THE BATTLE FOR YOUR SOUL IS REAL!

SCRIPTURE:
Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, 
to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul. 
(1 Peter 2:11)

MEDITATION:
Have you ever noticed that whenever you are around a bad odor for a while, 
your nose adjusts and it no longer smells as bad?
We are living in evil days and if we aren’t careful, 
after a while we don’t even notice how rotten things have become. 
After some time, even Christians start absorbing the world’s values.

The things that we once considered to be wrong, 
begin to seem acceptable as we become more tolerant.
We think its okay to live together outside of marriage, 
especially if it saves money, because that’s what the world does. 
We accept divorce for incompatibility, 
because after all, shouldn’t we be happy?

We tolerate gambling as innocent fun, 
since there are casinos and state lottery tickets everywhere. 
We begin to look just like the world, 
except that we go to church occasionally. 
This is what Paul calls unwise and foolish behavior.

In the Bible (especially in Proverbs), we are told that foolish people live 
for immediate gratification according to their feelings, impulses, and desires. 
Like the rich man who built bigger barns to store his goods, 
but never stopped to consider the fact that today could be his last on earth, 
and then he would face God and judgment.

Many don’t think about storing up treasures in heaven. 
They are focused completely on the here and now. 
In short, 
they do not understand the will of the Lord, so they are not living wisely.
To live wisely, we have to know what God wants us to be, 
and how to get there.

Without spiritual wisdom, 
we will not be alarmed at the threats to righteous living.
The Bible warns us about the dangers 
that can sabotage walking wisely with the Lord.

ACTION:
Are you living for the here and now, 
or are you building up treasures in heaven?
Don’t allow the evil one to create an idea in you that focusing on heaven 
destroys the enjoyment of living out your days on earth.
Remember, Satan’s attacks and influence are subtle, 
with degrees of submission.

He doesn’t just hit you with a haymaker, 
and then walk away and leave you alone.
No, he works his way into your mind and changes your logical thinking, 
so that you will accept more of the world’s values, 
as a replacement for God’s values.
Godly wisdom is the first line of defense against his attacks, 
and to increase your wisdom you need to draw closer to the Lord 
and concentrate on living a righteous life.

Pray,
“Heavenly Father, forgive me for replacing any of Your values with the 
world’s values. Help me to develop and maintain a wisdom that alerts 
and warns me whenever I start to accept values other than Yours. Help 
me to be the person You want me to be so that I can enjoy building my 
treasures in heaven. Teach me the joy of giving and looking for 
opportunities to encourage others.”