Spiritual Preparation, Part 2

  The Spirit continues to deal with my heart concerning the spiritual war in which we are involved. I may choose to deny the events that are taking place around me or I may choose to ignore the attacks that are coming against my personal life or even the lives of my family. But denial will not cause them to disappear or vanish; only the release of the power of God in my life can overcome these attacks. We must move out of denial and into the understanding that we need the presence of Christ in our daily lives. I want to share an excerpt from the message that I delivered at New River Worship Center this past Sunday morning. I simply ask that you allow the Spirit to open your hearts as you listen to the challenge of the Spirit. "Have I fully surrendered my heart to God or have I learned and practiced just enough obedience to sooth and satisfy my conscience?  The Spirit reminded me during prayer that I (we) can so easily surrender to envy, jealousy, anger, frustration, disappointment, bad thoughts, a negative view of ourselves, criticism of others, judgmental attitudes toward others, evil desires, lusts, hatred, etc. But why do I find it so difficult and challenging to surrender my life to God?  There is a war between the flesh and the Spirit.   The flesh seeks to rule and direct our life after the things that please us and the Spirit seeks to rule and direct our heart after the things that please God. The decision to choose which road that I will take is left in my hands and that is the reason that we need the “fresh" oil of the Spirit flowing in and over our lives.