The Feed Mill

Today’s Bible Reading: Deuteronomy 20-23

Today’s Devotional: Deuteronomy 20:1-9

Spiritual Warfare

God’s desire was that the children of Israel would go forward and be on the offense to remove what would cause them to sin and to stumble as well as what would cause travelers passing through the land to go after others god’s as well. Everything in the promised land was to point to the one true God and not be tainted and mixed with foreign and false gods which are created by the hands of men.

This is the same truth for the life of the Christian, the life of the Christian is called to make radical changes for what is important and what is valuable. It is one so that our relationship with God through Christ Jesus will not be tainted and obscured by false forms and demands, but for the purity of our relationship with Him. And to also it is to communicate to others who we see on a regular basis as well as those we may brush it off as “well it’s okay because I won’t ever see them again” because the likelihood of seeing that individual is low. But God desires every second we have with anyone to be a testimony of the character of God and the greatness of Him.

Deuteronomy 20:3 in removing the things that we are called to remove so that we ourselves are not stumbled, overtaken, or grow weary we must, it’s imperative that we do not let our heart fait at the size of the work and that we do not fear because of the work to be done, because it’s the Lord who goes before us to do His sanctifying work of our heart and in our lives. He does this by His Grace, because He loves us it’s not because of something we have done to prove He should go before us and remove these things that get in the way of our relationship with Him. The only thing we can do is not let Him, our hearts grow tired and overwhelmed because we look at the work and think it is completed in our strength or because of our moral character that He works in our life, but that is the opposite of Grace, that is works. Any works that we may do are not the cause of God’s Grace they are only the response to God’s Grace.

Deuteronomy 20:5 in removing things from our lives we are called to be of one mind and one accord with the objective, that it’s Christ and His calling which is being worked out. In the church it is not that those who have the things in 20:5-7 are disqualified but the spiritual application is that anyone who values the things which they have obtained more than the work God wants to do in our lives; the worldly pleasure, status, and possessions then it’s those who will not benefit be fully committed to the Sanctifying Work the Lord desires to do in our lives.

Deuteronomy 20:8 Those the Lord has given to the church to equip and edify the individual, Ephesians 4:11-12, with the Spiritual Gifts that have been given, Ephesians 4:8, for the work the Lord desires to do in the individuals life God desires that they know the individuals that they are responsible for equipping and edifying and to be on the front lines with them and help to lift burdens and strengthen so that each may do the individual work the Lord has called them to, so that the Body may work together in unity of one calling.

Galatians 6:1-5 encourages that we help lift the burdens of those on the front lines, those who are over burdened.

Colossians 1:18-23 Christ is the head of the church and everything is placed and completed through the church and the church is only the church when it is unified in the Head, which is Christ. Without unity of Christ and everything being about Christ even if Christians gather but the singular reason for them gathering is not to make Christ known amongst them and to grow in the knowledge and unity of and  in Christ, then that’s not church, that’s just a social gathering. And the only way to know what is of Christ and what is in Christ is to be in His Word.

So there fore put on daily our Armor, Ephesians 6, so that we may come to trust and know what Hezekiah strengthened those in Judah with, 2Chronicles 32:7-8 it is not about what we can gain or what comes against in the physical but it’s about who we trust and who we spend time with in the Spirit.