Posted on 12/10/2020 5:34:06 AM PST by Gamecock
Today’s Scripture: 1 Corinthians 16:13
“Be watchful.”
With all the enemies from the world and from Satan arrayed against us, and a guerrilla army of flesh within our own hearts, how can we effectively watch against the temptations that constantly beset us? The old adage "The best defense is a good offense" is good advice for watching against temptation. The best offense is meditation on the Word of God and prayer. It’s surely no coincidence that they’re the only two spiritual exercises that we are encouraged to do continually. We’re to meditate on God’s Word "day and night" (Psalm 1:2), and Paul exhorted us to "pray continually" (1 Thessalonians 5:17, NIV).
There is power in the Word of God to keep us from sin: "I have stored up your Word in my heart, that I might not sin against you" (Psalm 119:11). For every temptation that you face, there are specific passages of Scripture that address that issue. If you’re not aware of some, ask your pastor or another mature Christian to help you find them. Then memorize those verses, meditate on them, and pray over them every day, asking the Holy Spirit to bring them to your mind in times of need. Ask, also, that he will strengthen your will to enable you to obey the Word that he brings to your mind. All of us are being influenced by sinful society, so we want to do all we can to continually bring the Word of God to bear upon our thinking.
Also remember that Jesus told us to watch and pray against temptation (Matthew 26:41). We aren’t capable of watching by ourselves. "Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain" (Psalm 127:1). Even with our best diligence, we need the extra dimension of the Lord watching for us. (Excerpt taken from The Discipline of Grace)
Ping
Thank you GC. This is quite appropriate to go along with a small intimate bible study I am doing with a handful of young mothers. We are going through James Montgomery’s book on Ps 119. This fits in perfectly! The Lord is good!
Thank you for posting these. I always read them.
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