3 Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
4 No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier. 2 Timothy 2:3-4
In case, you didn't know this, we are in spiritual war. All believers have been entrusted by Jesus Christ to be spiritual warriors. You enlisted when you turned your back on the old life of sin and turned toward Christ for eternal life. Some people, however, have not fulfilled their purpose. Just like in a real army, you may be assigned to different places and you’re expected to fulfill an important role within that command; Jesus Christ is our loving but firm commanding officer and we seek to do what he asks of us to be a good soldier and a good witness to those around us.
Ephesians 6:11-12 informs us that we must put on the spiritual armor of God to withstand spiritual battles; the more our faith grows, the more Satan will try to tear us down and try to convince us to defect.
One way he does this is by trying to get us to be entangled in the affairs of this life. That's the thing that gets to us sometimes. We get so caught up in daily living that we lose track of why God has left us in this world. In Luke chapter 8, when Jesus talked about the parable of the sower, one of the seeds fell among thorns. They are described as “they which when they had heard go forth and are choked with the cares and riches and pleasure of this world and bring no fruit to perfection."
This week, let’s challenge ourselves not to get entangled with the cares, pleasures, or riches of this world. This week, let’s challenge ourselves to go back to weekly church attendance (unless we are unable to take care of our family without working on Sunday) and get back to daily devotions. These core basics help train us for the battle ahead.
This devotional has been adapted from the message, Consider Your Role, preached by Pastor Dr. Doug Mann.
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