If you believe in Jesus Christ and that He died for you and was raised to life for you, then you are saved. We are a spirit and we accept Jesus as our Savior when we become “born again.” Jesus said, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto you, You must be born again.” In order to make heaven our home and have peace with God, we must be born again. When we believe on Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, our spirit is saved. The true you is your spirit. You are a spirit, you have a soul (mind, will and emotion) and you live in a body (your physical body). When we believe and obey the Lord Jesus, our spirit is saved, but what about our soul and body?

Our soul is our mind, will and emotion. When you accept Jesus as your Savior, you will find out that there is indeed a battle. That battle is in your soul, which are your mind, will and emotion. So what are you going to obey? Is it your born-again, Holy Spirit led spirit or is it your mind? The reality is whatever you decide to obey; your body will carry out!

The Apostle Paul wrote, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7). Perhaps you are in that battle today where your thought life doesn’t line up with the Word of God.
What are you going to do? Are you going to quit? No! We have to live by the Spirit of God and allow our soul (mind) to be filled with God’s Word. The battle is the process of discipleship. If you decide today that you aren’t going to give in to fear of failure, but rather you are going to press on with God’s help….then you’ll make it. Take time this week to spend in God’s Word and prayer. If you have certain thoughts that tempt you to sin, then flee them. “Submit yourself to God, resist the devil and he will flee from you” (James 4:7). If you believe and obey the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior, knowing that He is the only way to deal with your sin, then you are saved. Know that once you repent from your sin and confess Jesus as your Savior, you will still have a battle in your mind and thoughts.

“The Lord knows how to deliver the Godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the Day of Judgment to be punished….’ (2 Peter 2:9)

Pretty clear message to us….The Lord knows how to deliver those out of temptation that are following Him. A few verses before the scripture above the Apostle Peter is describing the situation of the Old Testament figure, Lot, and his life in wicked Sodom. Lot lived right in the middle of the wickedness of Sodom. He and his family weren’t perfect, but the Apostle Peter described Lot as “just” in verse 7.

Our culture and the world are growing darker and wicked by the day. I don’t think we are too far removed from exactly what Lot faced in Sodom. “And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an example unto those who after should live ungodly” (2 Peter 2:6). God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah because of their wickedness and particular the sin of sodomy. Sodom and Gomorrah were meant as a warning to all of us today. What is different in our culture than of Lot’s day?

Lot and his two daughters (his wife perished) were delivered from Sodom right before its destruction (Genesis 19:15-26). Lot was “just” meaning that his faith was in God, even though his actions at times were not commendable. Peter says, “and delivered Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation (lifestyle) of the wicked: For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds; The Lord knows how to deliver the Godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the Day of Judgment to be punished” (2 Peter 2:7-9).

Lot didn’t become contaminated with the sin around him even though he saw and heard all of the wickedness. “Vexed” pertains to “torment or torture,” meaning he was not only vexed with the sin of Sodom, but vexed himself as well. In this word, we find a certain sense of personal culpability. The situation in which Lot now finds himself was ultimately due to his own selfish choice.

Sometimes we have a choice about our surroundings and sometimes we don’t, but we don’t have to participate in the sins of those around us. Many times we feel vexed by what is going on in our culture, but I’m glad that the Lord knows how to deliver the Godly out of temptations! There is a Judgment Day coming soon on those who choose to practice sin in unrighteousness, but until that Day, we must endure by studying the Word of God, staying in Prayer and not forsaking the assembling of the Saints (other Believers) together. In all of this, God is able and will deliver us, either by moving us or by moving them! We too can live a pure and holy life before God. If we follow and obey the Lord, He will deliver us!

 Proverbs 3:5-6 states, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; and lean not unto your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.”

Have you ever met someone, or perhaps it’s you, that needs to know all the answers to every problem right now? This individual typically becomes impatient as he tries to find the answer to why bad things happen to “good” people or the answer to why there is such injustice in the world. Our human logic can get in our way and we become frustrated as to why the wicked seem to prosper… More often than not, we look all over trying to find the answer without simply trusting God’s Word. We “lean” on our own understanding and that gets us into trouble. If we depend on our own intellect, the devil will lie to us (He is a liar) and have us to believe that God is not good. If we buy this lie, then we will have a difficult time coming to the Lord through repentance, and we know this is the only way to God. Romans 2:4 states,”that the goodness of God leads us to repentance.” Because of His goodness and love for us, God gave His only Son, who was sinless, to pay for our sins.

Trust is the key to our relationship with God. We must trust that He is a good God! We must understand that “God rewards those who diligently seek (trust) Him” (Hebrews 11:6). We trust God by faith, not by our own understanding or logic. In every detail of our very different lives, we must acknowledge God (and His faithfulness to us) and He will direct us (and reveal Himself to us). When God reveals Himself to us through His Word and our action of trust and faith in Him, then we often receive the answers we desire to know. Trust God and He’ll direct you!