Friday, 03 February 2023
“Similarly, anyone who competes as an athlete does not receive the victor’s crown except by competing according to the rules” – 2 Timothy 2:5 NIV
“This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun” 2 Corinthians 5:17 NLT. When you become born again, the Bible promises that the old is gone and a new life has begun. So you can imagine my surprise when I realized that the thorn that had tormented me for years was still very much alive. The more I tried to resist it, the more it pursued me. I cried and tried to wish it away, yet it remained with me. Where is this “new person” that the Bible has promised? Is it just me or does it seem like everyone else is new, while I’m still the same old me? Something is amiss here. It’s either I’m at fault or the Bible isn’t working for me. Some seem to be thriving but I’m in anguish. So clearly the problem must be me because GOD isn’t a man that He would lie.
“I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate” Romans 7:15 NLT. Does this mean that I’m not really born- again? The Bible says that, he who confesses the name of Jesus will be saved, so why am I still in torment? When I’m in church, during worship I repent and promise to stop drinking Jack Daniels, yet a couple of days later I finish another bottle. Did I really repent and mean it, or was I just caught in the moment? Thirteen times I’ve asked the LORD to remove this thorn and I’ve meditated on 2 Corinthians 12:9 but I’m still caught up in the fowler’s snare. What am I to do?
“Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death?” Romans 7:24 NLT. Clearly there is something I’m missing here, something I haven’t figured out. The Bible then says, that the challenges I’m facing are not unique to me and that all the saints are going through the same thing. So I approach one of the brethren, and he tells me that he overcame his thorn a decade ago and has even forgotten about it. Does this then mean we aren’t all going through the same things?
“There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit” Romans 8:1 NKJV. This is when I realized, that true Christianity isn’t passive but is VERY active. I need to make a choice to walk in righteousness and once I’ve made that choice, then Holy Spirit gives the grace to sustain that choice. I need to be Kingdom-minded and do exactly what the Bible instructs me to do. This is why Apostle Paul abused his body into submission. I can’t continue doing the things that entangled me in the past and expect to live holy and righteously. Others are thriving because they came to that realization long ago, while I was still dabbling in the flesh. As a soldier in GOD’s army, I can’t involve myself in civilian matters and expect to serve the Kingdom of GOD (2 Timothy 2:4). I need to consciously make a decision to be obedient and disciplined to the rules that govern GOD’s Kingdom. There is no democracy, it’s either His way or the highway.
As a soldier in GOD’s army, I can’t involve myself in civilian matters and expect to serve the Kingdom of GOD
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