Way of The Warrior- A Daily Devotional

Now the serpent was more crafty (subtle, skilled in deceit) than any living creature of the field which the LORD God had made. And the serpent (Satan) said to the woman, “Can it really be that God has said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?” – Genesis 3:1 AMP

Warrior;

This is the beginning for man. No, not CREATION, but the beginning of the CONFUSION. It only took a chapter to go from creation to confusion. Our flesh wastes little time, running rampant in the things of this world. Which is why it took only 5 chapters to go from IN THE BEGINNING, to Jehovah was REPENTANT FOR CREATING MAN! The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the LORD regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. So the LORD said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.” But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD. (Genesis 6:5-8) The Bible shows us how in short order, man has a great fall. Reading the Word, we can see man’s fall from GRACE. To go from fellowship with God to war with God, in such a small window of time. It is because we have a serious HEART issue! Actually we have 2 issues: We were born with a BAD HEART, and we are easily CONFUSED! Our enemy’s #1 weapon formed against us is confusion! In the D&D 5th Edition Compendium, here is how it mentions confusion: “This SPELL assaults and twists creatures’ minds, spawning delusions and provoking uncontrolled Actions”. Wow, the Devil seems to have cast a spell of confusion on the Church and on the World. When people are confused they don’t stand up, speak up, act up, FIGHT UP, or LOOK UP!

Leader, we need to understand the WILES of the DEVIL. “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil,” (Eph. 6:11) and said, “You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy, will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord? (Acts 13:10) When we can understand the ‘spell’ of confusion in the devil’s arsenal and our HEART PROBLEM- we are ready to fight the good fight! Let us first take a look at the human heart. It is easy to understand Jesus’ specific statement about the nature of the human heart, “And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone”. (Mark 10:18) Let us HEAR the WORD of the LORD, and see what the Bible has to say about the heart. The human heart is treacherous, it is evil, it keeps record of wrong and a pound of flesh, and it is deceitful. Jeremiah 17:9 says, “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” In other words, the HEART shows how infected we are with sin- at the deepest level; our mind, emotions and desires have been tainted by sin—and we are blind to just how pervasive the problem is. Even though most of us don’t know our own hearts desires, God does. He “knows the secrets of the heart” (Psalm 44:21; see 1 Corinthians 14:25). Jesus “knew all men, and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man” (John 2:24-25). “I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give every man according to his ways, According to the fruit of his doings” (Jeremiah 17:10).

Conduit, we are born with a bad ticker, and then comes chaos in the form of confusion. Do you notice the confusion in our country today, and in our world? People don’t know what they believe, they don’t know who to believe, they don’t want to believe, certain TRUTHS- it’s easier to pretend they don’t exist. We must realize that God is NOT a God of confusion, this is the work of our enemy! 1 Corinthians 14:33 “For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.” 2 Corinthians 4:4; Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God. THEREFORE… “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” “In order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.” (1 Peter 5:8, 2 Corinthians 2:11) This is why we must KEEP IT SIMPLE SOLDIER, learn how to K I S S, well! The work of Martin Luther and the Reformation was about getting rid of the traditions of men, and allowing others to read, study and understand scripture at the level of APPLICATION! Martin Luther understood how the devil used the CHURCH to confuse believers and how the DEVIL used the human heart to attack the church from within. Keep It Simple Soldier with the 5 Solas of the Reformation. Sola gratia, or “grace alone,” says sinners are saved as an unearned gift of God’s grace, “not as a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8–9). Sola Christo or “Christ alone,” emphasizes the exclusivity of Jesus’ role in salvation: “No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). Sola fide, or “faith alone,” affirms that justification—being made right with God—comes only through faith in Jesus. Soli Deo gloria, or “to the glory of God alone,” says that the purpose of creation, salvation, and everything—including our goal as Christians—is the glory of God, “that God may be all in all” (1 Corinthians 15:28). Lastly, Sola Scriptura, or “God’s Word alone,” maintains that the Bible is the highest source of authority in a Christian’s life, the final court of appeal! It is The BIBLE ALONE! When we give our LIVES to CHRIST, He takes our SIN and gives us a NEW HEART with the HOLY SPIRIT! The Holy Spirit illuminates scripture so you have a full understanding of God’s Word, to the level of APPLICATION! As scripture clearly indicates, in regards to our 2 biggest issues; Confusion and a bad Heart-God says, I got this- “IT IS FINISHED”!