Day 87
Matthew 16:26
"For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?"
Every day there is a possibility that we can be pressured into making a decision that will do us spiritual damage. We can pacify our flesh, do what feels good or satisfying for the moment and propel ourselves backward. On the other hand, we can control ourselves, endure the temptation and be pushed forward spiritually by the forces within us.
It is easier to prepare mentally to make the right choice in a particular situation, after we have blown it before and learned to despise the consequences of our wrong decision. We should thank God that there is a better way. Although experience is a good teacher, it is not the best one.
The best way to equip ourselves to make the right choices is to build our spirits up. (The real man is on the inside of us the part of us that has been born again is our spirit. Actually, our bodies are temporary suits that we will discard or have transformed into eternal suits. Our spirits are already eternal.) Our spirit, which is born of God, is the part of us most capable of making godly decisions. Therefore, that is the part of us that we must make strong.
The apostle Paul said in Acts 20:32 that the Word of God will build us up. Peter said in his first epistle that the milk of the Word helps us grow. We must read, meditate and memorize scripture. The psalmist said in Psalm 119:11, "Thy Word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee." Let us give ourselves doses of the Word daily, beginning at the start of the day.
Jesus told his disciples in Luke 22:40 to pray that they did not enter temptation. Paul said in I Corinthians 14:4 that the person who speaks in other tongues builds himself up. Praying in other tongues, or praying in the Holy Spirit, charges us up. Jude agreed with this in the 20th verse of his letter. In Ephesians 6, as Paul concluded his description of the whole armor of God, he recommended that we pray always. Let us pray, as I Thessalonians 5:17 admonishes us, unceasingly throughout the day, not only when we are in a "closet," but while we are doing other things as well.
James 3 tells us that our tongues steer the course of nature. Proverbs 18:21 declares that life and death are in the power of the tongue. We must act in faith and declare that what we have prayed about is coming to pass. If we commit our tongues and conduct to God, let us operate in the spirit of faith and declare what we believe, as Paul admonished us in II Corinthians 4:13.
I will get God's Word in me. I will pray always. I will operate in tire spirit of faith. I will commit my ways to God and make confessions in line with the Word.