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Since therefore it remains that some must enter it, and those to whom it was first preached did not enter because of disobedience, again He designates a certain day, saying in David, “Today,” after such a long time, as it has been said:

“Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts. ”For if Joshua had given them rest, then He would not afterward have spoken of another day. There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His. Hebrews 4:6-10

The Lord fulfilled his promise by giving Israelites the Promised Land. They entered God’s rest according to Joshua 21:44. Joshua exhorted them to follow the Lord and to obey His commandments. However,  the book of Judges reveals that Israel fell away repeatedly after they inhabited the Promised Land.  The Promised Land did not give them a true rest for their souls and as a result did not give them rest with God nor with the surrounding nations.

God’s promises are not a destination to be reached. It is not reaching the destination that fulfills God’s promise in one’s life, but it is an internal attitude of faith and trust that gives us rest and assurance in the promises of God.

What are we holding on to as a promise from God? Has that promise been a blessing in our lives? Have we seen God’s hand bringing it into fruition in our lives? Has the promise brought peace and rest to our souls? Has the promise increased our capacity to love others better? On the contrary, has God’s promise turned into a curse because of us mishandling it? Have we grown bitter, impatient, or envious because the promise hasn’t been fulfilled? Have we developed a hardened heart by losing compassion for others? Do we have a sense of entitlement with God’s promises that makes us feel superior to others? Have we caused division in the church because we haven’t gotten our way?

Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire. 1 Corinthians 3:12-15

At the end of the Age, our work will have to pass through the fire of God. Anything that is made of wood, hay, and straw will not make it to the other side. Only the things that are made of gold and silver will be able to go through the fire. We need to ensure we are majoring in eternal things, and we are not fussing over things that in a year or in fifty years won’t matter.

Some of us will sadly be surprised by the things that took up so much of our affection and attention but didn’t make it to the other side.  Some are looking to have the bigger house. Others want their kids to go to prestigious schools. Some desire promotions. Others are looking to write a Best seller book, and the list goes on.  We may feel those are the things God has promised to us, but the question is: What are we going to do to get them? If we lose our peace, unity with others, friendship with those we care about, or develop hatred towards some, no Promised Land will deliver what we expected.  None of those things are going to matter in eternity.

Canaan is not a goal to be reached, but it is a transformation process on the journey to reaching Canaan. Because of unbelief  a generation of Israelites didn’t even make it to Canaan. Others reached Canaan but soon found themselves in the same predicament as their forefathers, fearful, rebellious, and insecure about their future. While reaching Canaan was a great victory, they only enjoyed it for a short time. On the other hand, Joshua and Caleb believed God; they enjoyed God and grew in Him in the midst of the desert while everyone in their generation died in their unbelief and discontentment. Joshua and Caleb were ready when God was finally ready to take them into Promised Land. Their readiness was a spiritual strength and stamina they had gained over the years as they trusted God and walked with Him.

In His mercy, God gives us promises and destinations to help us stay focused on Him and not get derailed, but they are never intended to become the main priority in our walk with Christ. He still cares about our character more than our destination. He still cares about us loving Him and loving our neighbors more than anything we can accomplish for Him. He delights to give us His peace and rest. He is not impressed by the applause of man, but He desires for us to have the applause of heaven.

Let’s listen to the Lord today and allow Him to make the necessary adjustments in our hearts, minds, and priorities. We need Him to soften our hearts, so we can receive from Him the true rest He desires to give us on our journey to Canaan!!

As believers, we have a Canaan promised to us. This Promised Land is not a location but an internal transformation.

In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory. Ephesians 1:11-12

If we are left with an inheritance from a parent or grandparent, we can read the will as many times as want to, but that does not appropriate the will in our lives. We still do not enjoy the benefits of the inheritance until we put it to work.

The Scripture tells us that we have the inheritance of Jesus’ riches.  It’s as if Jesus wrote a will and made us the beneficiaries.  God’s riches of His inheritance are available to us to partake by appropriating what has already been purchased for us. We must believe them to walk in them and see them come alive in our lives.

