Luke 22:3

Then entered Satan into Judas surnamed Iscariot, being of the number of the twelve.

Today's Thought: You are a traitor when you are not engaged in the battle.


King Leonidas of Sparta, with his Greek forces, was ready to face the Persian invasion. The invading Persian were not able to take hold of the narrow pass at Thermopylae. For two days, the Persians tried but they could not hold off the Greeks. Then a local Greek man named Ephialtes went to the Persians and told them how to attack from behind. That day, Leonidas and his men perished and Persians took hold of Sparta and the entire Greek region.

In this war between the devil and the Lord, between light and darkness, the victory has been secured. We have the duty to do our part in this war. However, we often find ourselves fighting not for the Lord, but against the Lord. James 4:4 clearly reminds that our friendship with the world is an act of going against the army of the Lord. There is a war and we must draw the line.

The problem with our churches is not the lack of people, but the lack of loyal soldiers. Many Christians are more willing to fight alongside the devil for a small gain. Are we traitors to the cross of Christ? Or are we loyal subjects to the King of kings?

1 Timothy 1:18-20

This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare; Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck: Of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme.

Today's Thought: Be faithful to anything and everything wherein God has called you to do.

At 82 years old, Douglas MacArthur delivered his final major speech before the graduates of West Point. General McArthur was the commanding general of the US troops in major wars including two world wars. He had defended the nation through the years and had challenged men to continue fighting for the same tradition with courage and honor. He finally said: In my dreams I hear again the crash of guns, the rattle of musketry, the strange, mournful mutter of the battlefield. But in the evening of my memory I come back to West Point. Always there echoes and re-echoes: Duty, Honor, Country.

The first and foremost war is the one fought against the devil. The Church is in a fight against the prince of darkness. We are all enlisted to be in this war. However, only few are willing to sacrifice and have courage to fight for the Lord. Only few are willing to take on the armor of God for them to be ready in fighting the devil.

It is necessary to hold fast on the faith that we had received. Paul reminded Timothy to continue fighting for the faith which many had already despised. You and I should keep on serving the Lord. Let us not be as like others who had already forgotten about the sacrifice Christ did on the cross.

Habbakuk 2:4

Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.

Today's Thought:  Only those who live by faith can grow in grace. 

Faith and grace always go together. If we want to grow in the grace of the Lord, we must live by faith. It is through faith that we can have access of grace. Romans 5:2 says: by whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.Without faith, we could not access the riches of the grace of God which He bestowed upon us. 

However, the act of faith is not the contrast of faithlessness. The prophet Habbakuk talked of faith as the contrast of pride. The proud person is going to depend upon his own strength and skills. The humble person seeks the will and grace of God to give Him the strength to go on. The humble person will always grow in grace as he accesses the same through his eye of faith. 

Living in the grace of God needs faith. Without faith, one cannot continue to grow in grace. But faith must come with humility - the act of acknowledging our nothingness and the everything of the Lord. It is an act of surrendering to the will of the Lord and His knowledge of everything in our lives.

Jeremiah 22:5

But if ye will not hear these words, I swear by myself, saith the LORD, that this house shall become a desolation.

Today's Thought: Hearing the Word of God and doing the Word of God are two different things.

When the American Civil War exploded, the Confederates needed recognition from established nations of their own sovereignty over states in the South to encourage the international community to pressure the Union to end the war. In September 1862, General Robert Lee crafted a plan to divide his army into three and attack the Union under General McClellan. Lee's plan was in Special Order 191. Mistakenly, one copy was left and was found by a Union soldier. The full details of the Confederates' plan was given to McClellan. However, McClellan did not act on the information immediately. As a result, the Battle of Antietam did not crush the Confederates army when it could have done so. As a result, Lincoln sacked him.

The Lord has given us His Word to help us in our Christian life. But the Bible says we don't want to hear these words. When we fail to act on the Word of God, we always find ourselves in desolation as Jeremiah reminded the people of Israel. While we had been gunning for victory, we would eventually found ourselves in the valley of failure. The Lord has laid out us the plan of the devil for we are not ignorant of the devil's devices. But still we failed to act on the information the Bible tells us.

If we want to have major victories in our lives, we need to believe and act on the Word of God. We cannot just continue hearing it without putting it into practice in our lives. Only those who act on the Word will find blessings and successes as promised by the Lord.

1 Thessalonians 5:26

Brethren, pray for us. 

Today's Thought: We are all frail and weak; we need prayers from our fellow Christians.

There was a woman who bought a beautiful flower plant from the a garden shop. She was mesmerized by the color the flowers showed. She planted it on her garden and expected it to bloom in the coming days. Two weeks passed by, no flower blossomed, the flower died. The problem: she did not water the flower plant.

In our Christian service, nobody is a superman. We all have our wear and tears, our discouragements and pains. Not because we are Christians we are already immune to all these. No we are not. We are struggling. We have sometimes forsook personal enjoyment in the service of the Lord. We have seen several wounded Christians coming home to church. We have seen millions going to hell one day. All these, and many more, make our hearts tremble.

What we are missing is prayer. We need to intercede for each other. Prayer for others. Let us be blessings of prayers for those who are struggling, discouraged, feeble knees, backsliden, downtrodden, in despair, almost giving up. The Lord hears our prayers; let us just learn to dwell in His presence.