Friday Fight 183: The Word or the World?

Every Friday, when I wake and pray, God places something on my heart to help fight darkness beginning in our minds. Today is FF183.

When we think about where we spend the majority of our time, most of us would respond with work, either inside or outside the home. Our focus lies on how we earn an income for most of the day. Still, other things consume our time—it could be educating ourselves, pouring into our family, personal fitness, and time in the Word and with God. While these things are essential, other categories can also fill our day–like binge-watching Netflix, scrolling social media, gambling, or even mindless games on our phones. The spiritual condition of our soul is dictated by what consumes our attention. Let's look at some things that can help us be more spiritually conditioned.

The Word or the World?

We all know the positive impact that regular exercise has on our overall health. Exercising one to two times a week is a good start, but significant changes occur when it increases to four or more times. Just like good health will help prevent sickness in our bodies, there is something else we can do to avoid sickness in our souls: reading the Word.

I recently read a study showing that reading Scripture four or more times a week reduces the likelihood of things contaminating our flesh and corrupting souls. Reading the Word decreases sinful habits like being drunk, watching porn, cheating, and gambling by significant amounts. It seems that the more we are in the Word, the less we are in the world, and God's will and Truth replace whatever is consuming our focus with statements like "I want or need." James 4:10 says we should humble ourselves before the Lord, and He will lift us up. Dwelling with Him is a daily focus when we humble ourselves before God. Sin happens in the absence of God, and humility is how we communicate with Him.

We all experience times when we get caught up in the perfect performance, with our sole focus being the preservation of self, and pride can creep in where we least expect it. We have to be constantly aware of our speech and actions. Pride is at the root of every sin, but humility is the absence of pride and the only route to holiness. How can we focus on God more and ourselves less to protect our souls and rid ourselves of sin? We could apply the following analogy by momentarily taking the word 'route' and concentrating on it. The more time we spend in the Word, the greater our understanding is that our sole dependency should be on God. We empty ourselves, emptying our hearts of self so that God can fill us with His love. The more we do, the more powerfully He can move. In this filling, we become a vessel for Him, which He leads. In the world, we are emptied by our desires to repeatedly fill the flesh, becoming a vehicle that the world drives. One course leads to dwelling with God, and the other departing from Him.

Let us work together to become God-valued rather than self-valued. If we are not careful, seeds of pride can be fed without us ever realizing it. Once we confess our sins, we stand firm in focusing on God rather than obsessing over our mistakes. Approach each day selflessly by serving others. The increase in humility is the decrease of self-exaltation when we allow the Second Adam to take away the sins of the First. We replace our desire for recognition with our spiritual resignation. When we humble our souls, we please God in heaven and receive His blessings.

Pastor Shannon

New Life Church