| |
| |
|
Faith411.com - Spirituality |
|
|
|
Vital information and articles related to Spirituality.The Great Battleground
Being a Christian does not exempt us from having to fight daily with the problem of sin in our lives. We know that being saved does not mean we are perfect. We know that we all have personal deficits that we must persistently work toward controlling; temper, impatience, unkind thoughts, self centeredness, and a host of other possibilities. We know that we all have some skeletons and they do not always stay hidden in the closet. Sometimes it seems as though we have a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde personality and like Paul, we find ourselves fighting the war within. The characteristic of our human experience is the tension set up within a nature divided against itself. We belong to a physical world, yet we also believe ourselves to be citizens of a heavenly city. But our carnal impulses are all too often at variance with our spiritual longings. We all experience the frustration of knowing what is right, but failing to do it. Our knowledge of right is invariably greater than our power to always perform it. We know what is right and we really want to act accordingly, but with monotonous regularity, we fail. The inescapable fact of the matter is that by ourselves, we cannot do what is right. We just do not make the grade. Knowing the rules whether they are golden or silver, do not make us able to obey them. We keep on falling into a trap called sin. You see, there's an inner struggle going on-a war within between contending forces, the spirit and the self-and on our own, we lack sufficient power to overcome. Think of the times in your life when the day started off bright and you were feeling really good. You rejoiced in the spirit and felt like going on for the Lord; felt like holding up the blood stained banner, felt like your mind was made up and you were on your way up and then, all of a sudden, all hell broke loose. Unexpectedly, a situation evolves that we cannot handle; hell hounds get on our trail, death comes knocking at our door, stumbling blocks get in our way. We know we should not allow these things to get to us, but seemingly no matter how hard we try, no matter which way we turn, no matter what strategy we use, we wind up defeated; twisted in knots, a slave to sin. And if your experiences have been anything like mine, you will agree that sometimes it seem as though the more we squirm to get out of the mess, the deeper we sink in. The new life in Christ in not an easy life by any stretch of the imagination for we are still sinners even after we believe. The battle within resembles in nature that between Jacob and Esau in Rebecca's wound; between the Canaanites and Israelites in the land of promise, between the house of Saul and the house of David. It's a difficult war, because Satan's army is always after us; they stay on our heels. Well, the question is, how do we win this war? We fight this war by walking in the spirit. We do not have to be controlled by our lower nature because we have the Holy Spirit. Paul said, "The power of the life giving Spirit has freed me from the vicious circle of sin and death." We need the power of the life-giving Spirit. The only way to triumph over evil is to walk in the Spirit of God. Walking in the spirit means living life to please God rather than to please yourself or others. It means obedience to God rather than obeying your own needs and desires, or the needs and desires of others. We start out each day with a definite decision that by faith, I will walk in the Spirit of my God. Rev. Saundra L. Washington, D.D., is an ordained clergywoman, social worker, and Founder of AMEN Ministries. http://www.clergyservices4u.org. She is also the author of two coffee table books: Room Beneath the Snow: Poems that Preach and Negative Disturbances: Homilies that Teach. Her new book, Out of Deep Waters: My Grief Management Workbook, will be available soon.