In our old Adamic nature, we had the inheritance of sin and death. This is how the scripture in Galatians 5:19-21 in the Message Bible describes it:

It is obvious what kind of life develops out of trying to get your own way all the time: repetitive, loveless, cheap sex; a stinking accumulation of mental and emotional garbage; frenzied and joyless grabs for happiness; trinket gods; magic-show religion; paranoid loneliness; cutthroat competition; all-consuming-yet-never-satisfied wants; a brutal temper; an impotence to love or be loved; divided homes and divided lives; small-minded and lopsided pursuits; the vicious habit of depersonalizing everyone into a rival; uncontrolled and uncontrollable addictions; ugly parodies of community. I could go on.

Praise God that we no longer have to live that way any longer. If we’ve  made Jesus our personal Lord and Savior, we have a new nature operating in us.  Jesus gives us the inheritance of His kingdom and His righteousness. We have the forgiveness of sins. We have freedom from guilt and shame of the past. The bondages of the old nature don’t have to hold us hostage anymore. We have hope for our future and for our eternity. We have the Holy Spirit as our resident 24/7 wise counselor and comforter that we can call upon. We abide in Christ who is humble and gentle. We can develop the fruit of the spirit  according to Galatians 5:22-23 (love, joy, peace, long suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  gentleness, self-control). This is our Promised Land. This is our inheritance to let go of the old nature and its bondages and come to the freedom of the new nature made available through our inheritance in Jesus.

Praise God that there is no scarcity in the kingdom of God. That means the Lord doesn’t need to take something away from us to give it to somebody else. You and your best friend or your colleague both can enjoy the benefits of being in the Kingdom. There are plenty of blessings and riches available for everyone. We can all sit at His banqueting table and enjoy the benefits of belonging to His Kingdom. This can eliminate a lot of competition, envy, jealousy, and backbiting in the body of Christ.

Let’s praise God for being beneficiaries of His inheritance. Those are the true riches that money can’t buy and moth and rust cannot destroy.

In the Old Testament, God promised Canaan to be inherited by Abraham and his descendants (the Israelites). In the New Testament, our inheritance is a spiritual inheritance. I will share in the next devotional how Canaan, the Promised Land did not deliver as the Israelites expected.

Now Jacob dwelt in the land where his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan. Genesis 37:1

Two generations later, after many years of fleeing from family, Jacob started dwelling in the land of Canaan. Jacob was the third generation, and he was still only dwelling in the land of Canaan. He and his family had not possessed the land yet. 

What are we going to do when we get to our destination? The first three generations, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob did not possess the land; they just occupied it. Isn’t that what we do with our faith sometimes? We can declare God’s promises in our lives, quote scriptures, look confident, minister to others,  but we still don’t possess those promises. We are just dwelling in the tents. We haven’t made it our permanent home yet.

If we continually question our value in the kingdom, we are just dwelling in God’s truth; we don’t have possession of it yet. It’s as if we’re a guest in our father’s house; we don’t believe we belong there. We’re uncertain of our inheritance . We’re fearful somebody else may take it away from us because we don’t believe we possess it. 

The believers and unbelievers are looking for people who truly have possession of what they declare. The world lives in the tents of insecurity and uncertainty. If we are going to be people who are seen as believable and authentic, we must come to possession of God’s promises. It will not just be our words or our actions that will indicate our possession, but an internal heart attitude that will be seen in our aura and how we live and interact with others. 

Lord, help us to have a confidence in Christ that is not easily shaken. We want to be solid and secure people. We don’t want to continually question our value in the kingdom or keep performing out of fear of feeling inferior. Lord, guard our hearts in times of disappointments. We don’t want to get bitter but better. Instead of questioning your love, we want to press into your love even more. We want to see with eyes of faith even when our natural eyes see something completely opposite.  We want to have the courage to love people in the midst of disappointment not because they deserve it, but because you deserve our undivided devotion. We need your grace Lord! In Jesus’ name. Amen.

