Put to DEATH

"Those we served before are dead and gone.
Their departed spirits will never return!
You attacked them and destroyed them,
and they are long forgotten."
Isaiah 26:14

What did I serve before?
Mostly my own flesh.
I can't serve two masters.
I need to put my flesh to death. All flesh.
The flesh that cries to the body- "feed me!"
The flesh that cries to the soul - "coddle me."
The flesh that cries to the spirit - "Pacify me"
The flesh that cries to the heart - "Sooth me"
The flesh that cries to the mind - "entertain me"

Death to the flesh, means dying to my fleshy desires and practices. These practices run deep.
How many things would I claim as a right, instead of recognizing it only as something I'm conditioned to accept, desire, demand that is not a right at all? Especially a God given right...
The right I have in Christ Jesus is the right to walk in Spiritual freedom. What is that? It's the freedom from slavery... to flesh. Freedom to worship openly under the blood offering of the lamb of God. The right to a new name given by God my father, and the right to live under the sovereignty of my new master- who I serve lovingly, staying willingly. All he demands of me is putting to death all other masters. Including my flesh.

To die = gain.
To live = Christ.

He's got it out for you.

"In every battle you will need faith as your shield to stop the fiery arrows aimed at you by the evil one." Eph. 6:16

He's got you in his cross hairs. How easily we forget this. Maybe we even find it hard to believe. Hard to feel like I'm even that important, that he wants to take me-lil' old me who is only one person and don't account fer much when you look at the world as a whole-out of the picture. Off the playing field, down with a fiery wound that does deep burning damage.

Really?!? Really Satan? Was I THAT big of a deal that you HAD to take me down?

Hard to imagine... unless we really think about what the word of God says about it. We might piece together a different picture.
The God of the universe goes to great trouble to express to us how each one of us- down to the hairs on our head (Matt 10:30) is VERY IMPORTANT to Him. He cares for us individually. He loves us individually. He prizes each and every single one of his children, and encourages intimate relationships with each one, even lil' old me. Luke 15 goes on and on, through several examples (first a sheep, then a coin, then a man) about how important the ONE individual is. Wouldn't God's immortal enemy fight with a method that matches his opponent's strategy? Of course Satan cares about the individual- because God does.
One of Satan's tactics is to get us to stop believing this. "You're not important" he'll whisper to us. "In the span of things, you're nothing, you don't matter" he convincingly coaxes. Here's a plummy little twist- he'll persecute us, and use his own wiles as an example of how God 'doesn't' care. "If he really loves you, how can he let this happen?" We can enter a spiral where we begin to doubt God's goodness and character.

"One day maybe he'll hold out his hands and say 'look at these hands- do these look like the hands of a God who doesn't care? All those times you wondered if I cared, do you have any doubts now?" -Randy Alcorn

Our God cares so much, that he gives us the tools to defend ourselves and fight back. In Ephesians there's a whole list of things. The defense for the fiery arrows of the enemy is Faith. Believe with strong conviction, loyalty and trust that the Lord our God DOES care. He DOES work in my life. He IS my defense and my shelter. The Holy spirit my comforter. The Son my savior and redeemer. Remember God is who he says he is- he goes to GREAT lengths to show us.
AND (from Eph 6) there are more tools:
Truth.
God's righteousness- note, not our own righteousness (which is as rags) but the perfect righteousness of God.
the Gospel of Peace- remind yourself about the peace we have in the gospel! Christ's redeeming power because of his death in our stead, it's no little thing folks. (How often we trivialize this!)
Salvation- it transforms us. We ARE saved. Forever! Live like it, in gratitude and worship.
The WORD of GOD- GET INTO THE WORD. Hide it in your heart, treasure it. Digest it and live it.
It's so important to be ready with these tools at all times. The scripture emphasizes over and over again, be ready for attack! Christ told us to expect it. (Matt 10) It's never gonna be a picnic. You're either gaining ground, or losing ground- there is no treading water. It's either sink or swim. Let's live in power and strength, liberated by walking in our God's way, worshiping in Spirit and Truth.

GRRRRRRR - go get em!

I was recently discussing with a friend of mine why he's on a "scripture fast." I was taken aback. When I asked the reason for this foolhardy decision their response was this:
"I want a relationship that isn't dependent on some book."
That concept is not a new one.
II Chron. 34 talks about King Josiah of Israel who was one righteous king in a long line of very bad kings. The kings before him had strayed far from scripture. Because of their decisions they had left the original dictates of the Lord behind and all of Israel was practicing in blindness. So long was Israel so unconcerned with following the law of the Lord, the scrolls were lost to them, literally. In his conviction to turn to the Lord, King Josiah ordered a temple restoration. In the restoration, the scrolls of the law were recovered.

vs 19 "When the king heard the words of the Law, he tore his robes. 20 He gave these orders to Hilkiah, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Abdon son of Micah, [a] Shaphan the secretary and Asaiah the king's attendant: 21 "Go and inquire of the LORD for me and for the remnant in Israel and Judah about what is written in this book that has been found. Great is the LORD's anger that is poured out on us because our fathers have not kept the word of the LORD; they have not acted in accordance with all that is written in this book." ...
... vs 31 The king stood by his pillar and renewed the covenant in the presence of the LORD -to follow the LORD and keep his commands, regulations and decrees with all his heart and all his soul, and to obey the words of the covenant written in this book."

The word of the Lord-the Law and it's truth convicted the heart of the King and Josiah (who lived righteously) was immediately repentant. That is the power of the word of God.
The law is the Lord's communication with man : "Here is my plan for you. Live THIS way." and when Christ came and became the living fulfillment of the law, his life and teachings were literally God saying "This is my plan for you, Live THIS way." God's relationship is still through the law- because Christ is the law fulfilled. (Matt 5:17-19) It's our relationship with Christ that dictates how well we're carrying out His will.

"If you love me, you will obey what I command" John 14:15

Man's relationship with God has been set up with parameters and we have the answers for how we are to live. It's all laid out for us-in scripture. To fast from that is to starve the soul. All efforts to be righteous aside from following as the Lord has instructed is futility.
Do not starve your soul. The Lord wants you to live an abundant life.