Scripture reveals to us that we are in a spiritual warfare. Satan would love nothing more than to destroy our testimony so that we become ineffective for God. He and the demons of hell place obstacles in our path that appeal to our flesh. We must constantly be on guard against these obstacles and learn to walk close to Jesus. As I was reading this morning I began to notice a pattern developing among the verses I was reading. I wanted to share some devotional thoughts from my time in the Word this morning.
First of all I was reminded from Romans 13:12 that our time to glorify God and live for Christ on this earth is rapidly running out! Can you believe that one half of 2012 is already in the books? Time seems to be rapidly passing us by. We must take advantage of the moments we have the opportunity to live for Christ. Paul says, “The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.” (KJV)
Secondly, we need to “cast off the works of darkness.” The idea here is to lay aside a filthy garment. If you were to put on a coat and then you felt insects crawling on you within the coat what would you do? If it were me I would unzip it as fast as I could and get it off of me! Crawling insects may not be your phobia but I think you get the picture. “The works of darkness” do far more damage than crawling insects, however the “children of light” should be repulsed by them just the same. We should take the “garment of darkness” and throw it off as quickly and permanently as possible. Our flesh will always long to pick it back up and put it back on, but we can overcome this temptation through Christ who gives us strength.
Thirdly, the strength to overcome is derived from God’s Word. Notice the words from Psalm 119:9-11-“How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word. With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments! I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.” (ESV) “[The blessed man’s] delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.” (Psalm 1:2, KJV) The word of God is “stored” up in our hearts by delighting in and meditating upon the Word of God!
What are the things you need to “cast off” like a filthy garment? When you do a vacuum will be created. Love for and obedience to the Word of God must fill the vacuum or the filthy garments have a way of showing up again!
alightinerie 