It’s beautiful to see God calling us to Himself and then starting a lifetime process of shaping  and molding us into the person He’s called us to be.

Many times what motivates us to change or stay in the process are His specific words to us because we want to have a purpose in life and desire to make a difference in His kingdom. However, God is not too concerned with the destination as He is with the journey.

Each generation has to find God and get to know God for themselves. It is a great privilege when we have a heritage of faith especially when faith was represented well. However, each person and each generation has to come to the conclusion that Jesus is my savior and He died for my sins. God is good. He is holy. He is who he says He is, and He expects obedience as a proof of our love to Him.  Dying to self will always hurt, and trusting God will be painful at times.

The Promised Land known as Canaan was something the Lord spoke about to His people over and over again to give people a vision of their future and what He intended to do in their lives.

Then Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people whom they had acquired in Haran, and they departed to go to the land of Canaan. So they came to the land of Canaan. Genesis 12:5

Abraham left his father in Haran and came to the land of Canaan. He had no previous knowledge of this place. He was going because God was asking him to go.

Also I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.” Genesis 17:8

The Lord gave Abraham a promise that all the land of Canaan was going to be given as a possession to his descendants. That’s a huge promise. That was a great territory but even greater was his challenge of not having the promised child. Abraham’s issue wasn’t reaching Canaan but seeing the fruition of God’s promises regarding having descendants. Abraham’s faith was tested over the years to believe God and to trust Him.

God’s promises come so large that you can’t even make them happen if you tried. Man’s effort would just leave one frustrated and exhausted. God’s promise has to come God’s way!

We have challenges with the promises that God makes to us. It is not about getting to the destination, but it is about trusting God on the journey. Are we obeying him? Are we taking short cuts, so we can get there faster? Are we running over others, so we can get there first? Are whining on the journey saying, “Are we there yet!?”

What is the Canaan in your life? How are you doing on your journey?

Lack of peace can produce strife

Better is a dry morsel with quietness, Than a house full of feasting with strife. Proverbs 17:1

Sometimes people have their internal struggles such as insecurities or false expectations that causes them to have an internal strife. They have no peace, so they cause strife in their relationships with others. This is a spiritual issue first. If this is your pattern, confess it to the Lord. You can also confess it to someone else (James 5:16) and ask Him to heal your heart condition. Chances are even if you win a debate or a disagreement, that will not keep you satisfied because it is a matter of time before another disagreement comes along.

Mis-handling offenses causes strife

Where there is no wood, the fire goes out; And where there is no talebearer, strife ceases.? As charcoal is to burning coals, and wood to fire, So is a contentious man to kindle strife? Proverbs 26:20-22

A perverse man sows strife, And a whisperer separates the best of friends.? Proverbs 16:28

Sometimes strife is caused in relationships because people do not follow the mandate of Matthew 18:15. They decide to talk about their offense to someone other than the offender. They can portray the offense as a need for wisdom or prayer. Now, people who were not part of the offense are poisoned and gossip is spread.  Strife and division becomes the by-product of an offense that was fueled by the  fire of gossip. This  could have easily been stopped if the offense had been handled through the Biblical protocol.

Our relationships regardless of how close they are, cannot negate God’s mandate on how to deal with offenses. He has not given us the permission to cause strife by sharing information with people who were not part of the offense. As the scripture tells us, strife will cause relational fires that can burn down relationships, families, companies or churches. We are called to put out fires not kindle the fire of strife, contention, anger, or hatred.

Being religious fuels strife

Indeed you fast for strife and debate, And to strike with the fist of wickedness. You will not fast as you do this day, To make your voice heard on high.? Isaiah 58:4

God was not pleased with His people because even in their fasting, they did not cease from striving, being harsh, mistreating people,  or from arguing. The fasting actually increased strife because it gave them another reason to feel superior or more mature compared to others. They were just fasting as a nice religious tradition to parade their self-righteousness before others. They did not see their own need to cry out to God for mercy or to deal with people mercifully.

Favoritism stirs up strife

When we look at the Biblical Characters such as Esau and Jacob, and Joseph and his brothers, we see there was strife between the siblings. One major reason for the strife was because the parents favored one child over the other ones.

