Tag: Battle
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Vanity, Vexation & Victory
The book of Ecclesiastes seems to be the diatribe of a man who has taken wisdom and philosophy beyond the borders of most peoples’ thinking. Most people are vaguely and sometimes acutely aware of the vanities and vexations of life, but never pause to understand the whole system behind their suffering. Solomon underscores many different…
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The Promise, The Battle & The Wilderness
There are certain patterns in the Bible that repeat themselves enough that they should establish themselves with a certain degree of firmness in our minds. One of these patterns is the way in which God, His people and the enemy interact with the promises God makes. There are recurring themes with regard to God’s promises,…
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Being The Same Person In All Places
Hypocrisy is an insidious thing. The problem is, we are all naturally evil, but we all have an innate desire to appear good. With these paradoxical aspects of us so deeply entrenched, we can become hypocritical without even thinking about it. To deepen the complexity, let’s add the fact that most of our social circles…
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Imagination: A Good Servant And A Bad Master
Francis Bacon—an English statesman and philosopher, whose life touched the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries—once wrote that “money is a great servant but a bad master.” Since that time, a few variations of the servant vs. master theme have been contrived and used by different people. One that I saw was applied to fire, another to…
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The Comforter
Throughout the Bible we see various descriptions and roles for the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers. Some are emphasized more than others depending on our denominational affiliation or personal experience. In the past century or so, there has been an increasing awareness of the fullness or baptism of the Holy Spirit—an outpouring that…
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Counting The Cost
There are contradicting views out there concerning the cost of following Jesus. Some say that everything spiritual we receive is free. Or rather what they probably mean is that it’s paid for by someone else. Others will tell you that following Jesus and receiving His benefits will cost you everything. Which is right?
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The Spiritual Power Of Abortion
Abortion has been a hot-button topic in our nation for decades and the battle surrounding it has reached a fever-pitch. Mostly the cry against its abolition has reached a fever-pitch. And it raises the question: why are people so passionate about the right to kill babies in their most vulnerable stage of life?
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More Than We Ask Or Think
Most of us interact with people every day. At home, on the job, and in the public square. As we do so, it’s easy to become cynical because of all the shortcomings we see in those around us. And we can become discouraged because of the failures we see in ourselves. But the real tragedy…
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Biting The Hand That Feeds
In his natural state, man walks through life using the faculties and talents that are most readily available for his use in achieving his desires. Most never seem to pause and think of where their abilities come from or what they were intended for. As far as most seem to know, their abilities are happenstance,…
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The Lord Alone Will Be Exalted
So many people go through this life seeking accomplishment, honor and prestige. Everyone naturally wants to be someone. It’s in our DNA. But, some of us read the Bible and discover that temporal glory and wealth is vanity, and we supernaturally steer away from the extreme zeal the world has for these things. Ideally, we…
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Truth: An Anchor Or A Club?
In exploring the concept of truth and its function in our lives, I suppose we would do well to begin by defining it. Primarily, I understand truth to be a person and not just a concept. In John 14:6 Jesus said, “I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life…” In saying this, He…
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I Won’t Surrender—Unless It’s To You
We’ve been taught to never give up, To fight the good fight every day. To never surrender, to hold our position And keep our eyes fixed on the Way. These are good precepts—great to remember, In times when we’re down and feel blue. I cry to the Lord when evil draws nigh: “I won’t surrender—unless…
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The Test Of Praise & Pleasure
Most of us have heard of God’s refining fire—mostly in the context of suffering and pain. Much of the testing we receive by fire certainly does produce suffering. That’s why we’re called to endure to the end. There would be no need to endure if all was beauty and ease.
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A Future & A Hope
The other day I was watching a debate between John Lennox and Peter Atkins on YouTube. Debates are not something I typically enjoy, but I find John interesting, so I indulged. John Lennox is a Christian apologist with a background in math and bioethics and Peter Atkins is an atheist with a background in Chemistry.
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Is Isolation Healthy?
Is isolation healthy? I know this sounds more like a psychological question than a religious one, but the Bible lends clues and directions in all facets of life. For example, if you read through the Gospels, you’ll see that Jesus frequently got away from the crowds and went off by Himself.
