War
When I took Jesus as my God...as my savior...as my leader... a war immediately erupted all around me. I didn't feel it or know it at the time, but I can see the effects of that war all around me.
The more I move closer and closer to the heart of Jesus, that war intensifies but also gets easier to fight. Light from Jesus' presence in my life shines on the dark strongholds of the enemy. My hands are trained in the weapons of warfare, and I more swiftly put to end the schemes of my enemy. Hoping the war will subside is futile. There is only one way through...to grow in knowledge and skill:
Psalms 144:1-2 Praise the lord , who is my rock. He trains my hands for war and gives my fingers skill for battle. He is my loving ally and my fortress, my tower of safety, my rescuer. He is my shield, and I take refuge in him. He makes the nations submit to me.
There are two enemies that war against the purpose of God in my life: satan and my own flesh. Satan appeals to my heart to rebel, and my flesh...the appetites of my body...also rebels. There is a divine order to operation of man created by God and instilled in him from the beginning: the spirit was to lead the heart, which in turn was to lead the flesh. The flesh...made with glorious appetites to engage with God...was to be lead by a heart completely led by the spirit, where the Holy Spirit dwelt with man...God with man:
Genesis 2:7 And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.
The breath of life IS the Spirit of God. There is no life, as God defines life, without the Spirit.
When Adam and Eve chose death, they chose to gaze on evil, life outside of the leadership order God had established: Spirit leading spirit, spirit leading heart, heart leading flesh. In the fall Adam and Eve let desire...their heart...lead their flesh. Their God-given appetite for knowledge and power, intended to draw them deeper and deeper in partnership with God, was disconnected from the leading of the Spirit, and death happened:
Genesis 2:17, 25 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
...And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.
Unashamed. Complete. Shame is the knowledge of lack. When Adam and Eve chose evil, the Holy Spirit left and shame took up residence in the spirit of man and woman.
Genesis 3:6-7 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.
After the fall, the only thing leading the flesh was mankind's weak heart. Soon depravity...the rising up of the flesh over the heart...appetite over mind, will, and emotion... resulted in all of mankind being destroyed but Noah and his family. When the order of leadership is reversed in the human frame...appetite leading heart with a dead or dying spirit...evil overtakes man and his sphere:
Genesis 6:5-6 Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.
Thankfully, through Noah, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob came the promised Savior who took the consequences for the choice of death. With the cost of His own life...the Spirit leaving...Jesus beat death with the righteousness of His own submittal...His own mastery of the flesh...on our behalf. Anyone who wants this victory can enter in by faith:
John 19:30 So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.
His spirit is THE Holy Spirit..the Helper. Jesus gave it up so I could be filled and shame evicted from my frame. Jesus paid the price for the original order of leadership to be re-established: Spirit leading spirit leading heart leading flesh.
John 16:7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.
In the same order Adam died, I can live, if I want. First my spirit comes alive with His, then my heart comes alive, and someday my frame glorified and alive forever!
But I must choose each step of the way for love. God will never withdraw free will because He will never withdraw love. I first have to choose to make Jesus the leader of my life and He sends the Spirit into my Spirit. Life, the way God designed it, is then possible again, but I'm not fully alive. My heart and my flesh need to be brought back under the leadership of the Spirit...choice by choice. I do this by intentionally choosing to follow Jesus in learning to submit my heart and flesh to God through the direction of the Holy Spirit. This requires talking to the Spirit and listening for the answer...then doing what needs doing. The disciples had to do this. They had to wait for the Spirit to move before they could move in the work Jesus gave them:
Luke 24:49 Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.”
Jesus wants to form His life in my heart. This is life abundant:
Galatians 4:19 My little children, for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you,
That means I need to yield leadership to Jesus. I need to cry out AND CHOOSE for my flesh to submit to my heart...my mind, will, and emotions, which must be led...by choice...in an ongoing...increasing conversation with God. Listening until the power of His voice comes, then moving in obedience.
For this to work, I lay down my own life...my leadership. I lay down my "rights." I bring my rights and lay them at His feet. My right to be right, my right to be offended, my right for vindication...my filthy, stained, dead rights...I trade them for His perfect spotless leadership. I yield to Jesus and find life growing more and more!
