“Our Daily Bread”   

http://odb.org/2012/09/21/much-trouble/

The Daily Devotions of Greg Laurie                                  

http://www.harvest.org/devotional/daily-devotions/home.ht 

1 Peter 4:3-4… For we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles—when we walked in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries. ⁴ In regard to these, they think it strange that you do not run with them in the same flood of dissipation, speaking evil of you.  (NKJV)

All of these sins and more, as listed in the opening scripture by the apostle Peter…belong to people either still living in the world as un-believers…or Christians that are no longer listening to the urging of the Holy Spirit to stop living like they use to, before becoming a Christian…

Today I write for the brand new Christian…or any Christian finding it hard to stand up against the persecution from those around them that have not been graced with salvation… As a previous youth group leader, I have seen dozens of teens professing to have just become Christians, after hearing the gospel of Christ at a three day Christian weekend known as “Snow Camp” (At the “Word of Life Bible Institute”)  http://wolsnowcamp.org/

These teens were professing to be saved by God’s pure grace through their faith alone in Jesus Christ… These brand new Christians then went back to high school, where they would either stand up for Christ and proudly profess that they had been “born again” as a new child of God…or they would eventually cave into pier pressure and the evil, thoughtless, hurtful, unkind remarks from their unsaved friends…

The apostle Paul tells us this, in…Romans 1:16…  For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.  (NKJV)   …And Jesus Himself gives us this bit of advice, in…Matthew 10:32-33… “Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. ³³ But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.”  (NKJV)

I am reminded of a study I did some time back, about Jesus’ “Parable of the Soils”; as written in…Matthew 13:1-23…   http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=mat13:1-23&version=NKJV   …I believe the stony soil in Jesus’ parable, produced a person who heard what is now called the gospel of Christ, and made an emotional commitment to seeking Christ as their personal Lord and Savior… In their mind, they had become a Christian; but there was never a change of their heart by God (Psalm 51:10)…  At the first sign of persecution, they fell prey and stumbled because they were not truly saved… Here is Jesus’ teaching, in…

Matthew 13:20-21… “But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; ²¹ yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles.”  (NKJV)  

The “word” Jesus is speaking about, is defined in this scripture, in…Mark 1:14-15… Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, ¹⁵ and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”  (NKJV)

It is the power of the Holy Spirit that God gives to His new child, which will enable them to become grounded and rooted in the Word (Matthew 13:23)…  The scripture above calls this…“the power of God to salvation”…  The full power of the Holy Spirit with-in the new Christian; will be challenged by Satan to take back control… I am one who believes that salvation can never be lost… But I believe this struggle will only be mostly won by the believer who spends time in the Word; and puts on the “Whole Armor of God”… This is a complete 6 piece set of Satan busting spiritual armor that I so often write about; to protect the Christian from Satan’s endless attacks…Ephesians 6:10-20…  Here is the link to read the apostle Paul’s writing on God’s whole set of spiritual armor…    http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=eph6:10-20&version=NKJV  

I believe every word written in the Bible, to be the inerrant Word of God (2 Timothy 3:16-17)… I therefore believe that it is possible for Christians to keep Satan under control, as written by the apostle James, in…James 4:6-7…  But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.” ⁷ Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.  (NKJV)

This requires TOTAL submission to the leading of the Holy Spirit…  When the Christian is walking with the Lord…and the Holy Spirit is in full control…I believe Satan will look for an easier mark… But the Christian must always be alert for the temptations from Satan, or their own desires of the flesh, which will never stop urging Christians to sin…

Heavenly Father, I personally thank You for the protection Your whole suit of spiritual armor has given me, to help keep Satan at bay… I know Lord, that this ability to fend off Satan is only possible because of the full power of the Holy Spirit living with the Christian…  I pray Lord, that You urge all of Your children to adorn themselves one piece at a time, with the spiritual armor You have provided for them; and that Your childrenlearn to live in total submission to Your will and Your ways…in Jesus’ most precious name and for His sake…Amen…

P.S.  The gospel of Christ is presented in the link below, to plant the seed toward salvation for those who want to become part of God’s family; to be sure they are righteous in God’s eyes, and filled with the awesome power of the Holy Spirit…

https://godsmanforever.wordpress.com/2012/08/08/the-gospel-of-christ-is-presented-to-plant-the-seed-toward-salvation-5/