Biblical Success - Running in Galatians 2:20Sample

The Scriptures are true and they are promises waiting to be made real and practical in our lives but there is a challenging problem to be confronted. Our problem is that every Christ follower lives in a world where there is unrelenting contention between God’s agenda for our lives and Satan’s opposite agenda. Make no mistake, this is not a friendly contest for pretend chips. This is a battle for our eternal purpose and destiny. In short, God has an eternal purpose for every life that leads to and beyond a short assignment on Earth into eternity. God’s purpose is found in God’s will. What we experience in Heaven will be influenced by what we do in His will while on Earth. (I Corinthians 3:11-15) 

Here’s the bottom line: every sinful or disobedient act begins with a single thought and so does every obedient and God-honoring act. Thoughts are “mental prompts” and can turn into actions, good or evil. Learning to discern the inputs we receive and where they come from is a lifelong process of running our race in Galatians 2:20. 

So here’s the deal about the war: “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:12 NKJV) We battle our enemy in the space between our ears. Our enemy whispers lies in our ears and we must choose to accept them or reject them. Our choices are made in our minds and will. How do we fight?

“For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.” (II Corinthians 10:4-6 NKJV) 

The Spirit of Christ within us always warns us but we aren’t always listening. We run our race of life in Galatians 2:20 by inviting Jesus to monitor our thought-life and listening for His still small voice as we go through the moments of our days. Is it hard? No, not really, but it does take practice as in “Practicing the Presence of Christ” and commitment to practice based in faith. Practice...get it?

Tomorrow we will talk about some practical tools that we can practice and learn to apply. For today, let’s take a few moments to reflect and then share our thoughts ON our thoughts. How do we monitor them in the midst of the crush of our days?