The axis of evil

When we are tired, hungry, angry, broken, weak or proud, spiritually, physically or emotionally the enemy attacks, he knows when we are down or up and waits for an opportunity to entice our flesh and thoughts, and pull us in to sin.

Our battle is against ‘the triple alliance’, writes Raniero Cantalamessa. ‘The world, the flesh, and the devil; the enemy around us, the enemy within us and the enemy above us.’

Mankind is not above corruption, from the paupers to the politicians the preachers to the princes and princesses, we are all fallible and we are easy prey.

There is only one man who stood the test of fallibility and succeeded His name is Christ Jesus, He overcame what we could not and cannot, so we can be in Him and He in us and overcome the world.

We can only do this when we walk in the Spirit and not the flesh, this means we must feed our Spirit and not our flesh, we must spend time with Christ daily in prayer, in the word, and in fellowship, we must develop an attitude of prayer in all we do, arise in prayer, walk-in prayer, work in prayer, be in prayer always.

Our hearts and minds must be turned over to Christ constantly to avoid the snares of our enemies, the flesh, the world, and the devil.

Jesus said to take up our cross and follow Him, the cross is an instrument of humiliation and death, He bore it first for us, we may be scoffed at by the world, but who cares this world and all in it is perishing and will soon be gone, only those who put their faith in Christ will remain with Him for eternity.

We must choose moment by moment who we will follow the enemies of our soul or the one who can make us whole.

Today we will make hundreds of choices, make each one right by seeking the help of the Holy Spirit and honoring Christ Jesus.

There is only one person responsible for our choices, and that is the person reading this now.

As for me; I will follow Christ!

God’s word says this;

“Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of me will find it. For what will it benefit someone if he gains the whole world yet loses his life? Or what will anyone give in exchange for his life? For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will reward each according to what he has done. Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”Matthew 16:24-28 CSB

“Then Jesus left the Jordan, full of the Holy Spirit, and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days to be tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and when they were over, he was hungry. The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.” But Jesus answered him, “It is written: Man must not live on bread alone. ” So he took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. The devil said to him, “I will give you their splendor and all this authority because it has been given over to me, and I can give it to anyone I want. If you, then, will worship me, all will be yours.” And Jesus answered him, “It is written: Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only. ” So he took him to Jerusalem, had him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here. For it is written: He will give His angels orders concerning you, to protect you, and they will support you with their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. ” And Jesus answered him, “It is said: Do not test the Lord your God. ” After the devil had finished every temptation, he departed from him for a time.”Luke 4:1-13 CSB

“What the law could not do since it was weakened by the flesh, God did. He condemned sin in the flesh by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh as a sin offering, in order that the law’s requirement would be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit have their minds set on the things of the Spirit. Now the mind-set of the flesh is death, but the mind-set of the Spirit is life and peace.”Romans 8:3-6 CSB

“Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens — Jesus the Son of God — let us hold fast to our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin. Therefore, let us approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in time of need.”Hebrews 4:14-16 CSB

“Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every hindrance and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us, keeping our eyes on Jesus, the source and perfecter of our faith. For the joy that lay before him, he endured the cross, despising the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, so that you won’t grow weary and give up. In struggling against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.”Hebrews 12:1-4 CSB

“pray constantly,” 1Thessalonians 5:17 CSB