose.”

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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

GOD USES SATAN TO CONVICT

"The most sincere philanthropist or moral crusader has within him the same seeds of corruption, the same potential for wickedness as the devil himself.

If the measure of a man's own good works compares favorably to everyone else's-- i.e., if they are not noticeably meaner or viler than his neighbor's-- he thinks he can pass God's inspection. Before the Holy Spirit can convict such a person of his need of Christ, he must agree with God that all his righteousness is but filthy rags. It may help him understand his own wickedness if he sees how utterly polluted the spring is that incessantly feeds it.

Can you somehow get a mental picture of the monstrous intensity of Satan's wickedness? Then you have an idea of every man's potential for evil. The finest human being-- the most sincere philanthropist or moral crusader-- has within him the same seeds of corruption, the same potential for wickedness as the devil himself. If his true nature has not yet shown through, it is because God's grace is intervening. For until you are made a new creature in Christ, you are of the same brood as the Serpent; his seed is in you. And the devil can only beget a child like himself.

Sinner, if you do not blossom into Satan's likeness here on earth, you can be sure you will in hell. There the flames will wash off the paint that hides your true complexion. In heaven, the saints will be like the angels in alacrity, love, and constancy to God; in hell, the damned will be like the devils, in sin as well as in punishment. Before you excuse yourself by claiming "good intentions," know this: If your heart is good, then so is the devil's! His nature is wicked, and so is yours! The blemishes which you think are so small and insignificant are symptoms of a deadly disease within. Without Gospel medicine-- the blood of Christ-- applied to you personally, you will die a leper. Sin is a hereditary disease that increases with age: a young sinner will be an old devil. And the malady is always passed on to the next generation.”

Thank God Jesus paid the price for our sin and we are alive to God in Christ, dead to sin and have the free will and help of God to chose life and not death!

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

SATAN'S INCESSANT HATRED

"If he could, he would not leave one of Christ's flock alive. Such is the height of his malice against God, whom he hates with a perfect hatred.

Your heart may break, like Lamech's, with the weight of your sorrow. But unfortunately their rescue is out of your hands. What a grief to your spirit to see them on the road to hell and know you paid the toll, yet not be able to call them back! Even after you are dead and gone, your sins may be perpetuated in those who are alive, generation after generation.

Devils are maliciously and incessantly wicked. Fallen angels are not just incidentally or occasionally wicked, but willfully and constantly wicked. The devil's name, "wicked one," denotes his spiteful nature, his desire to vex and harass others. He draws souls to sin, not because he tastes any sweetness or finds any profit in such enterprise. He has too much light to have any real joy or peace in sin. He knows his doom, and trembles at the thought of it. Yet his spiteful nature drives him mercilessly. He is as bloodthirsty for souls as a mad dog for sheep. The difference is that the dog will finally drop in exhaustion, whereas Satan never tires of his work as a butcher of souls.

Though he toils for the eternal damnation of every soul, the devil's open vengeance is most often directed toward the saints. If he could, he would not leave one of Christ's flock alive. Such is the height of his malice against God, whom he hates with a perfect hatred. And because he cannot reach Him with a direct blow, he strikes at Him secondhand through the saints. He knows that the life of God is in a very real sense bound up in theirs. If you are even now feeding in God's green pastures and drinking from the well of His mercy, beware. Satan is sure to attack. He knows the honor God receives on this earth is directly related to the flow of His mercy. He therefore labors to build a dam with his wicked deeds that will stop the flow of mercy to the saints. This is the worst that can be said of these wicked demons: They maliciously spite God, and in God, the glory of His mercy.”

As Christians we may not relate to this level of evil, but our news is full with stories of those who have allowed hatred to grow and destroy themselves and all that God had for them. Stop anger, resentment, pride and all that drives us away from God so that it may not grow and choke out the life of Christ within you. Remember how very much Jesus loves you!

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

LEADING OTHERS ASTRAY

"Those who tempt others plant their own wickedness in fertile fields and raise up new seed to the devil.

To the end of the world, every age will exceed the previous one in its degree of sinning. Ishmael and the mockers of the old world will look like children and the bunglers compared to the scoffers and cruel persecutors of the last days.

Think twice before you use your intelligence to invent new sins! You provoke God to new punishments. Sodom devised a new way to sin, so God devised a new way to discipline them: He sent hell from above upon them.

These same demons who invented sin are likewise the chief promoters of it. The apostate angels were not only the inventors of sin, but are also its chief enterprisers. These spirits are therefore called "the tempter," and sin is called "the work of the devil," no matter who commits it-- just as the credit for the design of a house goes to the architect, even though other men do the actual construction.

When you cause anyone to sin, you take the devil's office out of his hands. Let him do it himself if he can, but never allow him to use you as his hireling. Tempting someone else to sin is worse than sinning yourself. Those who tempt others plant their own wickedness in fertile fields and raise up new seed to the devil. To cultivate the devil's crop of sin with the evil in your own heart shows sin is mighty in you indeed. Parents, especially, must guard against such a heinous act. What are they but devils incarnate who, by their own example, teach their children the devil's catechism-- to swear and lie and drink?

Do you not know what you do when you tempt? I will tell you. You do that which cannot be undone by your own repentance. You contaminate your family and friends with error, and end them rushing to join the devil's throng. Later, you may see your mistake and turn from you wicked way. But can you force those you have led astray to fight against the press of the worldly crowd to get to Jesus at all cost? “



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