Way of The Warrior- A Daily Devotional

For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again. 1 Corinthians 1:8-10 ESV

Warrior;

How can you FIGHT THE GOOD FIGHT, if you are not in a battle? One of the Apostle Paul’s famous lines of scripture is in 2 Timothy 4:7. “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” 2 Timothy is considered Paul’s last letter, his final writing to his spiritual son, Timothy, before his martyrdom in A.D. 67. It shows his unwavering faith and unyielding love for the gospel of Jesus Christ. Do you have this love, or is your love FOR this world, comfort, or justice? We must realize we are in a battle if we are TRUE FOLLOWERS OF JESUS CHRIST. The Biden administration, which is clearly being driven by the Spirit of the Antichrist, declared that the biggest threat to their plans are WHITE CHRISTIANS. Just like the biggest threat to Rome, they believed, where people of THE WAY! Where are our Black and Brown brothers and sisters in Christ? We are to be sojourners in this world, not the ones leading the move away from God. We have too many people who IDENTIFY as Christians, yet fighting wars, THIS CULTURAL WAR, like NON-BELIEVERS. We are human, but we don’t wage war as humans do. We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ. (2 Corinthians 10:3-5) We must remember, be reminded, that the Christian life is a struggle against evil—within ourselves and in the world. Hear the Word of the Lord; Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. (John 15:20)

Leader, Paul, who wrote almost 2\3 of the NEW TESTAMENT, was always reminding his Spiritual children to “endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ” (2 Timothy 2:3). No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding officer. (2 Timothy 2:4) There are supposed Christians out there wrapped up in CRT, BLM and NO JUSTICE, NO PEACE? What are you doing getting wrapped up in civilian affairs, it is NOT your battle. Our Battle is for the LORD, to make HIM KNOWN and to KNOW HIM. To get closer to His likeness and to be about HIS FATHER, our FATHER’S BUSINESS! The World is IN THE FLESH, fighting these distractions. The Called-OUT ONES, the ecclesia, is to be fighting in the SPIRIT, dealing with things of eternal implication, not temporal implications. The good book tells us 2 things: 1- Life Ain’t NO FAIR. 2- Life Is Hard! We must put on our SPIRITUAL EYES, and our BIG BOY\GIRL pants and realize that God is not interested in our COMFORT, he is interested in our CONVERSION, in becoming like CHRIST. Jesus Christ was treated unfairly, He was abused, He was abandoned, He was beaten, He was ridiculed, He was unfairly, unjustly, and falsely accused. Isaiah describes The Christ this way in Isaiah 53: He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. He was oppressed and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. (Isaiah 53:3-5,7)

Conduit, Isaiah 53 was written about 700 years before Jesus came incarnate, and yet it perfectly describes His life, death, and resurrection. We have in this chapter, the Gospel, the Good News of the coming of Jesus Christ. Quit being LIKE THE WORLD, be like Christ! Jesus Himself, on the road to Emmaus, said this; Hear the Word of the Lord: And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” (Luke 24:25-26) God cares how we suffer. God uses all the unjustness, the unfairness and the cruelty of man, and this world to make us into the image of CHRIST. You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. (James 4:4) Paul wants to know in your WHINING and complaining about how UNFAIR AMERICA IS to you- are you a CHRISTIAN? “Are they servants of Christ? I know I sound like a madman, but I have served him far more! I have worked harder, been put in prison more often, been whipped times without number, and faced death again and again. Five different times the Jewish leaders gave me thirty-nine lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. Once I spent a whole night and a day adrift at sea. I have traveled on many long journeys. I have faced danger from rivers and from robbers. I have faced danger from my own people, the Jews, as well as from the Gentiles. I have faced danger in the cities, in the deserts, and on the seas. And I have faced danger from men who claim to be believers but are not. I have worked hard and long, enduring many sleepless nights. I have been hungry and thirsty and have often gone without food. I have shivered in the cold, without enough clothing to keep me warm”. (2 Corinthians 11:23-27) Paul didn’t tell you to play the victim, or feel sorry for yourself…he told you the opposite- IF YOU ARE A CHILD OF THE YAHWEH, a son\daughter of JEHOVAH. Under the heading of TESTING OF YOUR FAITH, James, who was one of the first church leaders to be martyred, says the following, Hear the Word of the Lord: “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing”. (James 1:2-4) You have been played, player. Quit complaining like the earth-dwellers. Quit buying into the wiles of the devil with White Privilege and Black oppression, quit acting like the world with CRT and BLM and start suffering like our Lord, like the called-out ones, like true followers of the RISEN CHRIST!