It‘s easy to say favoritism is wrong if we are on the side of not being favored. The question is,” What do we do if we are the favored one? Do we just enjoy the benefits of it without considering its impact on those around us?”  While God’s plan for  Jacob and Joseph was not thwarted, they still paid a painful price by being separated for years from their loved ones because they were favored by their parents. Is your favoritism causing strife in your relationships?

Whenever we find ourselves striving, it should be a flag for our soul that something isn’t right. We need to pay attention to what is going on inside of us. Others may not be innocent of striving, but we can’t put out fire with fire. The one who is willing to die to self and not feel the need to win the argument can allow the Holy Spirit to pour water over the fire of strife and let it cease in Jesus’ name.

Strife causes contention and separation among people. It is a verbal competition to see who will win the disagreement or debate. Generally those who are striving to get somewhere have a bigger problem with this issue because they have a goal to achieve. Anyone who seems to be a hindrance to that goal becomes a point of strife or contention in their lives. This could be a loved one, a friend, a boss, or even the Lord himself.

Strife is not a root issue but a fruit issue. When we see strife in our lives, we should examine this fruit against the scripture to find out why we are experiencing it. What are the root issues that have caused us to get to this point?

According to Webster’s Dictionary:

Strife: bitter sometimes violent conflict or dissension, an act of contention :  exertion or contention for superiority

Contention: something (such as a belief, opinion, or idea) that is argued or stated, anger and disagreement, a situation in which you have a chance to win something that you are trying to win

Jealousy and strife go hand in hand

Wherever there is jealousy, there is an open to strife. These sins are generally stated one after another in the scripture. If you find yourself in strife especially with one or two specific individuals, it would be important to ask the Lord to show you if you have any jealousy or envy towards them. Most likely the strife will not go away until you have dealt with the issue of jealousy.

Pride leads to strife

By pride comes nothing but strife, But with the well-advised is wisdom.? Proverbs 13:10

People who are proud generally have a hard time agreeing with others. Pride causes disagreements, which results in strife. If we find ourselves in strife with others, we should look at our pride level. Do we see ourselves better than others? Do we think we are more knowledgeable than others? Do we believe we are more qualified than someone else? Do we think we need to be more respected/appreciated for who we are or what we do?

A proud person generally wants to ensure that their input is received and regarded as important. Unfortunately, that’s the opposite of what they experience because people generally like to get counsel/wisdom from a humble and non-arugmentative person.

Hatred can produce strife 

Hatred stirs up strife, But love covers all sins. Proverbs 10:12

If we have hatred in our heart towards someone, the person hated can’t do anything right. Anything they say or do is questioned, criticized, or minimized to ensure the person will not get credit for any good they may do. They may not be perfect but the fact that we can’t give them credit for anything good that they do, is our heart issue. At this point, we are not representing the Lord properly anymore because we are more concerned about our own issues rather than the truth.

Ask God to take the hatred and replace it with love. If we need to forgive them again and let go of the past, we should do it. We may not trust the person right away, but we don’t have to be critical or suspicious of them either.

I will continue with this subject in the next devotional.

Fight By Loving

The Old Testament rule was “an eye for an eye.” The New Testament rule is:

You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, Matthew 5:43-44

This is what sets us apart from other religions and philosophies of the world. The Lord instructs us to love and bless our enemies. Love is a more powerful force to fight with than any strength or natural ability we might have. Love goes against fear and self-preservation. Love changes us, it will change the atmosphere, and it will cause others to change.

Our pursuit in life is not retaliation but reconciliation! We are called to the ministry of reconciliation. When there are problems among people, we need to avoid adding fuel to the fire by becoming divisive, political, or slanderous. That means when there is division, contention, or disagreement, our goal is to be peace makers.

Fight By Persevering

In our day to day life, we have to continually wage war against unbelief, monotony, long tough periods, and the vexation of our spirit.

