First things first: Darren at LivingRoom is doing a 24 hour "blog-a-thon", he will be posting every fifteen minutes. Why? To raise money to buy a Pedicab for a Philippino family. Click here to learn how a pedicab will help a family.
Enough of the happy feel-good stuff, life is meant to be an adventure, a tale of epic proportions, the glory of God is man fully alive. Moreover, in every adventure, epic tale, there are hard times, magical times, war times, but in the end, an amazing life is revealed. That life cannot come with out a fight, this life is enemy-occupied territory, and that is the entire truth. I know it sounds like I am ready to take on Satan himself, it sounds like that because I now know I can, because Christ has given us power through his Holy Spirit. I would much rather have to battle Satan himself than wonder weather or not I am "in God's will" for the rest of my life, and just be a "sinner, through and through". Our hearts are good, we are the glory of God.
And all of us have had that veil removed so that we can be mirrors that brightly reflect the glory of the Lord. And as the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like him and reflect his glory even more. [2 Cor 3:18]When I fall to sin, any kind of sin, it isn't because my heart is bad, its because the enemy has attacked my heart, and taken something from me, which was never his to begin with. Our bodies are of this world, and the prince of this world is the Enemy. Our heart-souls and spirit are of God, we are God's amazing creation, and nothing less.
The mega churches of today will never be able to reach the hearts of people, unless they begin to understand what biblical fellowship is, it is community, knowing each person intimately. Fighting for each other, loving each other, and praying for each other is what true fellowship is about. The early church shared everything together, and the early missionaries of the Bible fought evil spirits at almost every location they traveled. Looking up the Greek for "foothold" its more than just an opportunity, it conveys a meaning of "strong influence".
And "don't sin by letting anger gain control over you." Don't let the sun go down while you are still angry, for anger gives a mighty foothold to the Devil. [Ephesians 4:26-27]The prize of the Enemy is our heart, that is why our fellowships must fight for our hearts.
