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  Wash, Rinse, and Repeat...Wash, Rinse, and Repeat... It’s what we should do whenever we suffer a flesh wound to our body in order to prevent unwanted bacteria and germs finding its way in to cause infection. In fact, if you have ever been treated for an open wound, or even after having surgery, how often are we told to ‘clean’ that area multiple times a day until completely healed? We ‘get that’. I’m telling you...it should be no different when we suffer a ‘spiritual wound’, one that usually comes at the hands of our spiritual enemy - Satan (1 Pet. 5:8; Eph. 6:12; 2 Cor. 2:11). Care to guess what we use to ‘wash’ that affected area? How about God’s word? (Eph. 5:26; John 15:3) And truth be told, having immersed one’s self in God’s word prior to...the wounding... may have prevented a lot of problems to begin with. Do you remember how Jesus ‘resisted’ the devil who spent 40 days in the wilderness trying to tempt Him, hoping to gain access into His life (Mark 1:13)? He simply use...
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  When you think about it, and then study history to confirm it...wars between nations always boil down to taking control of a piece of land. The weaponry and strategies used in warfare has changed over the centuries, but it’s still about seizing control of land. The modern day conflict between Russia and the Ukraine is a fine example to my point. I would submit to you that this ‘spiritual war’ or conflict we find ourselves in...is no different. And trust me, it is ‘spiritual’ in nature; this you can be sure of, whether you believe it or not (Eph. 6:10-13; 2 Cor. 10:3-5). But the ‘land’ involved with this war is centered around your ‘heart’, and in the end, the only ones who will overcome this conflict and be victorious are the ones whose hearts fully belong to Jesus. We are either going to follow the leading of His Spirit to take control of the land, by removing everything that defiles it, or it will be seized and possessed by the devil. I should also remind us that if you have ...
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  Most of us, I hope...at this stage of our lives...know what the ‘drill’ is when we cut ourselves and break the surface of our skin which draws blood; especially when we do it in an unsterile setting. You flush the wound with hot soapy water, or hydrogen peroxide. I’ve seen some old war movies where they are slapping iodine on gunshot wounds like it’s a bottle of ketchup from Costco. And why do we do this? You don’t want infection to set in, so cleaning the wound as well as you can is a must. So why don’t we do this when we suffer a ‘spiritual wound’... like when we are offended or hurt by someone’s words or actions. You realize why these scenarios occur so often, don’t you? What did Peter warn us about in 1 Pet. 5:8? To whom did Paul admonish us to ‘give no place to’ in Eph. 4:27? And why did Jesus say to stay ‘watchful’ in Matt. 24:42-44? Seems I read something about a ‘thief’ breaking in to one’s ‘house’? And what do we know the ‘thief’ comes to do according to John 10:10?...
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  Have you ever struggled with an area in your life that you knew was not ‘healthy’ for you, that displeased God and discouraged you to no end; but for the oddest reason, the more you fell into it, the deeper the pit of darkness grew when it came to frustration and self-loathing so that you found yourself going back to that same ‘sin’ over and over in order to offset the despair you felt because this ‘sin’ actually brought you ‘comfort’ and made you ‘feel good’, if even for the slightest amount of time. (I know, that was a really long sentence) I’m pretty sure people who struggle with their eating and weight can identify with this. Many of us have fought that battle to some degree where you try to get your eating under control, you lose a few pounds and then ‘stumble again’, which frustrates you, so you go back to the one thing that makes you ‘feel good’ and consume a whole plate of cookies which satisfies for the moment...and there you are again - One step forward...three steps ba...
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  It is not the will of God for anyone to perish...but that all should come to repentance (2 Pet. 3:9)...and Jesus clearly warned us all that ‘unless we repent...we will all...likewise perish’ (Luke 13:1-5). His words, not mine. And that was not a threat, but a warning offered in love. Remember...He did not come to condemn us but to save us (John 3:18). ‘Repent from what’, you may ask? How about anything in our lives that is contrary to His nature and character! Remember, Jesus came to set the captives free (Luke 4:18) and He did point out that ‘anyone who commits sin is a slave to sin’ (John 8:34) so if we use our context clues here, we should be able to see that it is ‘sin’ that we are turning from in every area of our life. You might take a second and read Hebrews 12:1-4 to get started here today. Are we not told there to ‘lay aside every weight that slows us down and every sin which so easily ensnares us...’? I should point out that he says ‘every sin’, and not just the ‘b...
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  You are probably familiar with that OT passage that declares: “Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s.” (2 Chron. 20:15). Perhaps you have quoted it to yourself on more than one occasion when faced with daunting circumstances in your life. However, it should be pointed out that while the battle is indeed the Lord’s, as is the victory (Prov. 21:31), that does not mean your role in this conflict is relegated to being some spectator. Yeah...give that one a moment or two if you would please. We’re continuing on as we look back at the story of how Joshua led the Israelites into the promised land and their ensuing victory over their first test, the city of Jericho. (Joshua 6) We’ve been looking at this subject of ‘sanctification’ and how there is a land in need of clearing of everything which is opposed to God and His character and likeness, which mainly ...is our carnal flesh nature (Rom. 8:7-8; James 4:4). Today, it is ...
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  I’m sure some will question, if not disagree outright with what I’m about to say here, but I am thoroughly convinced from all I have come to learn from scripture...that this process of abiding in Jesus, where He begins to ‘sanctify’ us, cannot even begin to take place until...we have fully surrendered our heart to Him. I mean...that’s what we ‘say’ we are doing when we walk that aisle and ‘repeat that prayer’, is it not? Yet, how many of us failed to get the ‘memo’ that God would actually ‘test’ our hearts to see how serious we were about this? (Deut. 8:2; 1 Thess.2:4) I mean really, if you arranged for a local mechanic to overhaul the engine in an older model car of yours, it’s not like he can begin the work until you have delivered the car to his garage and handed him the keys...right? And what about that rich, young ruler who expressed interest in getting in on this ‘eternal life’ offer? What kept him from joining the group with Jesus? It was that ‘one thing’ he was not r...
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