Exodus 23:22
But if you indeed obey His voice and do all that I speak, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries.
INSIGHT
-Enemy in Hebrew is written as oyeb & it means hostile, foe, hater, oppressor, opponent, dissident, antagonist, opponent, foe, adversary.
-God promised to send His angel to protect the Israelites against their enemies & adversaries in their obedience. In the New Testament; God sent His son Jesus, in the fullness of time to redeem us & make us His sons (Gal 4:4-5). In sonship; we are assured that when we ask anything from the Father, we will surely receive it for Christ dwell in us. And if Christ is in us, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is alive because of righteousness. When we set our minds on things of the flesh we are carnally minded which is creating enmity with God, but when our minds are set on Spiritual matters we have life & peace (Rom 8:5-11). Therefore, we should focus on whatever things are true, noble, just, pure, lovely, praiseworthy & give a good report (Phil 4:8-9).
PRAYER
Lord our Father, thank You for we have started a new week in good health. We are Your sons; lead us to abide in You always. Help us to set our minds on matters which are pleasing to You as Your Spirit leads. Direct us to do Your will all the time & give us peace. Amen
Proverbs 25:21-22
If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat; And if he is thirsty, give him water to drink; For so you will heap coals of fire on his head, And the Lord will reward you.
INSIGHT
-Enemy in this context means an opponent; who when provided with all things necessary for his subsistence (bread & water), he will be convicted of his evil action & in turn change his mind regarding the enmity. This is a gesture of love & kindness which brings about repentance & forgiveness for the undeserved favour granted. In so doing; we are likened to Christ, the bread of life & fountain of water in our hearts. In John 6:35, And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. Therefore, when we love one another, we proclaim that we are one body in Christ.
-Jesus instructed us to love our enemies, bless those who curse us, do good to those who hate us & pray for those who persecute us; that we may be sons of our Father in heaven. Thus, we will be rewarded & emulate the perfection of the Father (Mt 5:44-48).
PRAYER
Lord our Father have mercy on us. Strengthen us to live peaceably with our neighbours & may Your love abide in our hearts to show mercy & goodness to those who wish evil upon us. Bring calm to all the war torn countries & maintain peace in all the nations of the world. Amen
2 Corinthians 10:4-6
For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.
INSIGHT
-Apostle Paul enlightens us of the weapons of our warfare as reflected in 1 The 5:8 (But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation).
-Having faith & hope in Christ, for He died for our weaknesses through His everlasting love that we may have life everlasting, we have peace within ourselves. Through His grace, we are able to overcome our evil thoughts that lead us to sin & are against His way, truth & life.
-Therefore, we should overcome our evil thoughts as James writes, submit to God, resist the devil and he will flee from you (James 4:7).
PRAYER
Increase our love, faith & hope in You Father, that we may lead in Your obedience. May Your grace abound in our lives, so that we may overcome all our evil thoughts & bad habits. Restore to us the joy of Your salvation & renew Your steadfast Spirit within us. Amen
Hebrews 1:13-14
But to which of the angels has He ever said: “Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool”? Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation?
INSIGHT
-Christ has been exalted above all things which are subject to Him. Further, the Lord made a command that all His angels should worship Him. Angels are servants of God who minister unto us, just as we read in the scriptures. As seen in the book of Rev 20:1-2, one angel of the Lord binds the dragon with a great chain in the bottomless pit & Jesus seated on His throne where there was no place for the enemy (Rev 20:11), the same as in Joshua 10:16-27.
-In Eph 2:6-7, Christ raised us up & made us sit together with Him in the heavenly places, through His grace & love. Therefore, we should continue to hold fast our faith in Him that we may access all good things.
PRAYER
Lord our Father, we believe & trust in You. Be with us always & lead us in our walk of faith. We praise You , glorify You & magnify You now & forever. Amen
Matthew 13:24-26
Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared.
INSIGHT
-Jesus taught the parable of the wheat & tares to demonstrate how the deceiver works against those who believe in His gospel. Just as wheat & tares look exactly the same at maturity, deception is crafted from the truth to make us believe in a lie. May we hold fast the gospel of truth despite the various challenges so that we may inherit His kingdom.
SUMMARY
-Obedience is vital in our Christian lives. Our way of thinking basically determines if we will obey or not & is linked to our destination in this life & the life to come. Carnal minds create enmity with God but Spiritual minds have life & peace. Therefore, we should focus on whatever things are true, noble, just, pure, lovely, praiseworthy & give a good report.
-Jesus instructed us to love our enemies, bless those who curse us, do good to those who hate us & pray for those who persecute us; for many people do the opposite & are never rewarded. This is gesture of true sonship as we emulate the Father.
-The enemy mostly attacks the mind. Thus battles in the mind that exalts themselves against the knowledge of God cause disobedience to God. By submitting to God & resisting the devil, he will flee from us. Lets put on the breastplate (protect our heart) of faith & love; and a helmet (shield our mind) of hope in salvation that Christ has bestored unto us in His mercy, love & grace.
-Christ is seated at the right hand of the Father & made us sit together with Him in the heavenly places through His mercy & grace. Therefore, we should not live in fear for in the end of time all evil will be brought to captivity by Christ in His power & might.
PRAYER
We thank You Father, for what You have done unto us through out our lives. We humbly ask You to purify our thoughts & hearts so that we may focus on what is pleasing to You. Cleanse us from all unrighteousness & help us in our weaknesses. All glory belong to You. Amen