THE MEMOIR OF A WARROIR

“I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members” ROMANS 7:21-23

“If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto theeshall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him” GENESIS 4:7

 

Over six millennia of war raging and still counting, the battle between good and evil, the flesh and the spirit, until all His enemies are made His footstool. Creation pants, and groan in pain together until now, looking forward to the manifestation of the sons of God. Till the physical delivery from bondage unto the glorious liberty of the sons of God, till corruption puts on incorruption, till death is swallowed up in victory, it’s on, the raging continues! Sin lies at your door, God said, his desire is have you, but you must master it. Teach my soul how to war, be the Captain of my soul, should be our prayer. From victory unto victory, The Captain of our souls will lead us until every foe is vanquished. He teaches my hands how to war, said the Psalmist, that a bow of steel is broken by my arm (PSALM 18:34). And of Joseph he said, The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him: but his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob (GENESIS 49:23-24). In this battle between good and evil, sometimes the arrows of sin and its poison takes a hit, sometimes we are sorely grieved and wounded, but the arms of our hands are strengthened by the hands of The Almighty God. The bows of the sons of God will always abide in strength, sin shall not have dominion over us.

Behold how great a matter a little fire kindleth! A little leaven leavens the whole lump. There is this fire in our members, this leaven in our flesh, which wars against the laws of our mind. It wars against the wholesome truth, the engrafted Word which is able to save our souls, and brings us to captivity. The writer cried and said, O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death? But then God left us not without a witness, the nemesis is always crouching, he is always present at the door, but we must master him. Walk in The Spirit, He said, and you shall not fulfill the desires of the flesh (GALATIANS 5:16). This is the witness of God, God teaching our hands to war. The desires of the flesh, the will of the sinful nature lies at the doors of our hearts. Every now and then its motions work within us to bring us to captivity, yet left He us not without a witness. Lest the enemy takes advantage over us, we are not ignorant of his devices (” CORINTHIANS 2:11). His desire is to steal, kill, and destroy, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ our Lord. He came that we might have life and have it more abundantly.

We have not received the spirit of bondage, but The Spirit of adoption. If we live in The Spirit, so must we walk in Him. The mind of The Spirit is the mind of a victorious warrior, that of the fleshy carnal mind is an enmity. It is not subject to things of God, neither indeed can be (ROMANS 8:7). Strive to enter in at the strait gate, He said (LUKE 13:24). In that He said strive, he meant to contend as in a war. The battle line is already drawn. In any contest or battle, you sometimes get hit, but he who endures to the end shall be saved (MATTHEW 10:22). It’s almost like sometimes we go out of town living the doors wide open, yet crouches the nemesis at the door, yet know we that as a serpent, he lies by the way, as an adder he lies in the path. He bites the horses heel, so that its rider fall backwards. He who endures to the end… Tough times don’t last but tough people do. Thanks be to God who always causes us to triumph through Christ Jesus. May He help us yield to His Spirit, and not to the will of the flesh. May He lead us from victory to victory, and from glory to glory. We shall live and not die, win and not loose. Till all His enemies are made His footstool, till corruption puts on incorruption, till death is swallowed up in victory, lean on that everlasting Arm. May The Arm of God be your strength, sin shall not have dominion over you. In The Name that is above all names, Jesus Christ, Son of The Living God. Amen and Amen!

CRAVINGS FOR REST

“And He said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest” EXODUS 33:14

“There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God” HEBREWS 4:9

 

Rest means to repose, it means to be exempt, remain, it means to refresh and be at ease. Rest means to settle down, it means to dwell, stay, let alone,withdraw, give comfort. Rest means freedom from war or battle, it means peace and tranquility, it means freedom from fear. Rest gives stability and fosters growth and development. Rest I believe is the greatest desire of the human soul. Rest could be within, on the inside of the human soul, or without, the external environment. I remember some years ago talking to someone who was grievously ill. This person said something to me that still rings in my ears even after all these year, ” I wish I had the wings of a bird so I could fly to a lonely place to have rest”. Now, this was what my friend meant, to fly to a place of peace, a place void of all the suffering and be at rest. My friend wasn’t making any reference to death in this instance, the will was to live but could there be any where in this world where rest may be found for this troubled soul. If you have never been in someone’s condition, you never know how they feel. There are millions and millions of people in this world facing battles one way or the other. Right from somewhere in Africa or Asia where people cannot afford to eat a meal a day, to glories of the western world where people live in affluence and fare sumptuously daily, all papering over the cracks of a void and empty souls desiring to end the war within, and in their souls. You can search deep down within yourself and realize that there is somewhere within you, a need for peace on certain things. Where can man find this peace and rest for his weary soul? You may come across people with smiling and seemingly joyful faces but within are wounded and bleeding souls. Within they say the same thing my friend said, If only I had wings… The words of Jesus Christ should soothe the soul of everyone in this instance, and I believe everyone of us, one way or the other have such need, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” MATTHEW 11:28. Are you laden and burdened with the yoke of suffering? Is anything stiring up your soul, giving you sleepless nights? Do you wake up in the middle of the night and cry your heart out? There remain rest for the people of God, and He is calling out to you and me. God gave King Solomon rest all his days, he fought no battle unlike his father David who was a warrior and fought all his life ” Behold, a son shall be born to thee, who shall be a man of rest; and I will give him rest from all his enemies round about: for his name shall be Solomon, and I will give peace and quietness unto Israel in his days” 1 CHRONICLES 22:9. It is no surprise that there was more development and projects accomplished during the reign of Solomon. He had peace and therefore could build. To build your life and accomplish the dreams and visions you have, you need the rest of God.

The presence of God brings rest, and refreshes. Israel on the wilderness, from Egypt to the promised land enjoyed peace and rest so long as the presence of God led them. Being small and seemingly vulnerable, they were a terror to their enemies and nations they walked through and possessed. Whiles the presence of God gave them the rest and confidence they needed, it created terror on the part of their enemies. Great is The LORD God among His people. His fame and awe goes before Him, the nations hear of His fame and are in awe. Gibeon were scared and made a league with Israel. Scripture says when the ways of a man pleases The LORD, He causes even his enemies to be at peace with him (PROVERBS 16:7). Your enemies being at peace with you means rest. The greatest desire of God I believe, is to give rest to His people. wherefore Jesus cries out to all who labour and are heay laden. He has promised to dwell among us, and give us peace. Even in death, we will not be separated, His presence shall lead us home, He has prepared a place for us. My prayer is that God’s presence leads your weary soul to rest and free you from all your battles. In The Name that is above all names, Jesus Christ, Son of The Living God. amen and Amen!