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Riches & The Cares Of The World
What do riches and the cares of the world have in common? Many would think that they are in diametric opposition to one another. When you have riches, worldly cares disappear. If you have worldly cares, riches are obviously absent. So goes the conventional wisdom. And there is truth to it—to an extent, but many…
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There But For The Grace Of God, Go I
I have always enjoyed reading older books for multiple reasons. In my opinion literary art peaked during the Victorian era. Writers used flowery poetic language that would be considered disruptive to narrative by modern masters of the art. But I love language, so it is no disruption to me, but a delight. Another thing I…
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The Power Of The Word
There are many negative views regarding the word of God that swirl around, searching for minds and hearts that are vulnerable and ripe to be turned against it. Some samplings of such views might go as follows: It’s outdated. How could a book this old possibly provide for the complexity and nuances of our modern…
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In Whom All The Families Of The Earth Are Blessed
As a Gentile, I need to remind myself from time to time what the foundations of my faith are and to whom I owe it. It is popular these days to view the Gospel as universal—and it is, in the sense that it is universally available to everyone. But the fact is, God chose a…
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Concern For Posterity
5 Isaiah then said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the Lord of armies,6 ‘Behold, the days are coming when everything that is in your house, and what your fathers have stored up to this day, will be carried to Babylon; nothing will be left,’ says the Lord. 7 ‘And some of your sons who will come from you, whom you will father, will be…
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Secret Place Or Secret Sin?
The carnal man is one who by definition lives by the flesh and not by the Spirit. He is one who sees life with a darkened understanding. And he fulfills the desires of the flesh—that is to say he sins. There are some who do so flagrantly without the least vestiges of shame. Then there…
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The Things You Think But Never Speak
Prelude: Psalm 32:3 For when I kept silent, my bones wasted awaythrough my groaning all day long — ESV Poem: The things you think but never speak Are oft revealed in what you seek. The things you seek, speak more than words, Have a care—or they’ll be your lords.
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Lightly Healing A Wound
In Jeremiah Chapter 8, the prophet lays out some strong condemnation and dire warnings for the kings, priests, prophets and people of Judah. And while most of what he says pertains directly to the way God was dealing with and will deal with the Jews, I found a little nugget in there that can be…
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Protection From Deception
There is a lot of concern among many in the church about deception. Rightfully so. We are warned repeatedly in the Bible about false teachers and false prophets and about how deception will abound in the last days. We look across the modern landscape and say amen to those scriptures, realizing they are being fulfilled,…
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Facing Rejection Like Jesus
Rejection is something all people face to varying degrees. And it can be one of the hardest issues to cope with depending on severity, frequency, and source. I faced a lot of rejection throughout childhood and adolescence—mostly from peers. And I spent a long time trying to make sense of how to deal with it.
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The Valley Of Humiliation
As 2019 drew to an end and 2020 was coming in, a lot of people made the remark that this would be a year of 20/20 vision. Most seemed to think this would be a positive thing—as in God giving us vision in our enterprises and endeavors. What I found, as we marched through a…
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Waiting For & Hastening
2 Peter 3:10-12 10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. 11 Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people…
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The Snare Of Indecision
Have you ever been at a cross-road where making a Spirit-led decision seemed impossible? I’ve been there more times than I care to count. Romans 8:14 says that all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. Many of us take this to heart and as sons, we wait to hear…
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Intentions Of The Heart
Something most people don’t often pause to consider is the intentions of their heart. I know I often skim over them or don’t see them at all. But then sometimes something stirs in me to remind me that the motive behind what I’m doing is just as important as the actual thing I’m doing. In…
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The Overcomer’s Reward
Every single person who is born of the Spirit, or “born again,” has unique challenges to face. Before we are born again, we are going with the natural current of the world system. This is true even if we make some religious efforts outwardly. Inwardly, we are entertaining all manner of evil and engaging in…
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Do Not Be Conformed To This World
Have you ever noticed that the world system in which we live, is a mold? In the same way molten metals are poured into a mold and are formed into the shape of it, so are the lives of the masses poured into the mold of the world. Most people who are poured into this…
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But We Have Forgotten—9/11/01
Note: “But We Have Forgotten—9/11/01” was first published on http://www.roytroyer.com on 9/13/2018. Today we observe the 19th anniversary of the attack on NYC by Islamic terrorists. Most of us do not spend every day thinking about it, but when the anniversary comes around, many of us remember that day very well. There are other times some…
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Children Have Come To The Point Of Birth
Our spiritual walk is an evolving one. God does not mean for us to be stagnant, stale or slothful. Because of this, we frequently find ourselves coming to the end of seasons and into the beginning of new ones. As the new ones begin, it is similar to a birth. We have the pains and…
