Guardians

This mornings study had me camped on a particular scripture that I’ve seen many times before but as always, God has a way of using an old message and laying them on fresh ears. Depending on the season of life, spiritual maturity and/or level of surrender to God, His Word continues to bring new insight and wisdom to those who earnestly seek it. The scripture we camped on was Galatians 2:20, in reference to illustrating how we are Christ’s Armor-bearer. An armor-bearer was someone who guarded a King with his very life, just as “secret service agents who guard the president”. Look at the scripture in Galatians 2:20 “My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” As Christians we chose to die to our own will, selfishness and sin. We chose to live a new life that is powered by Gods very own spirit equipping us to live pure and noble lives. Each day when we choose to resist the temptations thrown at us, we are dying for our Lord and King...Jesus Christ! I love how Beth Moore describes this in the study I’m doing called “David...Seeking a Heart Like His”: “Our old body of sin, the nature that must seek its own way, the person who is hopelessly depraved and resigned to failure, hangs limp on the cross. Raised in its place is the Spirit of The Living God poured into a temple of flesh so that God’s presence will remain among men. The armor that once we could only carry in our hands is now fitted for us and we rise from the dead-warriors. Oh, that we would not cling to the things of our old body of sin. It is nothing but a decaying carcass. I have been crucified with Christ. I no longer live but Christ lives in me. I must rise, turn away from the old things of death, take on His armor, and fight the good fight.” Romans 6:6-18 elaborates on this even more. “We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin. And since we died with Christ, we know we will also live with him. We are sure of this because Christ was raised from the dead, and he will never die again. Death no longer has any power over him. When he died, he died once to break the power of sin. But now that he lives, he lives for the glory of God. So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus. Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires. Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God. Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace. Well then, since God’s grace has set us free from the law, does that mean we can go on sinning? Of course not! Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living. Thank God! Once you were slaves of sin, but now you wholeheartedly obey this teaching we have given you. Now you are free from your slavery to sin, and you have become slaves to righteous living.” So we must decide today and everyday....will we live a pure and noble life by denying ourselves of things that are displeasing to God, picking up our cross and living for Christ or will we trample the cross of Christ and the sacrifice He made for us by continually choosing filth, earthly pleasures and selfishness over Him and what He wants for us? “...He is patient with you. He doesn’t want anyone to be destroyed. Instead, he wants all people to turn away from their sins.” 2 Peter 3:9 “For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11 “...God our Savior, who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth.” 1 Timothy 2:4 “Dear children, don’t let anyone deceive you about this: When people do what is right, it shows that they are righteous, even as Christ is righteous. But when people keep on sinning, it shows that they belong to the devil, who has been sinning since the beginning. But the Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil. Those who have been born into God’s family do not make a practice of sinning, because God’s life is in them. So they can’t keep on sinning, because they are children of God.” 1 John 3:7-9