40 Days of

Fighting the Flesh



















































Week 3 Devotions

Freedom from the Flesh

Day 13



There was once a young man who played tight end for his football team in his senior year. He was a very strong but soft spoken kid with a good work ethic. His athleticism also showed primarily in his punting ability, yet he was no slouch at tight end either. This came to play in the last game of the season when set a school record for most yards gained and several touchdowns. It was a happy day for him, yet it was also sad in some respects. Why? This was the first game that the quarterback ever threw the ball to him. Throughout the season he had picked his favorites and never even tried to throw the ball anywhere else. Here they had this great weapon in which they could have scored a lot more points - and they never used it! The best they could say was, "we didn't know you were so fast!" "Thanks a lot," the boy thought.

Did you know that you have a secret weapon that isn't being used like it should? It's something that can help you fight demons, overcome sin, and live the way that God wants you to live. What is it? It's your BAPTISM. God's Word promises a tremendous amount of power that comes through baptism. Listen to these promises in Romans 6 -

God's Word promises us that when we were baptized God took our sinful nature and put it on the cross with Christ. Your sinful nature is that inner corruption that you are born with - the desire to live for the SELF and please the SELF. Imagine, for instance, that you had a cruel taskmaster that lived in your house - who overpowered you and made you do whatever he asked. Imagine how thankful you would be if somebody came in and put him to death! That's what Paul promises your baptism did for you. It freed you from the selfishness and the uncontrollable desires that rage within your soul. It made you see that there is someone else to live for - and that is Christ.

Here's the point, if you live without remembering your baptism, it's like you forget about your secret weapon. It doesn't mean that the battle can't be won. But it's a lot easier to use all the weapons in your arsenal. The promises of God are our weapons. Either we trust in them enough to use them or we try to fight life with our own devices and know how. God gave you your baptism to use. Every day that you wake up, cross yourself and say, "I was baptized." Think about what a wonderful gift that was, and USE it in your fight against Satan.



Key Point: Baptism is not a one time event. It is a life long gift that God wants us to use by trusting in it until the day we die. Think about it every day and trust God's promise to you.

Scripture Readings: Romans 6 and Galatians 3. Think about the power of baptism.



Day 14



One of the more interesting stories in the Bible is when Jesus met a demon possessed man in the region of the Gerasenes. Mark 5 reads, "This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him any more, not even with a chain. For he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. No one was strong enough to subdue him. Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones." Imagine the strength involved to be able to tear chains in two? Another story relates how one demon possessed man beat the tar of the of seven sons of Sceva - making them run from the house naked and bloody when they tried to heal the man. That's pretty incredible stuff.

If that's what a demon can do through a man, imagine then what GOD could do through you! Baptism doesn't only put your old sinful nature to death, God also promises that through the washing with water through the Word - He conveys the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Acts 2:38-39 Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off--for all whom the Lord our God will call."

Therefore, Paul draws upon this gift of the Holy Spirit as an extra incentive in life - an encouragement for us to fight the good fight.

The Holy Spirit does not work in ways that are very impressive ways according to the eyes of the world. He doesn't prefer the earth shattering events, but the whispers and the seeming weakness of the Word and water. Think about who He is though - He is God Almighty - living inside of you. He can do ten times more than the devil - if He wills it. Even though you may not be able to "feel" him or "see Him, God says He is there. Just trust in Him to give you strength to do what needs to be done and to keep you strong for faith. He is a much stronger ally than any demon or angel could ever be.



Key Point: The Holy Spirit is living within you through your Baptism. Trust in Him and rely on Him to help you in time of need. He can keep you from giving in to your sinful nature and doing things you know are wrong.



Scripture readings: Read Acts 2 and Acts 13. Note the role of the Holy Spirit throughout.

Day 15



This springtime some of you may have already planted some different seeds and bulbs in hopes of having a flower of vegetable garden. As the spring then progresses, you will continue to water and weed your plot of dirt with eager expectations of the growth to come from the seeds. God expects the same of us. We are His garden, and He expects His garden to grow.