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A Merciful Stroke From Heaven’s Whip
Proverbs 20:30 Blows that wound cleanse away evil; strokes make clean the innermost parts. – ESV What a statement from the wisest man who ever lived apart from Jesus. It is very counter cultural, and even counter intuitive for many of us. Our flesh cries out against the thought of discipline. That very fact should…
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A Kingdom That Cannot Be Shaken
Hebrews 12:26-28 At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” This phrase, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of things that are shaken—that is, things that have been made—in order that the things that cannot be…
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Finding Great Spoil
Psalms 119:162 I rejoice at your word like one who finds great spoil. – ESV God’s Word becomes precious to His saints who use it as it is intended. Hopefully we don’t read it as some religious rite, or duty to get out of the way. Rather, we should seek it as life-giving spiritual nourishment…
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Reverence: A Key To Answered Prayer
Hebrews 5:7 In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. –ESV
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He Is Enthroned On Our Praises
Is it possible for us to contribute to the majesty of God? Would God entrust us with the task of building a throne for Him to sit on? This seems very unlikely to people who are very cognizant of their limitations and failures. We can contribute nothing by our own strength, this is true enough.…
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In Him All Is Victory
We have heard many times that in Jesus is all victory. This is true, but I’d like to raise the bar a little higher by stating that in Jesus all is victory. Basically this means that not only is every victory we have, found in Jesus, but that if we abide in Jesus continually, all we…
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All Is Good—If We Love Him
Romans 8:28 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. —NASB Many people talk about God’s unconditional love these days. To me it is a moot point whether God loves unconditionally or not. All we need to…
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Standing Before Our Enemies
How often do we face enemies? How often do we retreat? I’m not talking about physical enemies. We are in a war in the spiritual realm. Every day, if we are wise, we put on our armor, ready to do battle. The battle does not wait on us—it is around us all the time. We…
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Dealing With The Curses Of Balak
I am going through a major transition in business right now. My partner and I had two businesses together. We have agreed to separate, with him taking one business and me taking the other on negotiated terms. I have sensed that God has orchestrated this. I believe He has led me to this place, but…
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Do We Count It All Joy?
When we first started out on our journey of faith it might have come as a surprise to us that we were destined for hardship. The first few bumps we faced certainly did not inspire joy, and probably caused us to pause and evaluate. What did we sign up for? Is it worth the cost?…
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The Age Of Enlightenment
It is no secret among those of us who are truly enlightened, that what the world calls enlightenment is nothing more than an excuse to actually go back in time, presenting old evils in a different light. And if we do not agree with the moral legitimacy of what they present, then we are outdated…
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Clothed And In My Right Mind
A while back, after a major spiritual breakthrough, I had incredible peace. I had just made contact with someone from back in grade school whom the Lord had led me to reconcile with. I’ve had major wounds in my heart from childhood, and bullying from school and elsewhere had played a major part. After battling…
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God’s Punishment On Those He Has Known
Amos 3:2 “You only have I known of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities. –ESV I have heard many people mocking the concept of God’s punishment on nations for embracing iniquity. As it relates to laws enacted and proclamations made in the United States, many have pointed…
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God’s Unchanging Character
Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Our Imagination & The Devil’s Lies When we were yet sinners and unrepentant, we looked at the unchanging character of God as boring. Perhaps we thought anything that stays the same for that long must be stale. Our…
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Antichrist Spirits In Subjection
Concerning antichrist spirits: 1 John 4:4 Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. –ESV
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The Winds In Your Sail
Everyone is propelled by some external force—some kind of spiritual winds. As much as we would like to think we are pulling ourselves up by our own bootstraps, we really aren’t. There is a fierce battle for our wills, our destinies and our souls. No one is exempt, and no one emerges from the battle…
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What Pleases God?
Most of us have been taught how to avert the wrath of God from our lives. Through cleansing by the blood of Jesus we are made whole and righteous before God. We put on the righteousness of Christ since He took our sins on Himself if we will but repent of them. It is an…
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The Salt Of The Earth
Matthew 5:13 You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet. –ESV
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From One Glory To A Greater
I am amazed at the amount of times God has revealed a certain level of glory to me and I was willing to sit back and say, “ah this is wonderful, I’ll just hang out here.” There have been times I reached points of victory that were great and I could not, in my little…
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A Line In The Sand, Or Our Heads In The Sand?
Many times we as Christians have drawn lines in the sand and then buried our heads in the same sand while our spiritual enemies erase the line. When we look up, the line is gone, so we draw it again—farther back this time. The enemy has gained territory, sometimes in society sometimes in the church.
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