Corruption

“For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (2 Peter 1:5-8 / ESV)

Our world is full of it. We don’t have to search and it is not hiding. It is given to us. We pay for it. We desire it. We attempt to flee from it and at every turn, we come face-to-face with it…again and again. Corruption is what we call it. It goes by other names though, too. Deceitfulness, Betrayal, Faithlessness – these are all names synonymous with corruption. They work for something more significant, more detrimental. They work for Divisiveness, and Divisiveness works for Satan. And while we fully understand that God has ultimately won the war, we are watching our brothers and sisters get devoured by the enemy at an alarming rate. Platoon leaders and company commanders are being picked off, sometimes before they even roll out of the trenches they’re fighting from. Most notable and recent example: Joshua Harris. Look him up. It’s sad.

WARNING: it’s happening in our towns, too. The body count is not exclusive to literal church leaders. The enemy wants to take Christianity out. Period. The Bible tells us that his modus operandi, his method of operation, his m.o. is that he came to steal, kill, and destroy.

So look at the Bible passage above one more time. You should read and know the verse that comes before this passage found in 2 Peter. It explains why I chose to write about this topic today, having been gone for sometime from blogging for my Trench Brothers. It says this, “…by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.” (2 Peter 1:4 / ESV)

Did you see it? God has given us, granted us, precious and very great promises…! What’s more, because of those precious and great promises, and through those precious and great promises, we may become partakers of the divine nature! What does this mean? The divine nature speaks of the very nature of the Trinity. The Trinity is the only thing truly divine in nature. Why do we get to partake in it? Because of that thing called the Holy Spirit that lives inside of us! So to sum it up in plain English, I think that this is letting us know that, because the Holy Spirit lives inside of us as believers in Jesus Christ, the enemy cannot cause corruption in our lives unless WE LET HIM. Read that again. UNLESS WE LET HIM.

Then Peter tells us, in a very practical manner, precisely how we DON’T let the enemy wreak havoc over our lives. The best part is, we have these tools to use at our disposal, whenever and wherever we need to pull them out. It’s like being a ninja with a black trench coat lined with multiple blades for different occasions. O.k. Today I’m fighting a false prophet. Looks like I need my blade of knowledge! Oh look! Here comes a spirit of moral and ethical decay – let me throw my blades of virtue at him and stop him dead in his tracks! Now do you see it? Pretty cool right!

So be a ninja wearing a black trench coat lined with blades for every occasion today! Refuse to lose. More than that, refuse to let him gain one inch over your life today! Look him in the eyes and allow the corner of your mouth to slightly turn up, wink at him, and then cut his head off with the Sword of the Spirit! God crafted and forged that blade for specially for you. One more thing – I think it’s time that we start parading the heads of demons we decapitate around the towns in which we live. Let’s start letting the enemy know what will happen when he comes marauding around, lurking in the dark of our homes and families. Show him what happens when he starts messing with our marriages, with our friends at work. Warn him what will happen when he attacks our churches and church leaders.

Get in my trench with me, and I will jump in yours – AND LET’S AGREE TODAY THAT WE STOP ALLOWING CORRUPTION TO EAT AT OUR TABLES WITH US! O’ death where is your victory? O’ death where is your sting?!!!!! My King lives and His Name is Jesus and He lives inside of me! Satan – your days are numbered. You. Are. Defeated.

Amen! Love you guys. Be great today. #trenchbrothers