Spiritual Warfare

[Duane]

NOVEMBER 20 ASSURANCE FOR THE APPOINTED TIME

“Though God seldom comes at our day, because we seldom reckon right, yet He never fails His own day.”Though the promise tarries until the appointed time, yet it will not tarry beyond it! “When the time of the promise drew nigh, which God had sworn to Abraham, the people grew and multiplied in Egypt” (Acts 7:17).

Herbs and flowers sleep underground all winter in their roots but come up out of their beds, where they have lain unseen for so long, when spring approaches. And the promise will do this in its season.Every promise is dated, but with a mysterious character; and because we cannot understand God’s chronology, we think He must have forgotten us. It is as if a man should set his watch by his own hungry stomach rather than by the sun, and then say it is noon and complain because his lunch is not quite ready.

We covet comfort and expect the promise to keep time with our impatient desires. But the sun will not move any faster if we set our watch forward, nor the promise come sooner if we antedate it.It is most true, as someone has said, that “though God seldom comes at our day, because we seldom reckon right, yet He never fails His own day.” The apostle exhorts the Thessalonian church not to “be soon shaken in mind, or be troubled… as that the day of Christ is at hand” (2 Thessalonians 2:2).

But why did these saints need such an exhortation when they were looking for their greatest joy to come with that day? It was not the coming of that day which was so alarming, but the time in which some seducers would have persuaded them to expect it—before many prophecies had been fulfilled. “For that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition” (v. 3).

The promise waits only until those intermediate truths—which span a much shorter period—are fulfilled, and then nothing can possibly hold back the promise after that

Daily Readings in Spiritual Warfare

 

[Duane]

NOVEMBER 21 HIS COMING ACCORDING TO PROMISE

“Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. Be ye also patient.”

Wait on God as long as you have to, until He comes according to His promise and takes you out of your suffering. Do not be hasty to take yourself out of trouble. “Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh” (James 5:7–8).

Although the farmer wishes his corn were already in the barn, he waits for it to ripen in the ordinary course of God’s providence. He is glad when the former rain comes, but he wants the latter rain too, and waits for it, though it is long in coming. And have we not all seen that a shower falling close to harvest time brings the ear to its completeness? The fullest mercies are the ones we wait for the longest. Jesus did not immediately supply wine at the marriage of Cana, as His mother had asked, but they had the more for waiting awhile.

Hope assures the soul that while God waits to perform one promise, he supplies another. This comfort is enough to quiet the heart of anyone who understands the sweetness of God’s methods. There is not one minute when a believer’s soul is left without comfort. There is always some promise standing ready to minister to the Christian until another one comes. A sick man does not complain if all his friends do not stay with him together, as long as they take turns and never leave him without someone to care for him.

We read of a tree of life which bears “twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month” (Revelation 22:2). What is this tree but Christ, who brings all manner of fruit in His promises and comfort for all times and all conditions? The believer can never come to Him without finding some promise to supply strength until another is ripe enough to be gathered.


Daily Readings in Spiritual Warfare

 

[Duane]

JANUARY 4

THE CHRISTIAN’S CALL TO SERVICE

Those sins which have lain nearest your heart must now be trampled under your feet. And what courage and resolution this requires!

The soldier is summoned to a life of active duty, and so is the Christian. The very nature of the calling precludes a life of ease. If you had thought to be a summer soldier, consider your commission carefully. Your spiritual orders are rigorous. Like the apostle, I would not have you be ignorant on this point and will, therefore, list a few of your directives.

Those sins which have lain nearest your heart must now be trampled under your feet. And what courage and resolution this requires! You think Abraham was tested to the limit when called upon to take Isaac, “thine only son… whom thou lovest” (Genesis 22:2), and offer him up with his own hands. Yet what was that to this: “Soul, take the lust which is the child dearest to your heart, your Isaac, the sin from which you intend to gain the greatest pleasure. Lay hands on it and offer it up; pour out its blood before Me; run the sacrificing knife into the very heart of it—and do it joyfully!”

This is more than the human spirit can bear to hear. Our lust will not lie so patiently on the altar as Isaac, nor as the Lamb brought dumb to the slaughter (Isaiah 53:7). Our flesh will roar and shriek, rending the heart with its hideous cries. Indeed, who can express the conflict, the wrestlings, the convulsions of spirit we endure before we can put our heart into such a command? Or who can fully recount the cleverness with which such a lust will plead for itself?

When the Spirit convicts you of sin, Satan will try to convince you, “It is such a little one—spare it.” Or he will bribe the soul with a vow of secrecy: “You can keep me and your good reputation, too. I will not be seen in your company to shame you among your neighbors. You may shut me up in the attic of your heart, out of sight, if only you will let me now and then have the wild embraces of your thoughts and affections in secret.”


Daily Readings in Spiritual Warfare

 

[Duane]

Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away. Matthew 24:35

For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Hebrews 4:12

Perhaps you have purchased a self-help book but haven’t opened it because you don’t want to receive what it will say. Some people can be hesitant when it comes to reading the Bible or praying to God for direction for the same reason. We’re not ready for the answer we might get.