MORE RESOURCES:
Spirituality - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Salvation: The Divine Imperative Of the many individuals who were touched through the ministry of Paul while on his second missionary journey, three are specifically mentioned. His first convert was Lydia, a businesswoman; the second was a young lady who had been used and manipulated by her masters so that they could profit financially. Be Still Psalm 46:10"Be still, and know that I am God;I will be exalted among the nations,I will be exalted in the earth." (NIV)Before my wife, Melinda, gave birth to a baby girl eight months ago, I thought I had God all figured out. Accepting Non-Acceptance It's not always easy to stand in the midst of a group of people (particularly if those people are people that we have known and are attached to emotionally) and be different. To think differently, to believe differently, to respond differently, to live a different life than our friends and our family are living is, in a sense, the "toughest challenge" of manifesting our spiritual self. What Part of Thou Shalt Not Dont You Understand? Back in the days of the old law of Moses, God gave him a set of 10 Commandments all of which began with "Thou Shalt Not".. Spirit and the Law of Cause and Effect Most of our troubles are bought about by exercising our own free will.If you have a war, there will be many people, who will ask, Why does the Great Spirit not stop it?Why does the Great Spirit not try to prevent it?The actual truth is that the people of the world are to blame. Christianity - Not a White Mans Religion Christianity: White man's religion?Martin Luther King referred to Sunday as being "the most segregated day in America."Truer words were never spoken. The Winds of Change Humanity is entering a very critical time in its path of evolution. The winds of change began to blow over eighteen years ago at the event you call Harmonic Convergence but the only ones who felt this at first were those many call star-seeds or light workers. Understanding a Tarot Card Reading Getting the most from a Tarot card reading relies on the reader's ability to perceive not only the symbolic meaning from the spread, but also the mystical significance. Although every card of both the Major and the Minor Arcana possesses its own individual symbolism within the representative images on the cards, it is the deeper, spiritual enlightenment of the cards that leads to a greater understanding. Why Dont I Get What I Want? The smart 'spiritual' answer is 'you always get what you want'. But that isn't very helpful, because if you can't pay the power bill and you want to be warm, there's clearly a conflict, and you can justifiably say 'I'm not getting what I want. Overcoming Burn Out Burn out, it can happen to anyone. Some of the common signs of burn out can be (although not an all inclusive list) depression, mental, emotional and spiritual fatigue, overreacting to little things, negativity, lack of concern over the work / tasks that need to be done, frustration, anger, feelings of powerlessness, weight loss or gain, insomnia. Believe-Dont Doubt; Give Thanks-and Receive! Does this ever happen to you? You ask God for something but you don't believe that you will receive an answer to your prayer.As an example, let's say you want your child to be accepted into a certain school. The Tess Syndrome There's a lot of talk about angels these days. They're getting some pretty good press. New Every Morning I have almost died twice in my life. The first time was from pneumonia when I was 4 years old. The Gratitude Toll I very often see rants, complaints, wishes and dreams that have a similar theme, and that theme goes something like this: "Here is my dream and here is what I have been able to do, but I can't seem to get any further and it feels like I've hit a brick wall. No matter what I do, I can't seem to bring more (customers, gigs, sales, days, money, friends, etc. Life is like Golf In the golfing world, yesterday may have been oneof the most exciting and long awaited days in thesports history. "The Masters" golf tournament isthe most prestigious championships in all of golf,but no more important than to the man that won it. Wisdom Quotes Point - Arguments Just Explain "What does it profit a man to have gained the whole world, and to have lost his soul?" - Jesus ChristYou don't need to be Christian to see wisdom in the words of Jesus. Simple quotes from men and women around the world, from present day or milleniums past, inspire and instruct us, regardless of the religious or spiritual tradition they come from. The World Revolves Around Me Lately I have become aware of a new truth that is formulating in my life.After years of study in New Age and New Thought a new awareness of self is emerging. Esoteric Sexual Secrets AN ARISTOCRATIC UPBRINGING:There are many people who write about sex slaves on the plantation and it surely did exist but it was also the norm in Europe for many centuries. The Polos were not the first who went off to get the prized Tartar women who fetched a large multiple over ordinary men slaves. Why is Kabbalah so Attractive to Hollywood A-Listers Like Madonna, Britney Spears and Demi Moore? CARLSBAD, CALIFORNIA: Of course we may never know the real answer, but speculation could be that Kabbalah is a mystical and practical approach to evolution and growth.I, for one, am tired of so-called "spiritual gurus" who can't pay their bills! (And they certainly can't tell you how to do it either. Power of God Makes Life Easier When the storms in your life are raging, just believe, "the power of God makes life easier." Additionally, the real key to dealing with problems that challenge us daily while seeking peace, is found in the wisdom of God's Word.
|
|
Spirituality Articles Home Page | Spirituality Articles Site Map | News | Faith411.com Home Page EZmatic.com | IgoJo | UpBee | Blue Ryder | Health | ZippyGo | Ken J Wagner Faith411.com - all Vital information and articles related to Spirituality. |
| © 2006 |
