Combatant

John 8:44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

Since you are growing in Christ, it is time for you to understand the battlefield in which you are now engaged in battle. Since you are in Christ and abide in truth, all and I mean everyone who is not abiding with you in Christ is an enemy combatant.

Here is your problem; you are not to treat them as the enemy. Rather difficult I know but consider this as it relates to your own salvation; did you know that you were the enemy of the Cross of Christ before you were saved? Few do. Some refuse to admit it even after they come to Christ. I am not going to address these issues of understanding. I will be addressing lies and error. If we defeat the lie, we defeat the enemy, Satan.

Please do not address enemy combatants as if they know what they are doing. They do not.

Luke 23:34a Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.

Address the lie. Your challenge will be on two fronts. There will be some who have read the scriptures and will subvert the truth to serve their own agenda. There will be those who have never read the bible. Those who oppose the truth will possibly use logic or some reasoning power. They might even be persuasive. Do not given in to persuasion.

I doubt I will be able to address every lie you will come across. I will endeavor to address some of the more common lies. If you stick to the tactics of addressing the lies and not get personal, you will find the Holy Spirit leading you in truth. He is your guide and authority when it comes to spiritual truths.

Respond

1 John 5:14-15 And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.

This morning I find myself in an unusual situation. Being a person who is prepared and somewhat in control, I feel confident when I have prepared well, edited and revisited my work before I release my devotionals to publication. I cannot do that today. My computer is in the shop with hardware failures and all my weeks’ worth of preparations is not available to me.

The question is when things don’t go your way how do you respond? Do you fall back into old habits, your old nature, or can you find confidence in the Lord and trust this new creation you have become? I will admit that it is easier to deal with the unexpected from a position which is familiar. What if the situation is laced before you to test those new legs of yours? Are you going to walk by faith or walk by sight?

This is me, here now, today, doing a cold reading. I have a choice to make excuses, as in the past, claim it isn’t my fault or I can press on towards my calling. Doing this blog or not isn’t going to make that much of difference to anyone. Or will it? I don’t know that. I have to trust in the Lord to use what I offer in ways only He can know why and how it will matter. Even if it is only me, well then, I’ve helped myself then haven’t I?

I only have one memory of needing to press on when my old man wanted to retire to his comfort zone. I pressed on and the result was wonderful. I can draw on that one time experience to build another opportunity. Pressing on and walking by faith is much like that. You build confidence in doing the right thing, by doing the right thing.

Eventually I will get my computer back. Today, I do a new thing.