This week’s devotions are based on Week 1 of Unlikely Heroes – A Monk (CLICK HERE)
Who’s going to win?
At the time of this writing, we do not know who the next president of the United States is. Returns are coming in and we will soon understand who will be in the White House and control the Senate and House and many other state and local positions.
Campaigns seek to capture the heart of an individual and persuade them to support a certain candidate. The question is which direction your mind and heart will go.
Bigger than any platform of a political candidate is the soul of every person. Two candidates vie for the primary spot in your heart: the Lord and Satan/self. Their platforms could not be more opposed and really there is no compromise between the two.
This past Sunday we looked the life of Martin Luther and his spiritual battle and what convinced him to abandon his past beliefs and align with the Lord.
The campaign that Satan ran in Luther’s heart is one that he runs in the heart of every human being. Satan loves to convince the human heart, that longs to have a true connection with the Lord, that an individual can work their way into God’s favor. This puts the onus on each individual to try to obtain perfection. The challenge is captured in this verse: There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, … (Romans 3:22-23) The lie that Satan loves to give is that you can be different. But what stands before us is the reality of Jesus’ words: Matthew 5:48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Luther tried as hard as he could to be the best monk he could. He cleaned. He tended the garden. He went to confession. He went on pilgrimages to earn more indulgences that could spare him some temporary punishment on earth or in purgatory. He realized the truth of Psalm 130:3 If you, Lord, kept a record of sins, Lord, who could stand? He felt Psalm 32:3-43 When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. 4 For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer.
Luther realized that his heart was captivated by despair. He felt unworthy. He felt it impossible to win the righteousness that the Lord demands. Even though he was very spiritual and part of the church, Satan was winning the campaign in his heart.
Can you relate? While we are 500 plus years after Luther, we can have the same feelings and thoughts of despair when we consider the justice of God and his right to punish sinners. If the Lord kept a record of my sins, there is no way I could stand before a holy God. The same is true for you.
Satan’s campaign continues in our heart until the Spirit of God shows us a campaign of grace. This is what God showed to Luther as he read Romans 1:16-17.
Romans 1:16 I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. 17 For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”
More tomorrow…
Apply: What is the campaign that is winning in your heart? Is it time to replace the lies of Satan with the truth of the Gospel?
Prayer: Lord, overcome the campaign of Satan’s lies in my heart with the power of your Gospel truth. AMEN.