02/25/2020
WAR OF THE WORLDS
"Where do the conflicts and disputes among you originate?
Is it not your inner cravings that make war within your members?" �James 4:1
We have soldiers, bombs, policemen, and lawyers to deal with conflicts and disputes.
We spend a fortune on our symptoms but avoid dealing with the causes, that is, our inner cravings making war within our members.
Only the "Holy Spirit, Who is within" (1 Cor 6:19), can deal with the war within.
"The flesh lusts against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh; the two are directly opposed" (Gal 5:17).
“My point is that you should live in accord with the Spirit and you will not yield to the cravings of the flesh" (Gal 5:16).
“If you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the evil deeds of the body, you will live" (Rm 8:13).
The Spirit will convict us of sin, justice, and condemnation (Jn 16:8).
He will take us to the cross and show us the connection between our sins and Jesus' suffering and death.
After that, we will never be the same.
We will be crucified to the world and the world to us (Gal 6:14).
We will no longer make provision for the inner cravings of the flesh.
We will put on the Lord Jesus Christ (Rm 13:14). We will have victory inside and victory outside. The war will be won in the power of the Spirit.
Prayer: Jesus, You won the war on Calvary.
May I claim Your victory by the power of the Spirit.
May I be more than a conqueror (Rm 8:37). Promise: "Cast your care upon the Lord, and He will support you." —Ps 55:23
Whose glory do you seek
There can be no share in God's glory without the cross.
When Jesus prophesied his own betrayal and crucifixion, it did not make any sense to his disciples because it did not fit their understanding of what the Messiah came to do. And they were afraid to ask further questions! Like a person who might receive a bad verdict from the doctor and then refuse to ask further questions, they, too, didn't want to know any more.
How often do we reject what we do not wish to see?
We have heard the good news of God's word and we know the consequences of accepting it or rejecting it.
But do we give it our full allegiance and mold our lives according to it?
Ask the Lord to fill you with his Holy Spirit and to inspire within you a reverence for his word and a readiness to obey it.
Do you compare yourself with others?
How ashamed the disciples must have been when Jesus overheard them arguing about who among them was the greatest!
But aren't we like the disciples?
We compare ourselves with others and desire their praise.
The appetite for glory and greatness seems to be in**ed in us.
Who doesn't cherish the ambition to be "somebody" whom others admire rather than a "nobody"?
Even the psalms speak about the glory God has destined for us.
You have made them a little lower than God, and crowned them with glory and honor (Psalm 8:5).
Jesus made a dramatic gesture by embracing a child to show his disciples who really is the greatest in the kingdom of God.
What can a little child possibly teach us about greatness?
Children in the ancient world had no rights, position, or privileges of their own.
They were socially at the "bottom of the rung" and at the service of their parents, much like the household staff and domestic servants.
Who is the greatest in God's kingdom?
What is the significance of Jesus' gesture? Jesus elevated a little child in the presence of his disciples by placing the child in a privileged position of honor.
It is customary, even today, to seat the guest of honor at the right side of the host.
Who is the greatest in God's kingdom?
The one who is humble and lowly of heart - who instead of asserting their rights willingly empty themselves of pride and self-seeking glory by taking the lowly position of a servant or child.
Jesus, himself, is our model.
He came not to be served, but to serve (Matthew 20:28).
Paul the Apostle states that Jesus emptied himself and took the form of a servant (Philippians 2:7).
Jesus lowered himself (he whose place is at the right hand of God the Father) and took on our lowly nature that he might raise us up and clothe us in his divine nature.
God wants to fill us with his own glory
God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble (James 4:6).
If we want to be filled with God's life and power, then we need to empty ourselves of everything which stands in the way - pride, self-seeking glory, vanity, etc.
God wants empty vessels so he can fill them with his own glory, power, and love (2 Corinthians 4:7).
Are you ready to humble yourself and to serve as Jesus did?
"Lord Jesus, by your cross you have redeemed the world and revealed your glory and triumph over sin and death.
May I never fail to see your glory and victory in the cross.
Help me to conform my life to your will and to follow in your way of holiness."
