The story of my life

Wednesday’s Devotion

The Civil War Within

From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? ―James 4:1



There is a cliché among the “Deeper Life” crowd that says: “You need to get out of Romans seven and into Romans eight.” This sounds spiritual, but it’s not scriptural. The truth is the man groaning in chapter seven is still at it in the next chapter. Inward civil war between the flesh and Spirit is the Christian’s lot, and it’s life-long.
After all, how could we ever claim victories without battles?



The way to deal with our “dark side,” that is, the side that’s in continual opposition to God, is by denial. Not denying its existence, but in recognition. When Peter denied knowing Christ, he was not denying Christ’s existence. He denied any recognition of Him. When “the old man” attempts to usurp authority in our lives, we are to deny him any and all rights; we are not to recognize any of his demands.




In the movie, A Beautiful Mind, actor Russell Crowe plays a true life character who’s a schizophrenic. Toward the end, when the character he portrays is asked if he still had difficulties, he replied, “I still see things, I just don’t acknowledge them.
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