This charge I commit to you, son Timothy, according to the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you may wage the good warfare, having faith and a good conscience, which some having rejected, concerning the faith have suffered shipwreck, of whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I delivered to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme. 1Timothy 1:18-20

Paul tells Timothy to wage a good warfare with the prophecies spoken over him. There are times in life that what is visible seems completely opposite of the way things should be. Paul was exhorting Timothy on something that he himself had first-hand experience with.

Paul an apostle of Jesus Christ was imprisoned many times. He could have easily gotten discouraged and thought that maybe the apostolic call wasn’t for him. Perhaps it was just his own zeal that made him so driven. Maybe God had somebody else in mind that could be more effective in reaching people. However, those were not Paul’s thoughts. He was convinced of what God had called him to do and nothing deterred him from doing it. Even when he was confined because of imprisonment, He didn’t allow it to change his identity or his calling.

Life can get hard at times with no relief in sight. The only way we can stand victoriously is by reminding ourselves of God’s promises through His word and through the prophetic words spoken over us. In those times, we wage a warfare by persevering under trials and tribulations.

Our promised land is not a location in time and space as it was for the Israelites, but it is a spiritual reality of true freedom that we can walk in everyday of our lives. That’s what has been promised to us by Jesus. He sets us free from the bondage of sin and our past. He then reveals his plan and destiny for our lives one step at time. Once we enter His kingdom, we enter a battleground for our soul and the soul of others! There is always something worth fighting for! Praise God!

A Christian fighter is called to fight a spiritual battle with spiritual weapons. As I described in the last devotional,  we fight against demonic forces, and our own flesh. We are also called to fight against worldliness.

3. The world

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever. 1 John 2:15-17

Worldliness is a subtle way that a culture tells us how to live and what should be important to us. If we are not careful, we can easily get complacent with voice of the culture and take the comfortable route in our walk with God. We cannot be a complacent Christian for too long before we start compromising or backsliding.

When Jesus addressed the seven churches in Revelation, He spoke against some of the churches for being lukewarm and having lost their first love. This can affect any Christian or any church.

I have met quite a few people over the years who were regular church goers, and they thought as a Christian they were doing pretty well until God moved them out of their church/environment. Looking back, they saw themselves as a lukewarm or backslidden Christian. Too much worldliness had crept in their lives. Since some of the behavior was also acceptable in their church culture, they didn’t see anything wrong with it.

To fight the battle of worldliness, we have to continually examine our lives against the standard of the Bible. Jesus fought Satan’s temptations with the word of God. We need to do the same to fight the worldly temptations. The word of God is the sword of the spirit described in Ephesians 6.

There are no natural pieces to the spiritual armor. We are called the fight the spiritual battle with the helmet of salvation, breastplate of righteousness, belt of truth, shield of faith, sword of the spirit, and our feet shod with the gospel of peace. Isn’t that amazing that when we speak truth & walk in peace we are actually fighting a spiritual battle!?

The giants and the enemies we fight against are not nations or people anymore but are powers, principalities, lusts, attitudes, strongholds, addictions, bondages, and temptations. If these enemies are annihilated or pushed back, there is nothing that can stop us from fulfilling God’s plan and destiny.

Lord, make us effective fighters in your kingdom. Teach us to fight your way using your powerful spiritual weapons. Amen!

What does this mean to be a Christian fighter? Whom are we fighting against and how are we supposed to fight?

As a Christian, our battle is not against people neither is trying to gain a geographical territory anymore.

Just as many requirements in the Old Testament were type and shadows of the reality that God intended to bring at the spiritual level, so the physical fighting was replaced by spiritual fighting in the New Testament. We no longer focus on killing a lamb for atonement of our sins because Jesus paid the price as the last and the perfect Lamb of God. God doesn’t require us to circumcise our boys as a sign of God’s covenant, but he is looking for circumcised hearts. In a similar way, the battles we fight are not physical/natural battles anymore. The Lord is looking for us to fight spiritual battles using spiritual weapons. There is the paradigm shift.

