BATTLE THE BEAST

Going back to The Garden of Eden, that moment Eve looked at the apple of the ‘forbidden’ tree and she desired to have it. Although the serpent appeared to her and spoke to her despite the fact that, ‘serpents’ do not talk. Yes, she saw the serpent but she heard and listened to the beast inside her. The beast that gained access the moment she focused on the tree, that moment she saw the fruits. The Serpent came because she walked to the tree, she was by the tree, and she was looking at the tree and probably wondering why God denied them the tree. She got the answer she sought after. She got the answer from the Beast within.

There is a Beast living in every man. The beast tells man it is ok to kill for money, slander your friend, betray a brother, be a false witness, be unfaithful, and be selfish... The Beast says it is an adventure. The Beast says it is fun. The Beast says there is nothing to lose. The Beast says no one will ever know it is you. The Beast says you can be justified.

The Beast exists just for Three Reasons; To Steal, To Kill and To Destroy.

The Beast stole Eternal Life from Adam and Eve. They could not access the tree of life. The tree of life was also in the Garden, Genesis 3:24, the tree of life will make them live forever. God had to protect them from accessing the tree of life because if they do, Evil would last forever and man will never die.

The Beast killed the Holy Spirit in Adam and Eve. They could not relate with God anymore because they have lost the image and are no more in His likeness. They were ashamed to let Him see them. They have been transformed into a Beast. The Beast within is now outwith.

The Beast destroyed the plan of God for man, man’s relationship with God, inheritance of their generation. Man now has to struggle, work hard and be determined to get it back. Man had to face the challenge to Choose His Destiny. How easy it must have been for Adam when God chose Eve for him; he had nothing to worry about because God knows his needs.

The Beast lives in Man…

HOW TO BATTLE THE BEAST         

1. Have A Winning Mentality. Make up your mind to fight and believe you will win the battle because you are not alone. The realization of a battle in view is supernatural therefore, you are not alone. You are fighting with Christ by your side. Do not forget that Jesus has overcome the world, John 16:33. Believe you are winning the battle.
2. Train for the Battle. You cannot go to the battle with a pot belly. Burn that fat. Diet. Constantly feed on the Word. Be determined to not stop when you are tired but stop when you are done. Double up!!! Pray without ceasing. 
3.  Wear the Armor. Put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of Light, the battle is near, Romans 13: 12. Put on the full armor of God, Ephesians 6:11.   
4. Attack!!! Don’t be on be defensive, be offensive. Shut your ears to the beast, bind the beast, cast out the beast, and shut the door against the beast, rebuke the beast and he will flee from you. Focus on Christ. He is the commander. Obey orders.

The Beast must die for man to have his inheritance back. It is time to take territory. It is time to wage war against the Beast.

Do you want to talk have comments? Do you have a write up you would love to share? Send a mail to Optimistic Omotola on aboloye.omotola@gmail.com

MASTURBATING … WHY NOT??? Part 2

Masturbation…

Sexual urge is a natural phenomena but masturbation is a habit developed over time. Habit is a routine of behavior that is repeated regularly and tends to occur unconsciously. Most habit results from indiscipline and lack of self control. Bad habits are mostly developed from actions that ‘feel right’ but not necessarily right but satisfies our selfish desire at a moment.

Sexual urge is human and it is not a sin to have the feeling but it becomes a sin when it is satisfied wrongly. God knew we would have the feeling even before Adam realized the existence of such feeling in God’s design of man. Sexual urge becomes sin when we let it master us. Remember, we are master to that which we obey. In Genesis 4:7, God told Cain that sin is crouching at his door, it desires to have him, but he must master it.

