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We have had a little problem with our blog login, but we are back now.
Here are a few things that I have been studying, learning, and contemplating over the last few weeks:
2 Cor. 10:3-5
Even though we walk in the flesh we do not war according to the flesh. We try. Our flesh screams to fight against the natural things - against pride, offence, physical cravings for food, entertainment, and rest. What are our weapons? The weapons we have at our disposal are mighty, but we must know what these weapons are. It is clear in the Sermon on the Mount what some of our weapons are. We fight pride with humility, offence with meekness, lust of the eyes by setting our eyes and mind on things above, lust of the flesh by hunger and thirsting for righteousness.
We must cast down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God. If I do not know God I will not even know what is exalting itself above Him. Is it really possible to bring every thought into captivity? When I do bring my thought into captivity I must have the knowledge of God to which make the thought to be obedient.
If we try to fight in the flesh we will never conquer because our weapons are not of the flesh. Our weapons seem weak in the flesh, but they are mighty and the only way to pull down strongholds. God uses the things that seem foolish as our weapons (1 Cor. 1:18 – 25 the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, vs. 20 Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world, vs. 25 the foolishness of God is wiser than man, and the weakness of God is stronger than man).
Prayer and Knowing God
It seems it all comes down to knowing God and out of this place a desire is birthed to pray and commune with the Uncreated One. Our humanness can not pursue this long-term. This is where burnout comes from and the lack of ability to spend significant time with God. It is because there is no experience to drive us to keep at it. There is no passion to make us sacrifice legitimate pleasures to invest what it takes to know Him. It is sick that when people are tired and just need to rest that they choose to turn on the TV and feed their weak vulnerable spirit with evil. Instead we should rest in God’s presence. This is the way to life. How do we do this, God? The Word is life. It starts with the Word abiding in us. Meditation on the Word will get God’s character and nature implanted in our spirit. We must get scripture out of our head and into our spirit. This is done by long, loving meditation on God’s word. Once the Word is thriving in our spirit it makes us hungry for more. If our little bit of knowledge of God is really true, what else can we know? How far will God let us go? I want to find out. When we get God’s truths in us we want to pray and contend for the things He tells us are true and ours. We have a drive to pray because we know it does something. We lack praying because we do not really believe it makes a difference. Prayer has become a last resort when there is a bad circumstance. How sad. I’m not sure what these types of prayers can accomplish? When we build a history with God, when we know Him, His promises, His will, His desires, His nature – then when circumstances come we are not shaken because we know His desire is for us and for our good.