I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. [Romans 7:21-23 (NLT)]
The Christian life is a battle against Satan. [Zac Poonen]
One of my favorite psalms is Psalm 139 but, as I read it this morning, I got annoyed with David. Near the end of this beautiful psalm praising God for His omniscience, omnipresence, and intensely personal involvement in his life, David mentions hating his enemies (something he and other psalmists frequently did in Psalms). David certainly had his share of enemies. Along with the Philistines, Moabites, Geshurites, Girzites, and Amalekites, his enemies included Goliath, King Saul, Absalom (the son who tried to overthrow the kingdom), Ahithophel (the counselor who defected to Absalom), and Adonijah (who tried to wrest the crown from Solomon). Looking at Israel’s history, I understand why David and the other psalmists mentioned enemies so frequently, but I’m not running for my life, fighting a rebellion, or fending off Assyrians and Babylonians, so why do I care about their enemies?
Perhaps I’m naïve but, when I asked my husband the names of our enemies, we couldn’t think of anyone who qualified! We’ve had competitors, rivals, opponents, and some very annoying and exasperating people in our lives, but we’ve never thought of them as enemies. So, what do these Psalms mentioning enemies mean to us today?
Looking again at David’s history, however, I see a greater enemy than Saul or the Philistines: David himself. Although courageous, he could be deceitful. He lied to Ahimelech, pretended to be insane to King Achish, and, after taking refuge with the Philistines, double-crossed them. Short-tempered, he nearly killed everyone in Nabal’s household because of the man’s rudeness. Prone to despair, there were many times he felt God abandoned him. Lustful and impulsive, despite seven wives (and numerous concubines), David took another man’s wife and killed her husband to cover his crime. He was an inattentive father who ignored Absalom and failed to punish Amnon for raping Tamar. A reckless man of pride and ambition, David failed to follow God’s directions concerning the Ark and the census. While loyal to his friends, he could be ruthless to his enemies. Nathan’s words in 2 Samuel tell us that many of David’s trials were the result of his own sins. “This is what the Lord says: Because of what you have done, I will cause your own household to rebel against you.” [12:11] Considered a man after God’s heart, we like to think of David as the ideal man but, like any man or woman, he had his dark side.
David had flesh and blood enemies but, when he listened to Satan rather than God, he became his own worst enemy! Today’s verse tells us the Apostle Paul fought with this same enemy. Satan, of course, didn’t stop with David and Paul; he’s always out and about hunting for prey. Rather than spears, missiles, drones, or ransomware, his weapons are things like pride, deceit, fear, anger, hate, doubt, lust, insecurity, self-pity, unforgiveness, recklessness, impatience, jealousy, arrogance, materialism, and lack of faith.
Like David and Paul, I don’t have to look far to see my real enemy and, like them, I want him destroyed! No matter where we are in our walk with Jesus, sin remains in us. The good news, however, is that we are not defenseless. Christ’s followers don’t have to live like unbelievers! By faith, we have the Spirit of God and no longer need be controlled by our sinful nature. We have the power to declare war on our enemy and “put to death” the behavior and attitudes we know to be wrong! Rather than serving our own worldly desires, we choose to serve God by minding His Holy Spirit. We do this because of our love for Christ and our gratitude for all He’s done and will do for us in the future. With the power of the Holy Spirit, we can defeat our enemy!
We must have a spirit of power towards the enemy, a spirit of love towards men, and a spirit of self-control towards ourselves. [Watchman Nee]
Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. For if you live by its dictates, you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. [Romans 8:12-14 (NLT)]
Copyright ©2026 jsjdevotions. All rights reserved.
Pastor Sandi always closes the service with Numbers 6:24-26. With this blessing, she’s continuing a tradition that is more than 3,000 years old. Intended as a blessing for the people, the Lord gave those words to Moses for Aaron to pass on to his sons and successive Temple priests. In 1979, that ancient blessing was found on two tiny silver scrolls in a burial cave near Jerusalem. Known as the Ketef Hinnom scrolls, they contain verses from Deuteronomy 7 and Numbers 6 and date to around 600 BC (making them the oldest known text of the Bible)!
Last Monday, I referenced an article in Christianity Today by theology teacher Jared Dodson whose students wanted to know “when bad people will get what they deserve.” Unfortunately, there is no guarantee that bad people will get what they deserve while on this side of the grass. Nevertheless, if they don’t repent and follow Jesus, those people eventually will get their comeuppance. Scripture makes it clear that those who don’t know God and follow the gospel of Jesus “will be punished with eternal destruction, forever separated from the Lord and from his glorious power.” [2 Thes 1:8-9]
When Nintendo introduced the Wii gaming console in November of 2006, their initial allotment of only one million consoles for North America meant that customers lined up in droves desperate to buy one. With demand outstripping inventory, my husband and I got up before dawn one cold November morning in 2006 and stood in line with hundreds of others so we could fulfill Christmas wishes for our family.
Since her church attendance is limited to Christmas and Easter, with an occasional funeral or wedding thrown in, a neighbor describes herself as being a “Birth and Resurrectionist.” People like her are often categorized as “nominal” or “non-practicing” Christians. Granted, church attendance is not the litmus test for Christianity. Nevertheless, lack of church attendance indicates a lack of commitment and a token or non-practicing faith. While such people identify as “Christians,” their Christianity is a more a matter of culture, habit, or tradition than one of faith, creed, and rebirth.
Several “Nancy” comics written and drawn by Guy Gilchrist have inspired my writing. Curious about the cartoonist, I was not surprised to learn that he is a Christian; that was not always true. As a boy, he was poor, lonely, abused, and searching for someone and something in which to believe. Missing a dad, he found a father figure in an unlikely place—television—and in a remarkable person—a radio, television and movie star by the name of Roy Rogers. When the young cartoonist was unsure how to behave, he’d look to the singing cowboy and ask himself, “What would Roy do?” He knew his cowboy hero always took the right course of action. Although Rogers was publicly vocal about his faith, Gilchrist didn’t know his hero was a Christ follower until many years later.