FOUR IMPORTANT THINGS TO DO TO STOP MASTURBATION

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1.  Work on your Mind: Everything starts from the mind. Our actions are product of our thought. The mind is so powerful that it can either lead you to Heaven or Hell. The mind can make or mar a destiny. Poverty and wealth is a product of the mind. ‘If anyone looks at a woman lustfully, he has committed adultery with her in his heart’- Matt 5:28. Masturbation also starts from the mind- our thoughts. Ensure to think about things that are pure, noble, admirable, lovely, right, true…Philippians 4:8
2. Get busy: An idle hand is the devil’s workshop, so get busy doing things profitable. Embark on projects, Spend time with friends, and learn new things. Just make sure you always have something to do at every time. It when you are idle that such thoughts can creep into the mind. Do not give it a Chance. 
3. Avoid Temptation: Do not lead yourself into temptation by watching movies with sex scene and don’t read books that will get you aroused. Don’t look at the lady exposing her boobs twice and don’t talk about sex with the opposite sex in a lonely place when you know your weakness. Don’t hug or be touched when it is where your weakness lies.  Ensure you flee from everything that can make you fall astray. 
4.  Accept Christ: Habits can be broken. It is a matter of choice. Determination is not sufficient to break habits like masturbation because anything that has to do with sex is highly spiritual. Sexual sin is the only sin committed against the body which is supposed to be the SACRED TEMPLE of God. The Holy Spirit is needed to deal with the issues of the mind.

Stated above is not only applicable for masturbation but also applies to other habits we have developed over time. It is therefore imperative to decide who we want to take the lead in our lives, Our Flesh or the Holy Spirit. It is a choice we all need to make at every point in time of our lives.

I pray we really come into the reality of God’s power in our lives and tap into His sufficient Grace that has given us the power to say NO to all forms of ungodliness (Amen).

Do you want to talk about it? Do you have a write up you would love to share? Send a mail to Optimistic Omotola on aboloye.omotola@gmail.com

SMOKING, MASTURBATING … WHY NOT??? Part 1

Some time ago, I had a discussion with some friends on whether it is sinful to masturbate. Moreover, it was not stated or rather written in the scriptures that ‘do not masturbate’.

My View: there is a whole lot that the scripture did not state that we should not do and there is also a couple of things that the scripture did not repeatedly emphasize like some other things. Not because one is more important than the other or that some are big sin and the others are small sin. Sin is Sin. There is no other way to qualify what is not right other than ‘it is wrong’.

This same question about masturbation has been asked about smoking and other things that we feel we can justify for our selfish motives.

What exactly is the definition of SIN?

James 4:17 says “Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins”.

We sin, when we do what we know we ought NOT to do. Apostle Paul in Romans 7:15 said “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do but what I hate to do”. Reading further to Romans 7:17, Apostle Paul explained why he finds it hard to do the right thing which is also a major challenge to us Christians today, that is, “as it is, it is no longer we ourselves who do it (masturbation, fornication, theft etc.), but it is SIN living in us”.

God the Trinity is known for Purity. It is therefore difficult for us to accommodate ‘the deposit’ of God which is the Holy Spirit in us. Sin scripturally is likened to rag, filth, death and darkness. God cannot dwell in darkness because He is Light (1 John 1:5-6). If we want to accommodate ‘The Light’ we must be ready to let go of darkness which is the sinful nature that is at work in us.

On every pack of Cigarette and on media, there is a warning that ‘smokers are liable to die young’. Why would any sane human intentionally sentence himself/herself to painful but slow death?  Smokers are exposed to two of the top 10 health killers in the world which are Trachea, Brochure or Lungs cancers and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (http://www.sciencechannel.com/life-earth-science/10-deadly-diseases.htm). Even if we don’t care about ourselves, let us care about our families that we will put through the same risk as us by exposing them to second hand smoke, asides the sleepless nights and financial troubles they will go through when these sicknesses manifests. I have a clearer picture why some of us cannot love others. It is simply because we do not love ourselves.

“Everything is permissible”- but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible”- but not everything is constructive. Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others. (1 Corinthians 10: 23-24).

Our body is a SACRED TEMPLE of God. (1 Corinthians 3:17). Also, it says God will destroy anyone who destroys His temple. We are that Temple, the dwelling place of God Almighty. Why should we invite cancer to dwell in God’s Temple? God cannot be inmate with diseases.

Let us work out our salvation with fear and trembling.

I pray the Lord helps us in Jesus Name.

To be continued…

To read the complete part click here