Notice the two terms that the Word uses - seed and fruit. In His parable of the seed and the sower in Matthew 13, Jesus talked about how the Word - as the seed - is treated in different ways. The best response is in vs. 23, "the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown."

This is what God expects of us - not the worst - but the best. This is what Paul expected of the Corinthians when he wrote in1 Corinthians 1:4-9, "in him you have been enriched in every way--in all your speaking and in all your knowledge-- because our testimony about Christ was confirmed in you. Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful." He also wrote to the Romans in 15:14, "I myself am convinced, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, complete in knowledge and competent to instruct one another."

So what do you expect of yourself? This isn't a matter of self esteem - it's a matter of trust in God's Word and promises. He promises His Word won't return void. He says it is powerful and effective. The Holy Spirit can work through it to produce tremendous changes in your life. All too often in our lives we use excuses for our behavior. When we are short tempered, we excuse it by saying, "that's just the way I am." When we are lazy, we say "I can't help it." God doesn't feel that way. He can help it. It's not the way you are - not any more. He didn't plant these seeds in your flesh so that no fruits would grow. He looks for growth and expects it. When we say things like, "I can't help it," and "that's just the way I am," we are in effect cutting the Holy Spirit's arms short. We are negating any opportunity to growth with a lack of faith in His words and promises.

All of us know our own weaknesses. Think about what your worse weakness is. Is it lust? Is it laziness? Is it being short with people? Whatever it is, ask for the Holy Spirit's strength to fight that sin. Get into the Word and trust that God will produce change in you. Start looking at what He can do through you, instead of looking at what you can't do or haven't done yet - on your own.



Key Point: Expect growth from the Word of God that is planted in you. Don't be resigned to the same old sins. Have faith that God can give you control over them.



Scripture Readings: Matthew 13. Galatians 5.

Day 16



Grace was a cute little five year old girl with curly hair and a smile on her face about a mile wide. She was one of those kids who parents worry about in today's day and age, because she was so open and trusting with people. She didn't see the news reports with the ever prevalent child molesters and abductions. She just lived life with her head in the clouds and always seemed to be optimistic. When spring time came around and her mom decided to plant a garden, little Grace couldn't wait to get involved. She had five new sunflower seeds that she wanted to plant in the garden, and she couldn't wait to get them in. However, as the summer progressed and she kept on watering, one of the seeds never came up. Then, to her sorrow, one of the sunflowers ended up dying for some reason, and another one was run over by her brothers while they were playing football in the backyard. She started to realize that things didn't always turn out as they planned. The next year, when her mom told her she was going to plant a garden again, little Grace said, "I don't think I want to plant anything this year." "Why not," her mother plied. "Because my sunflowers didn't do too good last year. I doubt if anything will grow. That wasn't like Grace, so her mom encouraged her and said, "What about the two sunflowers that DID grow?" Grace smiled again and said, "they sure were pretty, weren't they?" "Yeah," said her mom. Then they went out together and gave it another shot.

Have you lost some of your optimism on life? How about on outreach? Did you have someone that you really tried to bring to church or to tell about Jesus only laugh in your face? After those disappointments, it's easy to just give up and say, " I tried it once, it didn't work." In the back of our minds we think to ourselves, "he'll come to church once and then never come back again." Sometimes it's true. Maybe even many times - that someone will come for a few weeks but never end up as a full fledged member of the congregation. Such situations are frustrating and hard. But there are also success stories - of people who were definitely on the highway to hell but were turned around and stayed changed for the rest of their lives. Consider many of the Corinthians for instance.