The Bible is not like any other book. It is not just a collection of words and pages, like a self-help book, but is a book that is “living and powerful.” When we open the Bible, the Holy Spirit uses the words of Scripture to reveal things to and about us that can change our life. It can reveal (discern) “the thoughts and intents of [our] heart.” The question is, are we ready to see and know what the Spirit may show us about our life?

When you open the Bible, pray: “Lord, open the eyes of my heart that I may see and receive what Your Word will reveal to me.”

The written Word of God has the seal of the living Word of God.

 

[Duane]

Living in His Light​

January 6​

Staying Focused
O our God, will You not judge them? For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You. 2 Chronicles 20:12

Imagine you’re facing a huge challenge. You’ve done everything you know to do—prayed, searched the Scriptures, sought counsel—and you still see no solution. You are on the verge of despair when you come across the story of King Jehoshaphat in 2 Chronicles 20.

Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, was being threatened by the armies of three neighboring nations. He took the proper initial steps, proclaiming a fast in Judah and gathering people from every town to assemble and seek the Lord’s help. Jehoshaphat led the people in a passionate prayer (verses 6-12), reciting how God had helped them in the past. He concluded his prayer with two key points for everyone facing a huge challenge. First, we have no ability of our own to solve this problem, and second, “Our eyes are upon You.”

It is not a weakness to admit weakness (2 Corinthians 12:10). In fact, if that weakness causes us to refocus our attention on God, that’s a good thing. God answered Jehoshaphat’s prayer, routed Israel’s enemies (verses 15-30), and peace was restored.

Let Jehoshaphat’s response be a reminder to keep your eyes on God when you don’t know what to do.

 

[Duane]

DON’T TRUST IN YOUR OWN STRENGTH

“When we were without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly” (Romans 5:6).

Is the Christian’s strength in the Lord, and not in himself? Surely then, the person outside of Christ must be a poor, impotent creature, helpless to do anything to effect his own salvation. If a living tree cannot grow without sap from the taproot, how can a rotten stump, which has no root, revive itself of its own accord? In other words, if a Christian imbued with God’s grace must continually rely on His strength, then surely the one outside of God’s grace, dead in trespasses and sin, can never produce such strength in himself. To be unregenerate is to be impotent. “When we were without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly” (Romans 5:6).

The philosophy called humanism has long been a suitor to man’s pride. It boasts in his natural strength and wisdom, and woos him with promises of great accomplishments now, and heaven later. God Himself has scattered such Babel-builders and proclaimed His preeminence for eternity. Confounded forever be such sons of pride, who trust in the power of nature as though man with his own brick and mortar of natural abilities were able to make a way to heaven! You who are yet in your natural state, would you become wise to salvation? Then first become fools in your own eyes. Renounce this carnal wisdom which cannot perceive spiritual things, and beg wisdom of God, who gives without rebuke (James 1:5).

Here is a word for Christians. Knowing your strength lies wholly in God and not in yourself, remain humble—even when God is blessing and using you most. Remember, when you have your best suit on, who made it and who paid for it! God’s favor is neither the work of your own hands nor the price of your own worth. How can you boast of what you did not buy? If you embezzle God’s strength and credit it to your own account, He

Daily Readings in Spiritual Warfare

 

[Duane]

JANUARY 10

STAND IN THE HOUR OF TESTING

But if you conclude finally that God cannot pardon or save, cannot come to your rescue, this shoots faith through the heart.

Without God’s strength, you cannot stand in the hour of testing. The challenge is beyond the stretch of human fortitude. Just suppose all your strength is already engaged to barricade your soul against temptation and Satan is steadily hacking away at your resolve; what will you do? You need not panic. Only send faith to cry at God’s window, like the man in the parable asking his neighbor for bread at midnight, and He who keeps covenant forever will provide. When faith fails, however, and the soul has no one to send for divine intervention, the battle is all but over, and Satan will at that very moment be crossing the threshold.

When you are in the midst of testing, do not give up in despair. Faith is a dogged grace! Unless your soul flatly denies the power of God, this courier—faith—will beat a well-worn path to the throne. Doubt cripples but does not incapacitate faith. Indeed, even as you are disputing the mercy of God and questioning in your mind whether He will come to your rescue, faith will make its way, if haltingly, into His presence. And the message it delivers will be, “If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.”

But if you conclude finally that God cannot pardon or save, cannot come to your rescue, this shoots faith through the heart. Then your soul will fall at Satan’s feet, too disheartened to keep the door shut any longer to his temptation. Remember this: The one who abandons faith in the midst of a spiritual drought can be compared to the fool who throws away his pitcher the first day the well is dry.
It has ever been and always will be the Father’s will that we trust only Him. God demands to be called the Almighty; He insists we place our confidence in Him. That child is wise who does as his father bids. Man may be called wise, merciful, mighty; but only God is all-wise, all-merciful, almighty.


Daily Readings in Spiritual Warfare