God Knows Me.

Job 23:10 - He knows the way that I take ...

There are an unlimited number of ways that the enemy tries to creep into our lives. Like a lion, he is constantly on the prowl for a saint of God who has let his guard down. His tricks are not knew; they have worked since the beginning of time. A misconstrued word,  a misunderstood action, these are just a few of the things he will try to use to bring division among the body of Christ. According to Proverbs, "a word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver." Our words are powerful; we must guard them carefully.

We must also guard our minds and spirits. A second glance in the wrong direction may be all it takes to start a chain of events we will be sorry about forever. Never underestimate the weakness of our human frame. It will deceive us every time. We must constantly be in prayer to keep our spirits, hearts, and minds pure and free from the lust and enticements of this world. The flesh will never stop wanting what it can not have. The Spirit will never be satisfied when fed by the flesh. Its only satisfaction come from God alone. We must feed our souls daily with the word of God and prayer. This is the nourishment that gives us strength for when the enemy attacks.

God is  faithful to always deliver us in the hour of need. Whether it be personal temptation, attack from without, physical infirmity, or some other cause, it matters not. The devil's purpose is to make us discouraged enough to quit. The mature Christian can learn to sense when their is a trick of the enemy at work and act accordingly. The most improtant thing we can do is pray daily for ourselves and those around us that God will keep us safe from enemy attack. Ask him to grant us wisdom to understand when the devil is trying to reak havoc in our lives. Claim the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of Peace in your life and meditate on God's word.

The apostle Peter wrote that we must add to our basic faith in Jesus Christ, virtue, knowledge,  temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness and charity.We add these things to our lives through close communion with God in prayer, meditation, and Bible reading. The importance of this can never be overstated. Our salvation depends on it. How important is it? Peter said, "if you do these things you shall never fall." 

The word of God and prayer have the power not only to to bring us into the kingdom of God through salvation, but to keep us there as well. We must be careful to have a steady diet of them. Remember, the adversary is always around the corner.We must never be afraid of him for "greater is he that is in us than he that is in the world." At the same time we must be constantly alert and sensitive to the voice of God. His voice will keep us from many perils if we will but heed it. 


Trusting in Jesus,

Sullivan Jones 

The Faith of a Bird

There is an interesting phrase found in Psalm 104: 16. It says "the trees of the Lord are full of sap." The birds make their refuge in these trees yet they don't belong to the birds. They belong to the Lord. The next verse talks about the high hills where the wild goats live. The goats make homes in the caves of the hills, yet the hills belong to the Lord as well. There is a point here we all need to consider. It is about trusting God. Jesus told us in Luke chapter 12 to consider the birds of the air. They don't work, nor do they save for the winter. Yet God takes care of them. Why? Because somehow they understand that the trees belong to God and he will always see that they have food. God is so careful to take care of the birds that not even one of them dies without him knowing. Matthew 10:29.

If God takes such good care of the birds of the air, don't you think he will take care of his children? We talk about having the faith of a child but perhaps we should have the faith of a bird. Just understand that it all belongs to God, do what we know to do, and let him care for us. It really is that simple.

Thankfully,

Sullivan Jones 

I'm a Soldier in the Army of the Lord

I awoke this morning with the words to a Sunday School song going through my mind.

I may never march in the infantry, ride in the Calvary, shoot the artillery,
I may never zoom over the enemy, but I'm in the Lord's army.

Little boys often dream of growing up to be war heroes, much like little girls dream of being princesses. To a six year old singing that song in Sunday School war just seems like an adventure. He has no idea what war is all about. What he is really saying is, "I want to grow up and do something important." Something important seems like sinking enemy submarines or capturing a mountain for the Fatherland. Yet, these things are not what most of us experience. Although I highly respect our men and women in uniform, I am thankful that most of us are spared the atrocities of war.

Yet all of us are in a warfare everyday. The Bible tells us that we do not fight against flesh and blood .... but against spiritual wickedness in high places (Ephesians 6:12). This battle that we are fighting is largely a battle for control of our minds and our spirits. It is a battle to see who will be in charge that day, the enemy of our souls or our Lord Jesus Christ. This is real warfare and the outcome is far more important, eternally speaking, than any human battle. 

The idea of war strikes fear into the hearts of many. Yet the Christian need never fear. We are promised the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ (I Corinthians 15:57.) We have an armor that is impenetrable when applied everyday in prayer. We have the Holy Spirit who lives inside of us and gives us strength to fight. We have a God who hears every prayer that we pray. We are on the winning side. 

This battle is real, but GREATER IS HE THAT IS IN ME THAN HE THAT IS IN THE WORLD. 

I am a soldier in God's army and HE always wins his battles. 

Victoriously,

Sullivan Jones