1 Corinthians 6:9-11 Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

Did you see what some of the Corinthians were at one time? Homosexuals, prostitutes, drunkards, and swindlers. Yet when they were washed in the waters of baptism, God changed their hearts. The forgiveness of Christ and love of God made them want to stay out of the mud instead of get back in. Chances are, that guy that you work with the vile mouth - who's to say he's as far gone as a prostitute or someone addicted to a same sex relationship? Who's to say that nephew of yours who is rebelling against his parents right now wouldn't listen to God's Word? Maybe he's actually open for it? You never know. What you do know is that God HAS WORKED tremendous miracles in people - including you and me. You do know that God's Word is POWERFUL. But how can the power work if you don't trust in it?

I had a friend of mine who had just gotten out in the ministry, who was gung ho to go and do some outreach. One of the older pastors said, "you're still young and full of optimism." He replied, "I hope I never lose that optimism." As old and well tried Christians - let's be optimistic - like little Grace - before the disappointment - in the way we approach people. Instead of doubting what they could become, trust in what God can do with them. Instead of assuming they'd never be good church members - don't worry about that - that' s God's job - just give them Christ. Trust that maybe a few will be saved - many even many - to the glory of God.



Key Point: Be optimistic with what God can do with people. Don't cut the Holy Spirit's hands short by assuming someone is too far gone. Their flesh may be addicted to some powerful things, but God's grace can break the flesh of any addiction.



Scripture Readings: 1 Corinthians 6 and John 8 and Luke 15. Notice how Jesus looked for the lost and God saves them.



Day 17



Back in the 1970's and 1980's I was convinced that there was a conspiracy against the Milwaukee Bucks. Every time that they played the Philadelphia 76'ers or the Boston Celtics the referees would always call a crucial play against them and lose the game for them. When the Seahawks lost the latest Super Bowl, I would venture to bet that many of their fans felt the same way. "The game must be rigged." It's been a claim from pessimistic fans - usually the losers - for quite some time. Sometimes it even proved true, as a point shaving scandal in College Basketball was once revealed, as well as the ice skating championships of several years ago also showed.

In a sense, you could say that the game of life is "rigged" - in our favor. How so? Think of the story of Job. The devil wanted to get Job to give up his faith, but what did God tell the devil? Job 2:6 The LORD said to Satan, "Very well, then, he is in your hands; but you must spare his life." God put LIMITS as to what Satan could do! So also God promises us in 1 Corinthians 10:13, "No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it." God knows what we can bear. He says in Matthew 10:30 that even the hairs of our head are numbered. He knows what our breaking point is, and what it isn't.

What does this tell us? How often in life do we tell ourselves, "I just can't take anymore." In a fit of rage or anger or despair we then proceed to have a pity party or a fit or a breakdown of some sort. We do this because we've convinced ourselves that we just can't do it anymore - whatever "it" is - watching the kids, worrking the job, doing the homework, going to school, listening to the spouse, whatever. Yet God's Word doesn't see it that way. If we couldn't have taken it, God wouldn't have allowed it to happen to us. The game is rigged. God sets limits according to our strengths and weaknesses. The temptation - whether to sex, anger, or whatever - is NOT beyond what we can bear.

Doesn't this give you confidence the next time you find yourself in a seemingly "no win" situation. If God promises He won't let you be tested beyond what you can bear - then He also is promising you the STRENGTH to get through it. That doesn't mean we always do it with a smile. Job definitely went through his moments of doubt and even anger with God. Yet he never cursed God - never disowned God - never gave up the fight. It isn't a loss if you feel worn out. It isn't a loss if you feel frustrated. It isn't a loss if you need some breather time. These may all be temporary "ways out" that God gives us. It is a loss when you give up on your call - your vocation - to do what God calls you to do - whether it be as a husband, wife, child, worker, employer, student, or whatever. When you leave other people in the cold - when you abandon your duty to family or employer without a God pleasing reason - then you have lost the battle.

