Thought for December 26, 2024

•  1606: First known performance of "King Lear"
• 1776: George Washington wins battle of Trenton
• 1799: Henry Lee eulogizes Washington with "first in war, first in peace, first in the hearts of his countrymen"
• 1865: First coffee percolator patented
• 1931: Gershwin's "Of Thee I Sing" premiers
• 1933: FM radio patented
• 1946: Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas opens
• 1951: "The African Queen" premiers
• 1954: "The Shadow” airs for the first time
• 1963: The Beatles release "I Want to Hold Your Hand" and “I Saw Her Standing There"
• 2004: Tsunami kills 230,000 in Sri Lanka, India, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia
• Born: Charles Babbage, Henry Miller, Mao Zedong, Rosemary Woods, Steve Allen, Frank Broyles, Phil Spector, Carlton Fisk
• Died: Harry Truman, Jack Benny, Dian Fossey, Reggie White, Gerald Ford

Thought:

Reading 2 Corinthians 10:3-6 this morning. What a powerful four verses.

• We walk in the flesh. As humans, we must walk in the flesh. Here Paul is contrasting the flesh with the spirit as it pertains to our battles with sin and Satan. In Ephesians, Paul is going to tell us to walk worthy of our calling in Christ [humbly, gently, patiently, lovingly, in unity]. There, he will also tell us to walk in love and walk as children of light. So, Paul is not saying that we are to walk fleshly, secularly. He is saying that although we currently exist in the flesh, the real war is not in the flesh. 
• The war is spiritual. In Ephesians 6, he reminds us that our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against the spiritual forces of darkness and wickedness. Because that is the nature of our struggle, fleshly weapons do not work. We need special weapons. These weapons are specifically designed to tear down and destroy: fortresses, speculations, every thing raised against the knowledge of God. What kind of weapon is that---prayer, faith. We seek strength, guidance, direction in prayer--what does the Commander want us to do? How does He want us to respond? Then we trust His promises, power, and grace to obey. Our weapon is the renewed mind of Romans 12:1-2--a mind set on Christ, a mind controlled by Christ, a mind filled with the Spirit, a mind set on Him. 

Now, do you find yourself fighting a spiritual war using fleshly weapons? Think about the Beatitudes of the Sermon on the Mount. When persecuted, do I turn to spiritual weapons or does the flesh compel me to respond with fleshly weapons. When I am hit on the cheek, is my response spiritual or fleshly. When I encounter hate, do I respond with hate or love. 

I have work to do.

Blessings

Larry