S) " 11 Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul."
1 Peter 2:11 (NASB)
O) The word "abstain" is very clear and strong language. I think one of the biggest mistakes a new believer can make, is to expect it to be easy to keep themselves from sinning. There is a message to be learned in scripture about becoming a "new creation" in Christ and being "born again" in spirit, but make no mistake about it - it is still a struggle to avoid sin. If it were easy for a Christian to not sin, I'm not sure "abstain" makes sense. I would never say that I abstain from watching the show CSI, because I have absolutely no desire to watch that show. I would never say that I abstain from listening to Lady Gaga, because I have absolutely no desire to listen to her songs. But, even after becoming a Christian, sin is still aluring. The biggest difference is that we are suddenly, acutely aware of what the second half of this verse says. Sin wages war against our souls. Before a man gives his life over to Christ, he will likely never have that perspective, to know that his sins are destroying who he truly is, who God created him to be. When God forgives us, He essentially recreates us from the inside, and the first thing we realize is that sin no longer "feels right" to us. From there, it is very much like a war within ourselves.
A) Fight. It's almost enough to simplify it that much. It is a fight to remain sinless. Sin wages war against my soul and if I'm not willing to fight back, it will win. Reading the Word of God daily is one of the most basic forms of this "spiritual warfare" in that it equips my mind - which is where most of the fight happens. Chapter 6, of Ephesians, describes the spiritual armor of God and it says that the sword of the Spirit is the Word of God. Also, prayer is a battlefield. In chapter 4 of Colossians, there is a believer named Epaphras and he is described as wrestling in prayer for his fellow believers. And finally, worship. The Bible says in Psalm 22 and verse 3, that the LORD is enthroned upon the praises of His people and in Acts 3 and verse 19 it says that a time of refreshing comes in the presence of the Lord and I know that after fighting hard to abstain from sin, refreshment is dearly needed.
P) Father, give me focus. Help me to realize that it is a fight that you have called me to join. It's a fight against my old way of - not life - but truly a way of death. Holy Spirit, strengthen me in this fight. God help me to stay in Your Word. Help me to focus when I pray. Help me to rest in my worship and find your restoration. Let me fight and not grow weary. In Jesus' name I pray, amen.
a late night post, this one was. Very, very long day!
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