God
made promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob concerning the land which HE
would give to the children of Israel for their inheritance.
God also set forth for HIS people "rules of war".
Deuteronomy 20 God says
In the New Testament:
II Corinthians 10
4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
In
the New Testament church our war is a battle of our mind where we have a
goal of living in peace but thoughts come to trouble us and we have to
make those thoughts conform to that which God has spoken to us by HIS
Word.
Troublesome thoughts come by our own flesh and through devils who bring ideas to our mind to cause harm.
But
in the case of the wars of the Old Testament compared with the wars we
go though today as the New Testament church, one thing is the same: God is always with us to lead us and guide us and we overcome through what God shows us about the battle at hand.
Deuteronomy 20:4 For the LORD your God is HE that goeth with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.
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In the New Testament church, our "enemies" are not flesh and blood but are wicked spirits in high places.
Ephesians 6
11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
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This world is not our kingdom. Our kingdom is not that which is seen but that which is unseen.
We
know all these things people fight over in this world will be destroyed
by God at the end of this world and the only thing that lasts forever
is the Word of God which can never be destroyed.
Therefore we invest in that Word of God as we live on this earth.
We are not struggling to get ahead and achieve things on this present earth as the world does.
Our goal is to please God and follow HIM doing HIS will.
God
will never fail us nor forsake us and as long as God chooses to leave
us on this present earth HE will work things out for us and provide all
that we need.
We live by these simple truths:
* Philippians 2:5-8
Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in
the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made
HIMSELF of no reputation, and took upon HIM the form of a servant, and
was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man,
HE humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of
the cross.
We do not have
our goal as trying to beat that other person and rise above that other
person. For if we do this, we ask for war in our lives.
Our goal is to help the other person, not to out do the other person.
Our goal is to live in peace and keep our mind focused on things above, not on things of this earth.
Our
enemy is not that human but wicked spirits. And we deal with wicked
spirits by turning to God in prayer and by doing that which God shows us
to do.
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* Colossians 3
1 If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.
2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.
3 For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.
4 When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with HIM in glory.
5 Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:
6 For which things' sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience:
7 In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them.
8 But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.
9 Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds;
10 And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of HIM that created HIM:
11 Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.
12 Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;
(as
God had mercy on us and chose us to salvation we have mercy on the
unlovely of this world who have not yet been chosen and recreated by
God)
13 Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.
14 And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.
13 Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.
14 And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.
(charity
is not wanting that other person to get what is coming to him ...
charity is a desire for that person to be saved instead of destroyed)
15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.
15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.
(We live continually thanking God for that good thing, including people, that HE has put in our lives.)
16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom;
16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom;
(We don't try to speak, but when the door opens we speak with the wisdom given us by God.)
Having the above goals separates us greatly from the striving this world does to get ahead in this life.
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* Hebrews 13:5 Let your conversation (manner of life) be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for HE hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
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* 1 Timothy 6
7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.
8 And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.
9 But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.
10 For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
11 But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.
12 Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.
18 That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate;
19 Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.
20 O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called:
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If we compare ourselves to other people, we open the door for covetousness in our own lives. Avoid doing that.
Instead make our goal to live as God wills in the various parts of our lives, seeking the will of God in all things.
For
this present heaven and earth and all that we can see with out natural
eye will pass away but that word God gives to us will endure forever!
The Word is worth our life and investment.
If
we work to live in these scriptures and we conform ourselves to these
scriptures making this our goal in life today, we make a wise investment
and through God we will never fail.
Revelation 3:5 Jesus says: He
that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will
not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his
name before my Father, and before HIS angels.
We
do not support sin. If the door opens to speak God's word concerning
various sins, we speak, telling what God says and suffering the
persecution that often comes for the word's sake.
But
we make it our goal to live godly lives in Christ Jesus, The Word, as
we live on this earth and we must continually do the following to live
in peace.
Philippians 4:6
Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication
with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
When we live this way, continually talking with God concerning our troubles, the following will come in our lives.
Philippians 4:7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus (The Word).
And
when we don't see how we can get through the day ahead of us, we ask
God to help us with that day and we ask God to fill our day ... HE will!
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