Tag Archive | old nature vs new nature

Balancing our focus…

Aug31

God’s love and mercy, is revealed dynamically in the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ! We Christians live our lives in the assurance of this fact. But, if we focus on that alone, are we getting the whole picture? For you see, as uncomfortable as it may be to think about, God’s wrath is every bit as real as His love and mercy. And getting those truths of God’s character out of balance puts us in a dangerous and vulnerable position for the enemy’s attacks.

Let’s examine this by considering our birth into God’s family. We have left a life bent on pleasing ourselves to a life bent on pleasing God. As a young Christian it is God’s plan that we grow. That growth will take place in accordance with how we are nurtured. But just like a newborn babe, we will fail to thrive, if we aren’t consistently fed. And how is a newborn Christian to thrive? By spending time with God in prayer and His word. And therein lies Satan’s target.

Throughout history, God has protected and preserved the Bible. He provided everything we needed to know about Him, His redemptive plan, and how we are to live, all within the pages of Scripture. And those words are the source of our nourishment.

But it is our nature to be more concerned about pleasing ourselves rather than God. But as Christians we now have a new nature. A nature that is becoming like Christ the more we avail ourselves to the nourishment of God’s truths. As the new nature matures and grows in strength, the old nature is diminished. So, if the enemy can distract us, he can keep us from growing and learning about those truths.

Think about how self-absorbed Society is today. Some psychologist say that the I-generation or Me-generation (that they are called this aught to tell us something) take it for granted that the self comes first. Of course, not everyone of this Me-generation are self-absorbed. However, Christian young adults live among a society that is driven by this ‘it’s all about me mentality’. And if they aren’t careful they will be tempted to dismiss the seriousness of their sins, or any Christian for that matter. But ponder on this: God allowed Christ to be tortured and murdered for our sins. That’s how seriously He takes sin.

So what do we suppose will be the effect on a Christian, if we don’t have the wrath of God in proper perspective with His love and mercy? If we only focus on God’s love and mercy, can we fully embrace the sacrifice Jesus made and why He made it?

There is no substitute

Nov29

fiery-darts-coverrevised

 Before individuals accept Christ as their Savior, they are ruled by their flesh, or sinful nature—a nature predisposed to sin. However, when a person accepts Christ as his or her Savior, a new nature is born, ruled by God’s Spirit. Yet the old spirit remains, thus, creating the great civil war that will be ongoing for the rest of their life. Satan takes full advantage of the struggle between the old nature (the flesh) and the new nature (God’s Spirit). His first attempt will be to weaken our new nature by tempting our old nature with distractions meant to diminish our desire to study the Bible or spend time with God in prayer. p 46, 3rd edition FD

Remember that the desire to sin originates with our fleshly nature. If we don’t focus on the Truths we learn from Scripture, then the temptations/fiery darts, will become harder and harder to resist or even recognize! Knowing the Truths found in the Bible makes us wise to the lies of fiery darts that bombard our minds on a daily basis. Prayer and bible study are effective in keeping us keen to those lies and supplies us with the power to resist them. There is no substitute!

Fiery darts defined!

Jan4

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   In conversation with my grandson, after my 3rd edition of Fiery Darts: Satan’s Weapon of Choice was published, he asked me a very pointed question. “So what is a fiery dart?”

If you have wondered this too, read on.

   First, while Satan cannot read our minds, he can influence our thoughts. Thus, the Bible instructs us to “put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes”  (Eph 6:11 NIV)

   So how do we recognize fiery darts? Examine the effect the “suspicious thought” has on you. Does it produce confusion, fear, doubt, anger, inferiority, indecisiveness, jealously, judgment, or selfishness, for example?  p 53, 3rd edition

   A negative action is often the result of negative thinking. Understandably, if Satan can negatively influence our thinking, then the temptation to act negatively will be hard for us to resist. p 27, 3rd edition

   A realistic view of our areas of vulnerability, or weaknesses, in our flesh, or sin nature, is vital for understanding how the Enemy will attack us. While each of us may have different areas of vulnerability, we need to understand that our area of weakness will be the prime target for Satan’s fiery darts. p 29, 3rd edition

   When a person becomes a Christian they are given a new nature, one that is the direct opposite of their old nature. Formerly, their will was directed by their old nature, but at the point of salvation, their old nature was dethroned. Their will is now directed by their new nature. … With this comes a hunger to study the Bible and to maintain consistent communication with God through prayer. The old nature, the flesh, resists such desires. Eventually, Satan arrives on the scene with his first and most formidable fiery dart—tempting their old nature with powerful distractions, making it harder and harder for new believers to commit to consistent Bible study and time in prayer. p 44, 3rd edition

Therefore,

  If our (Christians) clarity of right and wrong has been diminished by infrequent time in Bible study and prayer then our vulnerability towards Satan’s temptations (fiery darts) is seriously compromised. And those temptations can influence our minds to think negatively.  

    If we allow ourselves to continue avoiding these two disciplines (bible study and prayer), then, our will is more easily influenced by our flesh and is drawn more to the world. Our attitudes and actions will begin to contradict the choice we made to follow Christ’s example. The weaker we become in our Spirit, the more easily we can be manipulated by Satan’s fiery darts.p 47, 3rd edition

To Wrap it Up

Fiery darts are the temptations of Satan.

Fiery dart thinking is the result of giving into those temptations.