SURVIVE OR THRIVE (Monday devotional) Sometimes this thing called life can be quite confusing in terms of our attitudes and expectations. Last week the sermon was about how hard it is to live in a fallen world. We are in foreign territory and the enemy has us in his sites. Sin abounds, temptation is ever present and we are filled with anxiety more times than we are willing to admit. However, the message today was on how thankful we should be for all the blessings of life and the beauty all around us. We are to rejoice, exploding with joy unspeakable, peace that passes all understanding. It’s like the Pastor is preaching two polar opposite messages. Which is true? Is it possible they both are true? How do we find balance? Is the expectation to survive or to thrive? I need some Tylenol… I’m on a Chinese food kick. I love Panda Express. I could eat chicken egg rolls by the dozens, and man do I love their string bean chicken entrée. Add about a half bottle of soy sauce and I gotta believe it is what they’ll serve at the marriage feast of the Lamb. But, the Chinese, for as good as my chicken egg rolls are---they have many items I’d never touch---even with a ten foot chop stick! Here are real names of items on their menu in China… Salty Egg King Ginger Burping Milk Sydney and White Tree Fungus Braise Pig Heart Elder Brother The Ground Is Second Wood mustache Meat Government Abuse Chicken Husband and Wife Lung Slice Fragrant Bone in Garlic In Strange Flavor Good To Eat Mountain A West Bean Pays the Fish A Soup Peasant Family Stir-Fries Flesh For a Short time Now, if you would like an explanation of each of these dishes---I suggest you move to Mongolia, hang with a group of Tibetan monks and keep to a diet of brown rice. But I have good news concerning the proper use of our spiritual chop sticks. The menu explains it all in perfect perspective. The Bible is our recipe for righteous living in a dark and fallen world. Yes, this world is enemy territory. The truth is, we live in a fallen world filled with fallen people, and we cannot escape hardship and pain. Have you ever vowed to put an ungodly habit behind you, only to fall again soon after? Feelings of guilt can lead to a renewed commitment to never do something again. But the very next day, the cycle repeats itself as we give in to the same temptations. Our defeat leaves us wondering, What’s wrong with me? Our despair at repeated failure produces a sense of hopeless resignation and confusion. Make that extra strength Tylenol… Perhaps you feel as if you’re the rope in a tug of war between God and sin, constantly being pulled in two opposing directions. Don’t beat yourself up when you fail. Rather, confess and repent as quickly as possible (1 John 1:9). During those times, remember that you are engaged in a long process, and that you cannot renew your own mind. Trying harder and making promises to God will only discourage you, because in your own strength, you will never be able to change. True transformation is the work of the Holy Spirit—and it takes time. Therefore, submit to His leading, heed His warnings, and obey His voice. Fill your mind with Scripture—focusing on the Lord’s character, ways, and commands. Resist temptation and flee from it by understanding the thoughts and feelings that trigger a sinful response in you. Check the source of your thoughts—are they from God, your flesh, the world, or Satan? Rely on the Holy Spirit to empower you to resist sin and break free from its bondage. Just as your area of struggle began with one act of yielding to temptation, so your path to victory can begin with one act of submission to God. Through the power of the Spirit, start saying no to thoughts that don’t belong in a believer’s life. At the same time, say yes to appropriate thoughts. You must strike a balance between fighting off this world and it’s temptation, and filling your mind with truth from God’s Word, for it is then you’ll gain discernment and be able to more readily identify the thoughts and feelings that cause you to be roughed up by this hard and evil world. So, let this mind be in you that was also in Christ Jesus. Go, get in the Word; I’ll order egg rolls.
Posted on: Mon, 03 Mar 2014 02:59:42 +0000
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