Galatians 5:17 “For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh:
Eve… a perfect creature… woke up in Paradise.
The man standing beside her was stunningly handsome, and she could tell by the look in his eye that he was hopelessly in love with her. Her future looked incredible!
Adam gave her the grand tour. The aroma of a thousand flowers made her dizzy. The newborn lion cub nuzzled his nose into her neck. They ran through waterfalls, exploring Eden, as deer and blue jays kept them company.
Eventually, Eve noticed a strange sensation. The low growling had become a rumble, and she nervously questioned Adam. He kindly explained her first hunger pang and then led her into the orchard. Every flower and fruit was edible! Peach juice dripped off her chin, berry juice stained her lips, and Adam roared with laughter as Eve took her first bite of lemon! She loved the papayas, but the tomatoes were her favorite!
The Garden was indescribable! There was so much to see and enjoy. There was only one tree that was not for food, so Eve had no worries. Each day she made new discoveries. Her life was euphoric! Adam doted on her, and their love was brand new each morning.
One day as she gathered food for lunch, she heard a mysterious voice and wondered why Adam had not introduced her to this wonderful creature. None of the other animals could talk… and talking was Eve’s favorite hobby! She introduced herself and blushed as he commented on how beautiful she was. He flattered her, and could not believe that her duties were limited to gathering food. He was enraged that she was being denied her rightful privilege to all the fruits in the Garden. He promised if she ate of this formerly forbidden fruit, she’d be just like God. How unfair of God to keep her here in this place, just able to see what He wanted her to see. She was qualified to make decisions for herself. She was not a naïve, immature child; but a grown woman! She deserved the chance to choose what was good for her life.
And so… Eve met the Snake, the most subtle of the beasts. He opened up a whole new world to her - the world of SELF.
In my Garden of Life, there is so much food. The Word of God is full of rich morsels for my heart. Jesus Christ Himself is the Bread of Life. The fruit of the Spirit is so sweet and desirable! Love, Joy, Peace, Longsuffering, Gentleness, Goodness, Faith, Meekness, and Temperance!
But my flesh wars against the Spirit, and the Spirit against my flesh. It’s a constant battle to keep my Spirit fed and my flesh starved! Do you know why?
THERE’S STILL A SNAKE IN MY GARDEN!
Now Eve and I aren’t the only women that have had problems with the serpent! He slithered across Sarah’s path. Everybody knew God’s Promise was that Abram would be the Father of many nations. The snake disclosed that SHE was the problem. The only thing standing between the “will of God” and her husband was her failure! So she took matters into her own hands and brought Hagar into the picture.
In Genesis 25:23, God Himself told Rachel that her oldest son would serve his younger brother. This, no doubt, was a very “Spiritual” experience for her; so I imagine she shared this experience with a few friends… a few hundred times. And now, Isaac was getting ready to give Esau the blessing that she knew God meant for Jacob. How could she face her friends when her “prophetic” message flopped? The snake lisped a plan in her ear that appealed to her ego. He never mentioned that it would divide her family, and take her beloved Jacob away from her… that she would never see him again!
When God gives me insight or knowledge, I must watch out for that snake! He’ll disguise himself and sneak up on me! He’ll use my own ego to destroy me! SELF is… Satan’s Ego Leverage Factor!
If he showed up in the scaly, slimy form of a snake, I’d run every time; but he comes to me with concern for MY future, MY career, MY success… he uses MY own secret motives and ambitions; he comes promoting ME, reminding ME of all the sacrifices I’VE made and convinces ME that I deserve special treatment.
This is when I reach for the Sword of the Spirit… the Word of God! In the magnification of His Truth, I see slimy snake trails all over my heart. So I stir up the “gift” and take a double helping of the Fruit of the Spirit! I can control SELF by staying full of the Holy Ghost!
I want God to trust me with Divine insight and revelation, with a Word of Knowledge, or prophetic perception; confident that Satan’s Ego Leverage Factor is not operational in my life. Yes, there’s still a snake in my garden, but he has been cursed! I must conquer this flesh and then SELF - will be annihilated!
In I Cor15:31, Paul said “I die daily!” This flesh must die - because of SATAN'S EGO LEVERAGE FACTOR - it desires to hijack our soul and take it to Hell. I have heard all my life that we should pray daily - have daily devotions. Why? Because we must keep the flesh under control.
Beelzebub means “Lord of the flies”. The state of Florida discovered that the best way to keep their fly infestation problem under control was to spray daily. You see - a fly has a very short life span - so with daily treatment - there is no way the flies can thrive. The Lord of the flies cannot withstand DAILY PRAYER. DAILY - DAILY - DAILY
This concept is so clear in the Old Testament. When the priest entered the Holy of Holies - he had a process he had to go thru to prepare. He had to be physically cleansed. His clothing had to be cleansed. Someone read scripture over him throughout the night so that his mind would be pure.
Come morning, he knelt down and crawled under that veil - that curtain separating the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies. He crawled under the veil with a rope tied around his ankle - and bells on the hem of his robe so the people could hear if he fell or stopped moving… knowing - if there were impurities - in his life - he would be struck dead and they would pull him out with the rope tied around his ankle.
My revelation of this priestly routine is this... If I can drag this flesh DAILY into the Holy of Holies - The Spirit of the almighty God will KILL everything that is of the FLESH. SATANS EGO LEVERAGE FACTOR will be fried right out of my mind, soul, and body! Deactivated. Killed. Dead!
As I daily enter into His Holy Presence, I pray this prayer:
Jesus - remove everything that gives satan any power or foothold in my life!
Purify me with the red hot fire of your holiness - and save me from my-SELF!
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