Part 11 (1/2)
If we are not walking in love and the other fruit of the spirit we can be a huge disappointment to someone who is truly searching for something genuine to believe in.
CHAPTER 45.
Guarding Our Hearts In Proverbs 4:23 we read that G.o.d tells us to guard our hearts-to watch over them carefully. But what does that really mean? It means to be alert or watchful about the ways of the enemy. It is easy to become careless about guarding our hearts and being alert to Satan's subtle tactics when things are going our way and G.o.d is pouring out His blessings on our lives. It is sad, but the truth is, when things go really well for a long time we often get lazy and stop doing what we should be doing. We need to guard our hearts diligently, not just occasionally.
Instead of using the word guard, I like to think of it this way: We need to post a sentinel around our hearts. Think of what a guard or sentinel does-he's on duty. He watches for the enemy to attack. He's not just ready; he's actively watchful and prepared to resist all attacks from the enemy. This is how we need to live-with a trustworthy sentinel. It doesn't mean we live in fear or constantly have to check to see if the devil is sneaking around. Think of it more as posting a sentinel to do that for us.
What kind of sentinel do we need? I think of the two most obvious ones: prayer and the Word of G.o.d. If we pray for G.o.d's Holy Spirit to help us guard our hearts, He will honor that request. When the enemy creeps up, the Holy Spirit will remind us of a scripture and we can meditate on it or speak it out loud and the enemy will flee.
In Philippians 4:67, Paul says not to fret or have any anxiety about anything; in a sense he is saying, if we push away our anxieties (which we do by prayer) and fill our hearts with thanksgiving, G.o.d's peace stands guard over us. G.o.d helps us resist the attack of the enemy.
Don't minimize thanksgiving, for it is powerful. As we give thanks to G.o.d through our words and our songs, we are guarding our hearts. As the old hymn says, we should count our blessings one by one and name them to rehea.r.s.e what G.o.d has done for us. It is more than just singing a few words; it is actually pausing on purpose to remember all the good things G.o.d has done in our lives. As we rejoice over past blessings, we open ourselves to more blessings in the future.
What better guards can we post than those who cry out to G.o.d on behalf of others? The devil doesn't like hearing such prayers.
Another ally we sometimes overlook is other believers. When we're aware of our weaknesses, we can agree in prayer with other believers. We can ask them to pray specifically that we won't be misled or defeated by the enemy. Other believers can intercede for us-just as we can for them. What better guards can we post than those who cry out to G.o.d on behalf of others? The devil doesn't like hearing such prayers.
One of our responsibilities as Christians is to guard our hearts. We must be careful what we permit to come into them. Being victorious does not just automatically happen; we must be diligent to do our part. We don't receive from G.o.d by merely wis.h.i.+ng, but we must act on His instructions to us. The enemy is always lurking around waiting for an opening into our lives, but as we follow the leading of the Holy Spirit, Satan will be continually disappointed.
CHAPTER 46.
Overcoming Pa.s.sivity To be pa.s.sive means to be inactive. A pa.s.sive person is one who would like to see something good take place and then waits to see if it does. That desire is right, but the person takes no action. If pa.s.sive people spot a need, they usually say something like, ”That is just not right, someone needs to do something about it.” It never occurs to them that the ”someone” who needs to do something might be them. Inactivity is very dangerous. Empty s.p.a.ce is a breeding ground for the devil. Jesus warned that if an evil spirit was cast out and the s.p.a.ce he occupied was swept clean and kept empty the evil spirit not only would come back but would bring others with him and the last state of the man would be worse than the first.
For example, if we cast down a wrong thought we need to replace it with a positive one; otherwise the devil will simply drop another wrong one in our minds. Always remember, empty s.p.a.ce is still a place and the Bible says we are to give no room or foothold to the devil (see Ephesians 4:27).
I once read an article about diets in which the author said most people who diet do lose weight-until they stop dieting. When they stop working at the problem, they not only stop losing, but they're worse than before they started. The author went on to say that the only way to win the battle of being overweight is to make a lifestyle change-by becoming aware of the danger areas and guarding ourselves against making wrong choices.
It works that way spiritually as well. One way to keep wrong thoughts out of your mind is to keep the mind active and alert and full of right things. You can cast out the devil, but then you must remain alert, always aware of his tricks.
There are aggressive sins (sins of commission), and there are pa.s.sive sins (sins of omission). That is, there are things we do that hurt a relations.h.i.+p, such as speaking careless words. But we also hurt relations.h.i.+ps by the omission of kind words, those thoughtful words that express appreciation, affection, or awareness of kind deeds done by others.
When confronted, pa.s.sive individuals yell, ”But I didn't do anything!” That's exactly the point. It's what they don't do. Their lack of action actually invites the devil back into their lives.
That's a strong statement, so I will say it a different way. You can win any time you take action and push away the thoughts and desires not coming from G.o.d. You may do this through prayer, reading the Bible, or even resisting the pa.s.sive feelings that may be natural for you. But once you've been set free, that's only the beginning. It's not just one victory that lasts forever. It's an ongoing battle-it's being willing to constantly resist if you need to. Satan seeks to wear out G.o.d's people, but if we are persistent we will outlast him.
The best, easiest, and most effective way to resist the devil is to fill your mind and your heart with praises to G.o.d. When you wors.h.i.+p and praise G.o.d, you've slammed the door in the enemy's face and put up a ”No Trespa.s.sing” sign.
The best, easiest, and most effective way to resist the devil is to fill your mind and your heart with praises to G.o.d.
I don't want to make it sound as if you have to fight evil every second of your life. That's a trick of the devil himself to make you feel defeated before you even get started. We do have difficult times but we also have times of great blessing. The Bible promises G.o.d won't allow more to come on us than we can bear, but with every temptation He always provides the way out (see 1 Corinthians 10:13).
CHAPTER 47.
Right Action Follows Right Thinking A friend once talked about a building bought by his church. ”Function follows form,” he said, as he described the shape of the building and the size of the rooms and how that determined how they could best use the building.