Category Archives: Attacks

Ashamed, Attacks, Bible, Embarrassment, Humiliation, Scripture

NOT ASHAMED

ROMANS 1:16

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”

Shame and condemnation are methods the devil uses to try to discourage and discredit us. You’re not worthy! Look at all the bad stuff you’ve done. God can’t forgive you! Those are just a few of the things he might say. Shame has no place in the life of the believer, either shame dumped on us by others (or the devil) or shame we put on ourselves. Paul talks about another kind of shame, however, in today’s verse. Let’s see what he says.

Paul says, “I am not ashamed of the gospel.” Why in the world would he say that? Well, just think about his life. He had been a Pharisee, a keeper of the law. Now he is proclaiming salvation in Jesus alone. All those Jewish leaders he knew were shaming him, even attacking him. They probably said he had lost it, had gone crazy and was even denying his faith. Shame, shame, shame! But Paul was brave and courageous and refused that shame. He was speaking the truth and seeing lives changed.

APPLICATION

The word for “ashamed” is used eleven times in the New Testament. Six of those times it is used in the negative as to “not be ashamed” as it is here in today’s verse. But in Mark 8:38 (and the parallel verses in Luke 9:26) Jesus warns us of being ashamed of Him or His words. “‘For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.’” Now, who wants to face that? I sure don’t. I want to hear those precious words, Well done, my good and faithful servant.

Paul tells Timothy to “not be ashamed” in 2 Timothy 1:8. “Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me His prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God,…” And he says he is not ashamed in verse 12 of the same chapter. “For this reason I also suffer these things; but I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that He is able to protect what I have entrusted to Him until that day.” There’s a little song that goes with that verse. Remember it – “For I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able,…”

Paul praises a believer named Onesiphorus 2 Timothy 1:16-18 for not being ashamed. “16 The Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains; 17 but when he was in Rome, he eagerly searched for me and found me— 18 the Lord grant to him to find mercy from the Lord on that day—and you know very well what services he rendered at Ephesus.” Don’t you want to hear those words said about you? Live unashamed of the Gospel of Christ. Live so that you will not be ashamed at His coming!

Lord, I am not ashamed of being called Your child and of placing my faith in You. You are my life.

If the Lord should lead you to support our ministry, check out our ministry page at Trans World Radio (www.twr.org/carl-willis). 

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Affliction, Attacks, Battles, Bible, Challenging, Consequences, Enslavement, Following, God's Will, Healing, Markers, Scars, Wounds

THE MARKS OF JESUS

GALATIANS 6:17

“From now on let no one cause trouble for me, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus.”

I’ve got several scars on my body. I can tell you all about them. Cut knee when I was just a boy. Pencil point in my palm, cancer surgery on my chest. Should I go on? I am sure you have your own scars and your own stories. Today, as Paul comes to the next to the last verse of his letter to the Galatians, he reminds them once again of his legitimacy as an apostle of Christ.

Paul had obviously been given trouble by these Judaizers who were trying to undermine what he had taught. They were constantly questioning his right to even teach. But he reminds them all that he had paid the price. We know of Paul’s beatings by rods. We remember how he was stoned. Paul had his share of scars and his own stories for each one. They were all for the cause of Christ, and he bore them proudly.

APPLICATION

What scars do you have in your journey to follow Jesus? You may have some emotional scars? You may have been beaten for your faith. The Greek word for “marks” is stigmata. It is only used right here in the New Testament. It literally means the brand a slave had burned upon him to show his master’s ownership. It also referred to the brands inflicted on those who were committed to serve in a pagan temple. Paul had his marks, as I mentioned above, which showed his loyalty to Jesus.

I am writing this blog on Memorial Day, a holiday we keep in the U.S. to remember those who have given their life in service to our country. They bore the ultimate sacrifice. They were mortally wounded. Their scars cost them their lives. There are people all over this world today who have given their lives for the cause of Christ. Just this week an American couple was killed in Haiti. They were missionaries who were killed by gang members. They entered heaven bearing the marks of Christ.

Reread the crucifixion verses and see the marks Jesus received. He was scourged, beaten, nailed to a cross, speared in His side. We may never receive those kinds of marks, but we will have marks. Wear your marks proudly. When people see you, let them be reminded of your loyalty to your master.

I thank You, Lord, for allowing me to be scarred for Your sake.

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Attacks, Battles, Bible, Choices, Defeat, Enemies, Flesh, Holy Spirit, Opponents, Scripture

BEING AGAINST SOMETHING

GALATIANS 5:17

“For the desire of the flesh is against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, in order to keep you from doing whatever you want.”

A lot of times when we hear someone is against something we automatically assume it’s a negative reaction to something. There are some things in this world that we need to be against. We should be against child abuse in any form. We should be against domestic violence against men or women. We should be against heresy in the church. And we should be against the deeds of the flesh, which is Paul’s topic in today’s verse.

Paul is discussing the battle we are up against every day with our flesh. He says the Spirit (which resides in each of us as believers) is in opposition to our flesh (which we are born with – that old sin nature). The Greek word he uses here for “opposition” is used eight times in the New Testament, six times by Paul himself. It can be translated as enemy. Get the picture. Our flesh is no friend to the Spirit. So, each day we must destroy that flesh and yield to the Spirit.

APPLICATION

Antikeimai is defined as “someone being thoroughly unreconcilable.” You have probably heard of a couple divorcing due to “irreconcilable differences.” That’s the picture here. Our flesh and the Spirit cannot coexist. Many believers try to do that. They are trying to live in the world according to fleshly standards. It just won’t work. The world will eat you up. It loves to cater to the flesh. It will not honor the Spirit.

Now, we can’t escape this flesh as long as we are in this world, but we should always stand against it. I shared earlier in this study in Galatians my life verse, which is Galatians 2:20. “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.”

My flesh has been crucified with Christ. It is dead to this world. I still have the choice each day whether to let it resurrect itself in my life or to keep it nailed to that cross. I choose today to live by the Spirit. It is through the Spirit that I can communicate directly with my Lord. Don’t you desire the same? Today, choose Spirit over flesh.

Thank You, Lord, for giving me a new life in the Spirit. Help me keep that flesh defeated each day.

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