DO YOU SOmetimes Feel There is a War Raging Inside You?

Holy Land Picture of the Day

Israeli Wedding Today's picture is of an Israeli couple getting married. It reminds us of Jeremiah 33:10-11; "Thus says the Lord, 'Yet again there will be heard in this place, of which you say, 'It is a waste, without man and without beast," that is, in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem that are desolate, without man and without inhabitant and without beast, the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voice of those who say, 'Give thanks to the Lord of hosts, for the Lord is good, for His lovingkindness is everlasting"; and of those who bring a thank offering into the house of the Lord. For I will restore the fortunes of the land as they were at first,' says the Lord.  "For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please” (Gal 5:17). Hey Gang:  I don’t know about you but in these days of being in God’s shaker, there are times when I feel like there is a raging war inside of me.  The old adage, ‘we do the very things we know were wrong yesterday with the hopes that they will somehow turn out differently today’ , seems to be a driving force in our world.  I read this very descriptive phrase in the Berean Daily Scripture Verse for the day, “Sometimes we seem to consist of a whole clamorous mob of desires, like week-old kittens, blind of eye with mouths wide open, mewing to be satisfied.”  O, I wish that were not true but I must plead “guilty”.   I want what I want when I want it!  Am I talking to anyone out there or am I preaching to the choir? Did you ever feel like this? “It is as if two voices are in us, arguing, "You shall, you shall not. You ought, you ought not." Does not God want us to set a will above these appetites that cannot be bribed, a reason that cannot be deceived, and a conscience that will be true to God and His standards? We must either control ourselves using the courage, power, and love of God's Spirit, or we will fall to pieces.  It is the choice - whether we will feed the white dog and starve the black dog- that determines victory or failure reigns down upon us, But, can we blame it on our original father and mother?  Adam and Eve established the pattern for mankind in the Garden of Eden. But, can we rationalize and blame it all on the incidence of original sin?  All of us have followed it, and then, conscience-smitten, we rankle under feelings of weakness. Satan did a number on them and they bought into it. It worked so well on them that it is the number one tool that Satan uses on us.  The apple looked so good!!!!! A certain Bishop Butler said, "If conscience had power, as it has authority, it would govern the world." Solomon, in his dissertation on vanity, said, “Authority without power is nothing but vanity”. Think about that for a moment, conscience has the authority to guide or accuse, but what good is it if the will is so enfeebled that the passions and desires get the bit between their teeth, trample the conscience, and gallop headlong to the inevitable collision with the ditch. Sooo gang, keep in mind I am writing this to the writer of this epistle, but if it rankles your spirit,  take heed.  I have tried many remedies but have found there is but one solution to this and it lies in our relationship with Christ.  Paul said, “So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work, for His good pleasure.”  (Phil. 2:12-13))    Blessing, Gramp's