Good Morning Friends,
There are rules all around us if we belong to any religious institution or community. Sometimes we agree with the rules and other times we do not. Sometimes the rules make sense to us, and at times we think they are absurd. In the Bible there are 613 Jewish laws. If you were a keeper of the law like the Pharisees, you would have studied these laws and known them very well and probably figured out ways around them. Many of the laws applied to the Temple as a Holy place but the intent of the Messiah was and is to apply the law of love to our hearts and minds as a consciousness of Christ so we too could bring light into a dark world. The Pharisees believed that God gave Moses the knowledge of what the Jewish laws meant and how they should be applied. But the Pharisees had substituted an expanded tradition for the real intent of the law which Jesus would seal on the Cross. Jesus reminds us that we are made in the image of God and when we have a consciousness in Christ the old law is a bit pointless for Gentiles to keep us from doing bad things. So, How Do We Fight Evil Now?
Scripture: Then God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.” So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.” God said, “See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so.God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
Genesis 1:26-32 (NRSV)
Now when the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around him, they noticed that some of his disciples were eating with defiled hands, that is, without washing them. (For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, do not eat unless they thoroughly wash their hands, thus observing the tradition of the elders; and they do not eat anything from the market unless they wash it; and there are also many other traditions that they observe, the washing of cups, pots, and bronze kettles.) So the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?” He said to them, “Isaiah prophesied rightly about you hypocrites, as it is written, ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching human precepts as doctrines.’ You abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition.” Then he said to them, “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition! For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘Whoever speaks evil of father or mother must surely die.’ But you say that if anyone tells father or mother, ‘Whatever support you might have had from me is Corban’ (that is, an offering to God)— then you no longer permit doing anything for a father or mother, thus making void the word of God through your tradition that you have handed on. And you do many things like this.”
Mark 7:1-13 (NRSV)
Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.
Ephesians 6:11-13 (NRSV)
Message: Now tradition can be good but if taken too far, for the wrong reasons can end up drawing us into sin. Of course, the answer to today’s question about fighting evil is probably better found in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians where he encourages us to put on the whole armor of God or in other words be all in. For it is not such an easy thing to live in the light of Christ even though the battle was won on the Cross it still is being waged in our hearts. We need gentle guidance. I think we all have experienced what happens in our minds when confronted with laws that control our behavior as opposed to relationships that motivate our actions through love. The mystery is how this experience of thinking both draws the community together through common interest and beliefs and creates a collective consciousness and shared relationship that brings order and an observable sense of belonging and meaning to life. On one level when we remember the law in our mind, we are encouraged to carry out moral behavior but when the law is embedded in a loving relationship the worship becomes something much more. You see, being a Christian is not about keeping up with man’s traditions, being religious, or ritualistic, but being a devoted disciple for Jesus Christ. Our minds, spirits and souls are transformed by spending time with God, praying, fasting, reading scripture, and letting the Holy Spirit lead and guide us. Friends, our relationship with Jesus grows when we spend quality time with God.
And So, the purpose of the law is summed up in our love of God and love of each other manifested in the power of a Christ relationship, all so we might confront evil. Paul gives us further guidance so we might succeed. He encourages believers to put on the full armor of God to stand against the devil’s schemes. The armor includes the belt of truth, breastplate of righteousness, readiness from the gospel of peace, shield of faith, helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God. This spiritual equipment and armor that God provides to believers helps us to stand in the heat of battle. But we need every piece of God’s armor to succeed. The order of the pieces listed in scripture is the order in which a soldier would put them on and all of them are available to us. Now a new believer might be surprised at all this talk about battleground when they expect the experience to be more of a playground. But a sign that new believers are maturing is that they are facing battles. Spurgeon used to say, “Satan never kicks a dead Horse!” So, if we are having challenges, it is not necessarily a bad sign, but if we are going to win the battle, we must know the enemy possesses power and also understand that we have equipment to attack and protect ourselves from this evil. Now it is important to realize that Christ has already won the war but that it is necessary for us to stand our ground and participate in the battles we face for it is indeed possible for us to lose individual confrontations. So, it is important that we do not flee or surrender to evil. We must be active participants in Christ’s victory. We are to fight the lies behind the evil with the truth… the Girdle or Belt of Truth. This is the foundation of armor and supports our back as well as protecting our guts. The Breastplate of Righteousness provides a significant defense from the neck to the thighs in that it gives the evidence that we have been made right with God. and that this righteousness has been given by the Holy Spirit to protect us when evil tries to convince us that we are not saved. The Shoes of Peace help us to firmly stand our ground and dig in without losing footing. We are ready for battle because the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. God gives faith to protect the believer with the Shield of Faith implying our total dependance on God and our willingness to do the will of God as we raise the armor over our heads to reflect flaming arrows lofted our way. This is about believing in the promises of God. The Salvation Helmet protects the soldier’s head. Christians, with the assurance of salvation protect their minds and can stand against evil as it attacks. Without the hope of salvation, we cannot win. So, as you engage in spiritual combat, make sure you have and use all the weapons. Our enemy we face is powerful, but is also a defeated foe. Don’t be intimidated by evil influences. Use the full armor of God and stand together with other believers in the victory we have in Christ.
Pray we not ignore God’s scripture but embrace it as a way of revealing our heart and protecting us during Spiritual Battles. Pray that we are not controlled by obsessive rituals but free to honor traditions that bring abundance to life and protect us in times of tribulation. Pray we not be critiquing, criticizing, and condemning as a way of justifying our existence during the challenges of life but instead attain a consciousness that gives us a glimpse of heaven through a relationship with Jesus that protects us from the lies of the world. Pray we set aside time to develop a relationship with God so that in battle we might be victorious in our lives and the places we live and worship. Pray we develop a Christ consciousness as a spiritual force with a sacred purpose in a movement that responds to the flow of holy history. Pray for a time when the Lion lays down with the Lamb. Pray for forgiveness, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation revealed in the Word of God and manifested in us.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 