Daily Devotional, Year 4 – May 10 (The Weapons of Our Warfare, Part 2: “Fighting Our Own Battles”)

By admin On May 1st, 2021

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Daily Devotional, Year 4 – May 10

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The Weapons of Our Warfare,

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Part 2:

“Fighting Our Own Battles”

To read part 1, click here…June 30th (The Weapons of Our Warfare!)

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“For though we walk in the flesh,

we do not war after the flesh:

(For the weapons of our warfare

are not carnal, but mighty through God

to the pulling down of strong holds;)

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;”

2nd Corinthians 10:3-5

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We have grown up in a world which has its own way of doing things.

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From cradle to grave, we are taught to solve our own problems: by our own strength and wit, we are encouraged to fight every battle to gain or to retain the things that we think we own or deserve.

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We Can Do It! Rosie the Riveter – Wikipedia – Public Domain

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“He was oppressed…afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth”

Isaiah 53:7

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But when Christ came down to this earth, we beheld a noble and majestic Being who did not strive as mankind strives.

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But rather, Jesus presented for us an example of how God wants us to fight our battles.

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Nailing Jesus to the Cross – Wikimedia – Public Domain

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WE DO NOT WAR LIKE THE WORLD

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Today’s signature passage from 2nd Corinthians lays out this basic concept of the difference between how the world fights and how Christians must learn to fight…“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) 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;”

2nd Corinthians 10:3-5

Here above, God lays out, through Paul, a vastly different manner of fighting the battles which come upon us daily. It’s so unlike the way that this world conducts themselves, that it’s no wonder we put Jesus on the Cross! After all, He totally condemned our faithless ways: the self-trusting ways of fallen humanity!

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Sign of the Son of Man Constellation – made of the various constellations on this website

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“Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these;”

Galatians 5:19

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Yes, we humans strive on a daily basis.

We often browbeat or yell others into submission.

Or we might take our adversaries to court.

Or we often scold rude cashiers.

Or we may get angry when we feel mistreated.

Or we rush to be first in line to get that coveted item before others get it.

**Or we may feel that we must push and shove, “to claw our way up to the top”.**

We want revenge.

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We often get very territorial.

We refuse to bend.

We grab.

We hang on tightly to our wealth and possessions.

We quibble.

We scoff.

We covet.

We despise.

We criticize.

We retaliate.

We exact.

We judge others.

We gossip.

We protest.

We get jealous.

We refuse to let go.

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In other words, we insist on doing it, “our way”, instead of leaning on the everlasting Arms of the Great Provider of all things.

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And such faithless ways only rob us of attaining and enjoying that perfect peace promised to us in Isaiah 26:3…“THOU wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed upon THEE: because he trusteth in THEE!”

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Protesters – cropped – Wikimedia – Share-alike License 3.0

Black Friday Frenzy – by Powhusku – Wikimedia – Share-alike License

Divorce – Wikimedia – the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.

two young girls laughing behind another girls back – Wikimedia – Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license

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“Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet”

Psalm 119:105

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But Jesus came to show us the ways of faith. Yes, by putting His complete trust in His heavenly Father, Jesus gave us the pattern for living by faith in the great and precious promises found throughout Scripture.

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He confidently realized that all of His necessities would be supplied by His Father in due season. And that confidence allowed Him to go through His life here on earth in perfect peace, never striving, never grabbing, never manipulating, never forcing others to do according to His own will.

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If there was any striving in His life it was in prayer, patiently waiting in faith.

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Jesus Teaching His Disciples – Luke 4:31-32

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“But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.”

Proverbs 4:18

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And so, as followers of Jesus, we have our work cut out for us. We must hide all those “exceeding great and precious promises” in our hearts, so that we can live by them; so that we can more-and-more place our complete confidence and trust in God to supply our every need: in His own time, and in His own way.

(Click here to see 2nd Peter 1:4 for “exceeding great and precious promises” reference)

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And such a faith-filled life as this can often be a struggle. But through patience and prayer and day-by-day experience in Heaven’s ways, our faith-walk will become more-and-more like our Divine Shepherd, as He leads us onward and upward upon the golden pathway to the blessed and beautiful Promised Land!

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Upward Pathway – cropped – by böhringer friedrich for – Wikimedia – Share-alike License

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TODAY’S PRAYER…

“Dear Lord, Give me the faith and knowledge and wisdom and experience to walk by Heaven’s ways. Give me that perfect peace that comes from ceasing from my own faithless works and leaning on Thee instead of leaning on my own wisdom and relying on my own strength…

Marine Praying – Wikimedia – USMC Public Domain

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THE END

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TODAY’S FEATURED HEAVENLY SIGN

Info & pics of constellations on this site from Wikipedia & International Astronomical Union (click here)

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ORION THE SOLDIER

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The pagan cultures saw this incredible constellation as a hunter, with a club. Well, they weren’t too far off. Actually, God created it to appear like a soldier. This is because all nature presents aspects of the Gospel. Listen… “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows his handiwork.” Psalm 19:1. And so now we are amazed to discover that beyond the awesome grandeur of the starry night-heavens, God has actually written the Love of God in the heavenly scroll.

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Orionurania – wikipedia – public domain

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7 MAJOR STARS OF ORION…

Orion Constellation can best be seen all winter (but even in August in the pre-dawn hours of morning in eastern skies) traveling east to west through the night, in mid-sky. To find the seven major stars of Orion (one star on each shoulder and one star on each foot, plus the three stars which make his belt), you can locate on just about any clear night regardless of the blackness of the night.

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To find Orion’s other stars, you need more star-visibility…a darker, moonless night, and possibly away from city lights.

Orion – wikimedia – share-alike license

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TOMORROW…

May 11 (Revelation 12 Woman, Part 2: “Why Are Things Getting So Crazy Terrible?”)

Antifa @ Protest Trump in Phoenix – 8-22-17 – Wikipedia – GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2

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THE DESIRE OF AGES, BY ELLEN G. WHITE

ALL ‘NOBLE BEREANS’ (open-minded seekers of Bible truth) are invited to listen to this chapter of the audio book about the Gospel of Jesus Christ in His life and ministry.

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Chapter 86 – Go Teach All Nations

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