He is worth it...I was worth it!
The more I move closer and closer to the heart of Jesus, that war intensifies but also gets easier to fight. Light from Jesus' presence in my life shines on the dark strongholds of the enemy. My hands are trained in the weapons of warfare, and I more swiftly put to end the schemes of my enemy. Hoping the war will subside is futile. There is only one way through...to grow in knowledge and skill:
Psalms 144:1-2 Praise the lord , who is my rock. He trains my hands for war and gives my fingers skill for battle. He is my loving ally and my fortress, my tower of safety, my rescuer. He is my shield, and I take refuge in him. He makes the nations submit to me.
There are two enemies that war against the purpose of God in my life: satan and my own flesh. Satan appeals to my heart to rebel, and my flesh...the appetites of my body...also rebels. There is a divine order to operation of man created by God and instilled in him from the beginning: the spirit was to lead the heart, which in turn was to lead the flesh. The flesh...made with glorious appetites to engage with God...was to be lead by a heart completely led by the spirit, where the Holy Spirit dwelt with man...God with man:
Genesis 2:7 And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.
The breath of life IS the Spirit of God. There is no life, as God defines life, without the Spirit.
When Adam and Eve chose death, they chose to gaze on evil, life outside of the leadership order God had established: Spirit leading spirit, spirit leading heart, heart leading flesh. In the fall Adam and Eve let desire...their heart...lead their flesh. Their God-given appetite for knowledge and power, intended to draw them deeper and deeper in partnership with God, was disconnected from the leading of the Spirit, and death happened:
Genesis 2:17, 25 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
...And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.
Unashamed. Complete. Shame is the knowledge of lack. When Adam and Eve chose evil, the Holy Spirit left and shame took up residence in the spirit of man and woman.
Genesis 3:6-7 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.
After the fall, the only thing leading the flesh was mankind's weak heart. Soon depravity...the rising up of the flesh over the heart...appetite over mind, will, and emotion... resulted in all of mankind being destroyed but Noah and his family. When the order of leadership is reversed in the human frame...appetite leading heart with a dead or dying spirit...evil overtakes man and his sphere:
Genesis 6:5-6 Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.
Thankfully, through Noah, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob came the promised Savior who took the consequences for the choice of death. With the cost of His own life...the Spirit leaving...Jesus beat death with the righteousness of His own submittal...His own mastery of the flesh...on our behalf. Anyone who wants this victory can enter in by faith:
John 19:30 So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.
His spirit is THE Holy Spirit..the Helper. Jesus gave it up so I could be filled and shame evicted from my frame. Jesus paid the price for the original order of leadership to be re-established: Spirit leading spirit leading heart leading flesh.
John 16:7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.
In the same order Adam died, I can live, if I want. First my spirit comes alive with His, then my heart comes alive, and someday my frame glorified and alive forever!
But I must choose each step of the way for love. God will never withdraw free will because He will never withdraw love. I first have to choose to make Jesus the leader of my life and He sends the Spirit into my Spirit. Life, the way God designed it, is then possible again, but I'm not fully alive. My heart and my flesh need to be brought back under the leadership of the Spirit...choice by choice. I do this by intentionally choosing to follow Jesus in learning to submit my heart and flesh to God through the direction of the Holy Spirit. This requires talking to the Spirit and listening for the answer...then doing what needs doing. The disciples had to do this. They had to wait for the Spirit to move before they could move in the work Jesus gave them:
Luke 24:49 Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.”
Jesus wants to form His life in my heart. This is life abundant:
Galatians 4:19 My little children, for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you,
That means I need to yield leadership to Jesus. I need to cry out AND CHOOSE for my flesh to submit to my heart...my mind, will, and emotions, which must be led...by choice...in an ongoing...increasing conversation with God. Listening until the power of His voice comes, then moving in obedience.
For this to work, I lay down my own life...my leadership. I lay down my "rights." I bring my rights and lay them at His feet. My right to be right, my right to be offended, my right for vindication...my filthy, stained, dead rights...I trade them for His perfect spotless leadership. I yield to Jesus and find life growing more and more!
He is worth it...I was worth it!
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