Wednesday, September 22, 2004
feeding the wolf
my work has bible studies every monday and although i don't often attend, the leader gave us "The Daily Bread," a tiny booklet with little food-for-the-soul-type short messages. you read it every day and it's a little soul snack. well, i've been trying to catch up cuz i was left behind from last wednesday. i thought i'd share this excerpt. we can all use a little encouragement to keep us from straying. enjoy!
Feeding the Wolf
Read: Romans 6:15-23
Make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts. ~Romans 13:14
There's a story about an old Cherokee chief sitting before a flickering fire with his grandson. the boy had broken a tribal taboo, and his grandpa wanted to help him understand what made him do it. "it's like we have two wolves inside us," said the chief. "One is good, the other is bad. Both demand our obedience."
"Which one wins?" asked the boy.
"The one we feed!" said the wise old chief.
Every follower of Jesus Christ can identify with that struggle. We fight an ongoing battle with selfish and sinful desires. They rise up within us and put incredible pressure on us to satisfy them. They are like ravenous hungers and unquenchable thirsts. First they are small "harmless" desires, but they grow stronger and can ultimately control us (Romans 6:16).
To resist we must believe what the Bible tells us about temptation's power. We must also believe that the Holy Spirit will help us to resist or to break free from its power.
But then comes the hard part. When an evil desire demands to be fed, we must say no-perhaps again and again and again. Paul said, "Make no provision for the flesh" (13:14)
Remember, what we feed will control us.
~ Dave Egner
Feeding the Wolf
Read: Romans 6:15-23
Make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts. ~Romans 13:14
There's a story about an old Cherokee chief sitting before a flickering fire with his grandson. the boy had broken a tribal taboo, and his grandpa wanted to help him understand what made him do it. "it's like we have two wolves inside us," said the chief. "One is good, the other is bad. Both demand our obedience."
"Which one wins?" asked the boy.
"The one we feed!" said the wise old chief.
Every follower of Jesus Christ can identify with that struggle. We fight an ongoing battle with selfish and sinful desires. They rise up within us and put incredible pressure on us to satisfy them. They are like ravenous hungers and unquenchable thirsts. First they are small "harmless" desires, but they grow stronger and can ultimately control us (Romans 6:16).
To resist we must believe what the Bible tells us about temptation's power. We must also believe that the Holy Spirit will help us to resist or to break free from its power.
But then comes the hard part. When an evil desire demands to be fed, we must say no-perhaps again and again and again. Paul said, "Make no provision for the flesh" (13:14)
Remember, what we feed will control us.
~ Dave Egner
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quotable quotes
-
"To try is to risk failure. But risk must be taken because the
greatest hazard of life is to risk nothing. The person who risks
nothing does nothing, has nothing, is nothing. He may avoid
suffering and sorrow, but he simply cannot learn, feel, change,
grow, live, and love."
~unknown
"It has been my experience that folks who have no vices have very few virtues."
~ Abraham Lincoln
"live a life that others will remember years from now, NOT because it pointed to you but because of how it pointed to the One who made you."
~ Mark Hart, the Bible Geek
"we grow up learning to become self-reliant, but really we need to be God-reliant"
"we could learn a lot from crayons: some are sharp, some are pretty, some are dull, some have weird names, and all are different colors....but they all exist very nicely in the same box"
"never wound hearts that love u, never give them the endless pain, because wounded hearts are like roses that never bloom"
"there comes a time when we have to stop loving someone not because that person has stopped loving us but because we have found out that they'd be happier if we'd let go"
