the ten commandments 2007 sep 19
the torah is the ten commandments 2007 oct 02
the first and greatest commandment 2007 oct 11
loving the Lord our God 2007 oct 17
loving means doing 2007 oct 31
take heed not to forget 2007 nov 07
the attitude of gratitude 2007 nov 16
We were talking about all the things which the Lord admonishes us not to forget, in order to guard our hearts and keep it knit to the Lord’s heart to worship and serve Him only. And, that the things He tells us not to forget, are designed to thwart the enemy’s common traps which he employs to try to deceive even the elect, if possible. If we stay on the alert for the common traps which ensnare the godly to fall away, then we are guarding our heart with all diligence, to keep it knit to the Lord’s heart.
What are the common traps?
Not knowing or understanding the word of God,
thwarted by diligently learning the Word and daily washing our minds with the water of the Word;
Not understanding the power of God,
thwarted by asking for the gift (and gifts) of the Spirit, and asking for His active role as the Teacher of truth in our daily lives;
thwarted by a daily repentance;
Undue attention on the adversary, or on the faults of others,
thwarted by keeping our focus on God and our critical focus on ourselves;
A complaining or covetousness heart,
thwarted by being grateful to the Lord for all He has done or has yet to do;
(The Israelites in the wilderness suffered from this trap. They would get to someplace without water, and immediately start in with why did the Lord bring them out to the desert to kill them with thirst, and wouldn’t it have been better if they stayed in Egypt, the land of slavery! etc.
(Of course the Lord knew there was no water there. But I bet He was hoping that instead of immediately starting to gripe about being thirsty, the Israelites would first say, “Lord, thank You for delivering us from the land of slavery, thank You for leading us by Your own presence through this wilderness, and thank You for giving us the hand- picked leader You have gifted us with in Moses. We are thirsty. You are a good God and a wonderful provider, please provide water for us to drink. We will patiently look to You in the meantime, for we know You will bless us abundantly as You have done so many times in the past.” Now wouldn’t that prayer have delighted His heart? I think it would have. But He gave them water anyway, even though they did not ask for it nicely. He is a good and gracious God, after all.
(The spirit of complaint is really the spirit of coveteousness – it is not being satisfied with what God has already provided for us.)
Allowing hardships to make us bitter or hard, or giving place to defeat, discouragement, or despair,
thwarted by seeing hardships as a training ground to learn obedience to the Lord’s will;
Pride, expressing itself as self-righteousness, and thinking of ourselves more highly than we ought to think, or expressing itself as arrogance, in meddling in matters which are too great for us, such as judging who will descend to hell or ascend to heaven on their death;
This very subtle but dangerous trap, which has broken up marriages and families, is thwarted by being of lowly heart and mind which was also in Christ Jesus.
Cultivating the twin heart attitudes of humility: “Not My will, but Thine be done, O LORD” and esteeming others better than myself – and gratitude: giving thanks in everything – defeats the enemy every time.
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