are you struggling?

The Christian life is a daily struggle. Or I should say, if you are truly attempting to live a Christian life, it is... There are many that are just playing the game of Christianity and they are sailing through life seemingly fine on the surface with no evidence of struggle. 

 But the truth is, those who are trying to live a life of godliness and holiness will face struggles on their journey. Our flesh rebels against the holy. Our flesh rebels against righteousness.  Natural man does not desire the things of the Spirit. But, when we have Christ abiding in our hearts, we can overcome that rebellious spirit by the power of the One who lives in us! We can crucify that old flesh and truly desire a life of holiness. We can daily deny our self and strive for righteous living. But it is only possible with Christ. And it will take a daily walking in the Spirit. In His Spirit. 

A. W. Tozer says this, "Any belief that does not command the daily walk of the one who holds it, is not a real belief."

When we face these struggles, it is flesh warring with spirit. We must be well grounded in our faith if we are going to be able to stand against the enemy! We must be keeping ourselves deep in the Word of God if we are going to have any chance in this world. It requires a daily walking in the Lord! It requires digging deep into the precious scriptures so we can truly know our God! Read the Word. Study His Word. Hide it in your heart so you can truly know it!

Too many times, there is an inconsistency in our words and our lives. We say we love God, but we fail in obedience. We say we are His children, but we don't love others. We are harboring secret sins, bad attitudes, ungodly habits and character flaws. 

We know that God desires for us to leave all those behind but we just keep dragging them with us! We have them chained to our leg just in case we need them along the way. But if we are to live a victorious life in Christ, it is time to let go of those things that are holding us captive and walk in freedom! Freedom in the One who died to give us that freedom. Freedom in Christ!

Do you love Him? Do what He says. Keep His commandments. Obey His Word. Strive to be holy as He is holy. Study to show yourself approved in Him. 

It won't be easy. The second you purpose in your heart to live for Christ that day, the enemy will rise up against you. But if you carry His Word in your heart, you are armed with the offensive weapon necessary to defeat the enemy and stop him in his tracks. There is power in the Word of God. Know His Word. Memorize it. Study it. Guard it. And carry it with you always. It won't keep you from having struggles, but it will keep those struggles from having you....

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"Our great need is to fall before an 

Almighty Father day and night and to plead

for Him to show His radical power in and

through us, enabling us to accomplish for His

glory what we could never imagine in our

own strength" (David Platt - Radical)