Grace For The Journey

  I am sure you have heard the old adage, “The best defense is a good offense” which simply implies the idea of being proactive rather than reactive.  This phrase is used in a variety of fields: Sports teams that constantly press their opponent and score lots of points will usually win the game.  Armies that don’t wait for the enemy to mount an attack but instead go on the offensive tend to gain the upper hand.

This maxim proves especially true in the spiritual realm.  We are surrounded by the powerful triple threat of . . . the world, the flesh, and the devil.  We face a constant battle on all three fronts, and at times the onslaught seems overwhelming.

So how can possibly gain victory in this ongoing fight?

God tells us how in His Word . . .

He says In Psalm 1:2, “But His delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.”

He says in Psalm 119:11, “Your Word have I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You.”

For the Christian, the best offense is a godly, spiritual one:

Staying rooted in the Word of God.

Instead of waiting for the attacks of temptation to test the outer edges of our faithfulness to Christ, we go on the offense by looking to the Lord, learning from on Him, and living by the Holy Scriptures – God’s living and active Word.

You see . . .

The more you are in the Word of God, the more the Word of God gets into you!

In the apostle Paul’s famous “armor of the believer” passage in Ephesians 6:13-18, he exhorts us to take up “the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.”  Bible scholars frequently point out that the Greek translated “sword” here, referred to the short sword that every Roman soldier carried on his belt for hand-to-hand combat.  It was a powerful offensive weapon that the Roman legions used to conquer the world.

You will remember that this “sword” was the weapon that our Lord took up to confront and conquer every temptation Satan threw at Him during His wilderness experience (Matthew 4:1-11).

Three times, Jesus slashed at the devil with these words: “IT IS WRITTEN!”

Our Savior’s encounter with Satan underscores the fact that . . .

As important as it is for us to

Look to God’s Word and

Learn from the Word of God,

We must hide it in our hearts as well.

When we memorize the Word of God, the Holy Spirit can help us recall truths to stand upon throughout our lives, be reassured and given hope through the promises of God, and resist the efforts of Satan, the world, and the flesh to defeat and destroy our walk with God, witness for God, and work of God.

The good news is that for every battle you face against the world, the flesh, and the devil, God has a Scripture to address that specific fight.

Remember: to know what is written, we have to read what was written.

So read your Bible regularly and develop your godly offense.

One final thought: when you find yourself on the losing side of a particular skirmish – as we all will, for we are all sinners – God’s Word has a promise for you to tuck securely into your mind, heart, and soul, so that you can get right back up after you’ve stumbled or fallen and keep on fighting: The Bible says in Hebrews 13:5, “God has said, I will never leave you; nor will I forsake you.”

Remember what God says in His Word, “Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39).

If you have placed your trust in Jesus Christ as your eternal Savior, there is nothing you can do, nor is there anything that the world, the flesh, or the devil can do to you, that will separate you from God’s amazing, gracious, eternal love.

This is God Word … This is Grace for your Journey …

Rest and Rejoice in this eternal truth!

Pastor Terry

Ephesians 4:7 – “But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.”

Hebrews 4:16 – “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”