Three main areas we need to fight against are:

1. Demonic forces and strongholds

For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. 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. 2Corinthians 10:3-6

Our natural experiences in life cause us to open ourselves up to demonic spirits instead of trusting God. These demonic spirits oppress the life of the believer and hinder them from obeying God and experiencing freedom.

For example, if one has had an unstable childhood, they may be struggling with the spirit of fear and distrust. Whenever something happens that gives the indication of instability and uncertainty, they can move in fear and distrust, and shut down emotionally. These demonic spirits are not going to be counseled to health; neither would our understanding help us to monitor them. We cannot live life compelled by a spirit that holds us bondage to something that happened 30 years ago. We need to take authority over those demonic spirits and cast them out in the name and authority of Jesus.

2. The flesh

Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. Galatains 5:19-21

When those character attributes rise in us, it’s easy to blame someone or a situation, but we cannot fight like we used to. The works of the flesh need to be fought by crucifying the flesh. We cannot give room for those dark character qualities to find a safe haven in us.

For example, if you came from a broken place where you weren’t valued, you may start developing selfish ambition that causes you to look to others to be valued by any means possible. Over time, you can develop envy, competition, or even murder in your heart because someone else is valued. You may even manipulate your way in certain areas of your life in order to get the recognition.  All of the above is works of the flesh.

Some of those characteristics worked for us for so long, that they became our best friend.  We relied on them consistently to get results. Some get so good at it, that they can even put spiritual clothing on the works of their flesh and allow them to stay hidden for a long time. However, as a Christian fighter we cannot allow ourselves to enjoy the works of the flesh any longer. We have to severe relationship with those dark habits. We need to completely move away to make spiritual progress. First the demonic spirits such as fear, inferiority, and un-forgiveness must be dealt with, and then we must crucify the flesh and its bad habits.

I will continue with this subject in the next devotional. In the meantime, pray and ask the Lord to reveal to you any strongholds or works of the flesh that you need to fight against.

When we look at the Old Testament, we see that God directed His people to fight their enemies and to take over lands and territories. He also at times used the enemies to punish and discipline His own children.

Joshua had to fight the giants to ensure that the land they possessed will no longer be dominated by the enemies but that people can settle down and start rebuilding their lives.

One man of you shall chase a thousand, for the Lord your God is He who fights for you, as He promised you. Joshua 23:10

 God was with His people in the battles that He approved of, and they were victorious because the Lord fought for them.

Now go and attack Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and do not spare them. But kill both man and woman, infant and nursing child, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.’” 1Samuel 15:3

The Lord commanded Saul to kill and destroy everything that belonged to Amalekites. He did not want any trace of this enemy left behind. This would prohibit them from becoming stronger over time and fighting Israelites at a future date. The fighting in the Old Testament many times  was sanctioned by God, and it was relentless and furious in dealing with the enemies.

But if any harm follows, then you shall give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe. Exodus 21:23-25

Retaliation is another area that was permitted in the Old Testament. Not only as a nation, the Israelites were permitted to fight, but also as individuals they were permitted to retaliate for the wrong done to them.

All of the above scriptures portray a natural battle against enemies. As long as Israel walked with God, He defended them, and they were victorious in their battles. At other times, when they weren’t following Him, God would not respond and they would lose a battle.

After Jesus entered the world, everything including our fighting changed. He was not a man who fought physically. He did not hurt or injure anyone physically or verbally. At times, He rebuked people, but it was never to humiliate them or try to overpower them. Some could use his statements made to Peter as a license to be harsh, but when you look at the totality of Jesus’ life, He was gentle, humble, and very sacrificial. 

If you are a fighter by nature, you could easily use the Old Testament examples to support your fighting inclinations. However, we have a paradigm shift in the New Testament when it comes to fighting. This is difficult and costly for a natural fighter, but you cannot fight like you used to. As Jesus said,

And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine will burst the wineskins and be spilled, But new wine must be put into new wineskins, and both are preserved. Mark 5:37-38

So what does this mean when it comes to fighting? Who are we fighting against and how are we supposed to fight? I will share more on this subject in the next devotional.