Tag: Faithful

The Battle of the Twins

~ Sowmya Gali ~ 1 Comment

Genesis 25: 23

The Lord said to her, “Two nations are in your womb; and two peoples will be separated from your body; and one people shall be stronger than the other; and the older shall serve the younger.”

Rebekah was pregnant with twins – two individual people in one womb. They may have been the first set of twins the world has ever seen. As Rebekah was struggling with her pregnancy and wondering why she is having such symptoms, God answered her saying that she was carrying two babies in her womb. He also prophesied about them saying that the twins will be separated, one will be stronger than the other and the older will serve the younger.

According to the prophecy, Esau gives up his birthright for a bowl of stew and Jacob deceives his father to steal the blessing. After Esau has been robbed of the blessing, Jacob runs away. Thus, they have been separated. Jacob becomes strong and rich by seeking God. Esau, on the other hand, makes one bad decision after another and brought heartache to his parents. The nation of Israel becomes powerful while the Edomites are left to fend for themselves and are constantly warring with their neighbors. Two nations emerged from Rebekah’s womb: Esau or Edomites and Jacob or Israelites. Esau represents flesh and Jacob represents spirit.

When we are born, we too are born with twin nature. The nature of flesh, which is evil, causes us to sin, while the nature of spirit, which is God-given and breathed into us, causes us to choose good over evil. As the battle rages on from a very young age, through life’s struggles and choices, there comes a point in our lives that we have to separate the flesh and spirit. Our constant battle with flesh and its desires, causes us to stray away from God. We make poor choices. We compromise in key issues of life. We stray too far only to find ourselves hopeless and frail.

When we confess and accept Christ in our lives, then we learn to subdue our fleshly desires and prioritize the matters of the spirit. When Nicodemus comes to Jesus in the middle of the night, Jesus tells him that only a person who is born again can see the kingdom of God. Baffled, Nicodemus questioned Jesus of such a possibility. Jesus explains to him, “Unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” John 3: 5, 6. God in His divine plan wants us to live spirit-filled lives. The flesh and its desires are passing but the spirit lives on. Esau chose flesh while Jacob chose spirit. That is why God hated Esau but Jacob, He loved (Malachi 1:2, Romans 9: 13).

What then is the outcome of this battle of the twins within us? If we pursue flesh and its desires, they may satisfy us temporarily but there is no eternal satisfaction or joy. Endlessly, tirelessly, and aimlessly, we will be chasing after the wind trying to grasp something of this life. The wise teacher of Ecclesiastes says all life’s pursuits, fame, pleasure, and everything our eyes and hearts’ desire, are but a chasing after the wind. Instead fear God and live in obedience to Him, then our lives will be filled with hope and meaning. When we keep God’s commandments, then our lives are lived with a purpose. Live by faith and not by sight.

It is when we walk in the spirit, then we can subdue the flesh. The flesh even though, is still present and persistent, we are much more equipped to subdue our fleshly desires. The twins are separated. The younger twin subdues the older because the spirit is more powerful than the flesh. One day the younger twin will reign over the older twin and the older twin will serve the younger twin. Our flesh will be conquered by the spirit and the day is not too far when we will live by the spirit not by flesh. The flesh will serve the spirit for God’s glory. We may be born of flesh but when we are born of the spirit, we are more powerful.

Jacob inherited the blessing of God while Esau was left with naught. Dearly beloved, as the battle of the twins’ wages on, let us persevere in the truth that our God who conquered sin and the grave will equip us to overcome and be victorious. He will equip us to be more than conquerors so that we can live victoriously by the spirit. The flesh will be there but only to serve the spirit.

The Art of War: Praises and Sword

~ Sowmya Gali

Psalm 149: 5-9

Let the godly ones exult in glory; let them sing for joy on their beds. Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand, To execute vengeance on the nations and punishment on the peoples, To bind their kings with chains and their nobles with fetters of iron,To execute on them the judgment written; this is an honor for all His godly one. Praise the Lord!

In the days of Nehemiah, the exiles returned to their beloved city Jerusalem. They were tasked to rebuild the temple and the wall of Jerusalem by the king of Persia, Artaxerxes. Nehemiah and a few exiles traveled to Jerusalem with official letters to carry out the rebuilding of the temple and the city walls. However, they ran into a lot of opposition from the Samaritans and others living in the region. Nehemiah encouraged the weak-hearted exiles to continue the good work as God will stand on their side and protect them. Despite interruptions, and threats, the rebuilding of the wall continued, and breaches were being closed. This infuriated the enemies of the Israelites. They conspired to thwart their efforts by infiltrating into their ranks, destroying them and their efforts from within.

Nehemiah continued to encourage the Israelites with the Word of God, constantly reminding them not to be afraid and to remember the greatness and power of their God. He encouraged them to continue to fight for their families and their fellow countrymen. Simultaneously, he urged half of his men to take up swords, spears, shields, bows and arrows and stand guard for the other half of the men who continued rebuilding the walls. Nehemiah 4: 17 – Those who were rebuilding the wall and those who carried burdens took their load with one hand doing the work and the other holding a weapon. Thus, they continued rebuilding the wall while declaring that Our God will fight for us (Nehemiah 4: 20).

Our life is a battlefield. Our home is a battlefield. Our mind is a battlefield. Every corner we turn, there is the enemy lurking to pounce on us. We conquer one enemy; another one pops up. Many a times, we are battling more than one enemy on multiple fronts. As long as we are on this earth, we will continue to fight until our dying breath. There is not a moment of respite. We are fighting the battles of temptation, addiction, denial, health, apostasy, atheism, debt, politics, culture, social, etc. There never seems to an end to our battles.

Dear Saint of God, we must learn to equip ourselves well for the battles we face. It is not just equipping but utilizing the weaponry we have to fight. First and foremost, we must believe that our God is on our side. When we believe that, half the battle is already won. Marching ahead with the weaponry we have; we will see the victory. The Psalmist declared the praises of God with his mouth. Let the praises of God be in our mouths and on our lips at all times. When we have God on our minds, then songs of joy will erupt from our hearts. Let us declare that we are righteous through Christ. Let us buckle ourselves with the Truth. Let us be ready to defend the Gospel. Let us shield ourselves with such a faith in our Almighty that no weapon formed against us can prevail. Let us walk confidently that we are saved by the blood of the Lamb. Last, but most importantly, the only offensive weapon in our hand is the Sword – the Word of God, that we must take up to fight against the enemies.

That is all we need to march into life’s battles: Mouths filled with the praises of God and declaring the Word of God. No enemy can stand against such a deadly force. The Israelites rebuilt the city walls with one hand and held a sword in the other to fight the enemy. Even when the enemy infiltrated their ranks, they were able to fend off. Numerous times, we are fighting in a close warfare. The enemy could be someone who is close to us. If we are immersed in the Word of God, then we can use this Sword of God in close battles. Spears, bows and arrows are used against the enemy that is far off and charging towards us. If we have shielded ourselves well with faith in God, then we can charge ahead while protecting ourselves from the onslaught of the culture, social and other societal battles.

Dearly beloved, let us use our God-given weaponry. Praise Him for His goodness and faithfulness. Praise Him for His awesomeness. Praise Him for His glorious power. Praise Him for His abundant mercy and love. Praise Him for who He is. Let such praises always be on our lips, in our mouths and in our hearts. With the Sword of God in our hands, we can fight any enemy that comes against us. With the Sword of God, we can silence the taunts and boasts of the enemy. Let the Word of God be your sword. For He will give you wisdom when and how to use this all-consuming, all-powerful Word for our victory.