The promise from God to you today is that the battle is rigged. The devil may think he is winning. He probably thought he was winning as Job was angry and in pain - lying on the ground in sheer agony. It seemed as if he were winning when Jesus was hanging on the cross. Yet in the midst of these trials, God was still in control. The devil was still only serving God's purpose. The battle was rigged. God's servants won in the end, thanks be to God. The trick in living as Christianity is to believe that God is still in control - that the battle is under His jurisdiction, even when it seems the devil is winning. When your spouse leaves, your children pass away, or your health deteriorates - it seems the devil is winning - yet God is still in control. He works ALL THINGS out for good to those who love him. So take comfort in that fact. Rest in that fact. Remember that on the cross Jesus said the war was finished. Keep fighting the battle - clinging to God's promise of victory in Christ.



Key Point: Remember that the battle is rigged. God promises that the devil is still under his control, only doing as much as God - who knows your strengths and limits - will allow.



Scripture Readings: Read Job 1-2 and 40. Note how all worked out for good in the end.





Day 18



I went to a Lutheran High School. Some people have their children enter these schools with the false hopes that it will be some sort of a utopian society and that all of the children there will be just perfect little angels. When I joined I realized that it would not be that, since the Prep School seemed to be reserved (in my mind) for the students who were a little more prim and proper. And so, like with any school there were both temptations and sins that the children tried their best to remain kept under the rug. There were also certain students there who willingly took on the role of leading the pack into the wrong path. We don't need to get into any dirty details here, but suffice it to say there were sins committed. One young man sticks out in my mind as a particularly forceful and brazen tempter, so to speak. He loved to use peer pressure to try to get as many as possible to join along with him in the group. Whereas he had some good qualities to him and some seemingly fun and hearty spirit within, it was misguided at best.

When you are put in the presence of these forceful personalities - whether at work or at school - you have to take sides - you can't play the neutral party. If you do not join, you will be labeled as a "holier than thou." If you do join, you cannot expect to keep your nose clean, as much as you may convince yourself otherwise. It's at times like this that sometimes we cave into the pressure - give in to the desire to fit in and have "some fun" or "experience life" as we like to excuse it. Some give in. Sooner or later though, most people come to the realization - after several bad or embarrassing experiences - thanks be to God for those - that they don't want to go down that path. They start realizing that "fitting in" isn't worth it. In spite of the ridicule, in spite of the ostracism, they begin to say, "no." In high school, the one young man who in the earlier years found himself very influential and well known - in my mind at least ended up as more despised and disliked by the time high school ended, because his classmates didn't want to live the lifestyle he was pressuring them into.

That's what you need to finally do to the sinful nature within. He likes to assert himself and act like the big shot. He likes to tell you what to do. But what does God finally say about him? In Romans 6:6 Paul says, "we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin." That sinful nature is dead. You don't have to listen to him. You don't have to have sex just because your classmates have and they think they're cool because of it. You don't have to tell dirty jokes just to mix in with the crowd. You don't have to make fun of the President just because everyone else does. Your sinful flesh has been crucified - it IS NOT powerful any more. I imagine that in England after World War II was done there were still many children who were afraid that the Germans would bomb them in the middle of the night. How many parents time and again had to tell their children, "the war is over. It's ok! Go to sleep." Hopefully, with those reassurances - their children fell back to sleep.

Your sinful nature has been crucified. You don't need to listen to it. It may still be able to talk and walk, but in reality - it's dead. The more you listen to it and the more you fear it, the more it will have influence on you. Just keep telling yourself, "be quiet! I've been baptized! You've been crucified! I don't listen to dead people." You have the power to say "no." You - as a baptized Christian, don't have to give into any of your urges. You don't have to fear that it will some how fall back into your sinful way of life, when you remember that. It's only when you start fearing him that he starts taking over again. It's only when you forget that he's dead that he starts coming to life.



Key Point: Your sinful nature is dead, not alive. It does not have the power to boss you around any more. So don't listen to it, no matter what it tries to tell you to do.



Scripture Readings: Read Genesis 4. Note how sin gained control of Cain's life. Read Genesis 39. Note how Joseph said "no" to temptation.



Day 19



Come to class at 9:15 to learn more about the temptations of the flesh after the fall!