The Sword of the LORD

“And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being forty days tempted of the devil.” (Luke 4:1, 2).   “Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.  And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry.” (Matthew 4:1, 2 NKJV).   “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” (Hebrews 4:15).    Temptation, in whatever form it takes in our lives, is something that scripture calls “common to man” (Corinthians 10:13); it happens to us all.  James tells us that “ EVERY man is tempted” (James 1:14), and Peter reminds us that our adversary, the devil, is always walking around looking for someone to trip up and devour.  We must learn to resist him, “…knowing that the same sufferings are being experienced by your ...

“Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; and were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; and did all eat the same spiritual meat; and did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.  But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness. ” (1 Corinthians 10:1-5).   There are many references throughout scripture to a place called simply “the wilderness.”  Some of those references are to a literal place of desolation such as the wilderness of Sinai where God led the Israelites after they were delivered from Egypt, or the wilderness where Jesus was led by the Spirit to be tempted after He was baptized.  Other references to the wilderness seem to indicate a more figurative place where God’s children are led to be proven and their faith to be tr...

“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.  And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.  And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.” (Genesis 1:1-3).   “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  The same was in the beginning with God.  All things were made by Him; and without Him was not any thing made that was made.  In Him was life; and the life was the light of men.  And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.” (John 1:1-5).   God is the Creator and Designer of all that exists in the natural world.  He is the Architect and Builder of all that exists in the unseen spiritual realm as well.  In the beginning He spoke the worlds into existence and hung the stars in space.  Like a potter with a lump of clay, He took this earth which was...

"Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus..." (Philippians 2:5).   There are many battles that we must face while trying to live our lives for the Lord.  We have an enemy who is intent on drawing us away from our confidence in Christ, and causing us to trust in our own strength and will.  It is not just a matter of overcoming obvious sin, we must also learn that anything that emanates from the natural man is tainted by the flesh, and promotes self-interest.  We do possess some natural strength; but when it comes to spiritual warfare, our greatest natural power is simply insufficient to win the day.  Jesus said, "...without Me ye can do nothing." (John 15:5b).  Many Christians still insist on doing much, though, and the result bears no lasting fruit.  In Christ, however, we find that we are more than conquerors, and as we learn to rely on Him, we find that our enemy must flee away, and our natural life (the carnal man) can be subdued...

"I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.  So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of My mouth.  Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked..." (Revelations 3:15-17).   These words of the Lord to the Laodicean church in Revelations are most sobering, especially so when one considers their relevance to the church today.   The Laodiceans had become lukewarm in their faith, and Jesus told them that He would spit them out of His mouth.   Just like a glass or cup of liquid that has become room temperature and no longer satisfies the need that it was poured for, they had become neither cold nor hot.   They were therefore unable to satisfy the needs around them.   Jesus said He would rather they be one way or the other: to get in all the way, or...