NEED HELP WITH YOUR BATTLE WITH SIN?

BIBLE PASSAGE:
“I have hidden Your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.”
(Psalm 119:11)

MEDITATION:
As believers we are engaged in a constant battle, aren’t we? On
one side is our desire to serve, obey, and please the Lord. On the
other side is Satan who is constantly waging war against us in an
effort to discourage us, smother us with guilt, tempt us where we
are weak and make us feel unworthy to be a servant of the Lord.

Why would Satan want to attack Christians? Because he wants
to render us ineffective as servants (disciples) of God. Some may
think that, as believers, we cannot be subjected to temptations.
If only that were true. But we know our own weaknesses, and we
have experienced how Satan can cleverly tempt us in those areas.

If he wins the battle, then we will not serve the Lord as we should.
When we yield to temptation and sin, it can be devastating to our
spirit. If he can cause us to focus on our guiltiness for yielding to
sin, we will not be an effective witness to those around us, and we
will not be able to use the spiritual gift given to us by God.

If Satan can overwhelm us with feelings of guilt, then we will lose our
desire to even discuss things of a Godly nature. Temptation is Satan’s
weapon and sin is confirmation that he has defeated us in some way.
Sin damages our relationship with the Lord and causes our prayer
life to suffer as well.

When we know we have sinned against God, we don’t feel as comfortable
about fellowshipping with Him. Why? Because we are embarrassed and
sorry for disappointing Him (again). However, prayer is our venue for
asking God’s forgiveness so we can ‘re-connect’ with Him again.

We may not have a dependable weapon for eliminating temptations,
but the scriptures assure us that we will have an ‘escape route’ when
we have been tempted.
    No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to
    mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted
    beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will
    also provide a way out so that you can endure it.
    (1 Corinthians 10:13)

For us to strengthen our resistance of sinning against the Lord,
we need to:
    – Take control of the tempting thoughts that enter our minds.
           We demolish arguments and every pretension that
           sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we
           take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
           (2 Corinthians 10:5)

    – Remember that God wants to use us to share the gospel.
           But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives
           in Christ’s triumphal procession and uses us to spread
           the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere.
           (2 Corinthians 2:14)

    – Hide God’s Word in our heart.
           Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, who share
           in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on
           Jesus, whom we acknowledge as our apostle
           and high priest.
           (Hebrews 3:1)

Hiding God’s Word in our hearts, means:
    We should spend a reasonable amount of time reading the
    Bible, meditating on the meaning of the scriptures we read,
    and listening to those who are called by God to share His
    Word. We should also spend time in prayer
    (and remember to include prayers for those who have committed
      their lives to full time service for the Lord and are under an
      intense attack from Satan…pray for their strength to resist his
      assaults, and for God to give them insight of the scriptures so
      they will be able to effectively share God’s Word with us; pray
      for their families as well – Satan will attack family members
      in his efforts to discourage God’s called servant. Satan would
      love to use a family member for discouraging someone who is
      trying to serve the Lord where He has called them).

We might wonder how we can gain an advantage over Satan
in a ‘sin battle’ by hiding God’s Word in our heart. For one
thing, the scriptures are stored up in our minds and the Holy
Spirit can retrieve them at just the right time.

We may ask, “And that helps?” Sure, it does! How did Jesus win
His battles with Satan? When Jesus was tempted in the wilderness,
He defeated Satan every time by quoting scriptures. Satan tried to
distort God’s Words to mankind, but Jesus had them ‘hidden in His
heart’, so He knew when Satan was incomplete, or incorrect when he
quoted scriptures. Jesus knew how God’s Word should be interpreted;
He knew the real intent and purpose of the scriptures.

ACTION:
Are you hiding God’s Word in your heart? How much time each
day do you devote to reading the Bible. Do you participate in
worshipping the Lord with others? How much time do you spend
listening to those God has called to share His Word?

Some claim that they get just as much, if not more, by listening
to evangelists on the radio, or television. And the truth is, there
are many messengers of God available through different venues.
But the scriptures tell us to,
    “not give up meeting together,
      as some are in the habit of doing”

Just to be sure we understand, we are given a reason for obeying
God’s command to meet with other believers, and that reason is,
“encouraging one another”. When we interact with other Christians,
we can encourage each other. Sometimes, our frequent appearance
in worship services can encourage others (especially the pastors and
missionaries).

We are also told to ‘meet together’ and ‘encourage one another’
    “…all the more as you see the Day approaching”
We can see that some have chosen to ignore God’s Word and
are meeting less ‘as the Day approaches’. When we weigh our
decisions, it’s more than choosing what we will do; it’s about
how obedient we will be to the Lord’s commands, isn’t it?

With that said, there are some who cannot physically attend
worship services due to sickness, handicap, or medical risks
due to compromised immune systems. However, we still have
the ability to ‘connect’ with Christian brothers and sisters in
other ways (social media gives us many opportunities).

Pray,
“Heavenly Father, thank You for giving me a weapon for
battling temptations to sin against You. Teach me how to
do whatever I need to do to ‘hide Your Word in my heart’.
Help me to enjoy and look forward to reading Your Word
often. Convict me of the importance of connecting with
other believers, as You have commanded. Forgive me for
any justifications I may have concocted as an excuse to
avoiding worshipping You. If I have genuine reasons for
avoiding crowd gatherings, show me other ways to fully
enjoy praising Your name, praying with and for others,
and listening to the messages from servants You have
called to share Your Word with us. Forgive me for the
sins I have committed against You, including failure
to use the spiritual gift You have given me as a tool for
serving You.”

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