March 21, 2013 … God’s Perfect Practice

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2013 - Day 80

Passage of the Day: Psalm 144: 1 [NLT] …  
1 Praise the LORD, who is my rock. He trains my hands for war and gives my fingers skill for battle. 
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Contextual Study of today’s passage: Psalm 144 [NLT] … Go to this link … 
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Reference Passage #1: Ephesians 6: 10-11 : [We can’t avoid the battle. ] …[NKJV] …  
10 A final word: Be strong with the Lord’s mighty power. 11 Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies and tricks of the Devil. 

My Journal for Today: I love the story of Vince Lombardi, the legendary coach of the NFL Green Bay Packers. who was approached by a journalist at one of the team’s summer practices. The reporter noted how hard the coach was having his players practice in the heat; and he commented to the coach, “I can see why your team is so successful, … practice makes perfect;” … to which Lombardi, quickly retorted, “Absolutely not; … only perfect practice makes perfect!”

And the old coach is absolutely right; and Os Hillman used Psalm 144, verse 1, using David as God’s example of perfect practice. As we know from history, King David was the consummate warrior, having never lost a battle against Israel’s enemies. His only loss in life occurred when he was unwilling to be where he should be as a warrior … out on the battlefield, staying home that fateful spring when he had to confront a battle he was ill prepared and unable to confront and win – the temptation of dealing with his own flesh on that balcony when he saw Bathsheba bathing. And David was not prepared to fight that kind of battle … just as are so many Christian men are ill prepared for battling our spiritual enemies today in this hypersexualized world.

I was one of those, early in my life, who had never been trained to deal with the battlefields of this hypersexual world; and I was brought down when I first – as a boy – was confronted with the confusing and exciting images of pornography. Unlike young David, when he went up against Goliath, I had not been trained to take on the enemy of porn. From my lack of practice on the fields of battle in life, I was not ready to fell this Goliath in my life. When David confronted Goliath, he had already learned how to fight off the enemies of his flocks, like bears and lions; and so he was ready and confident to handle his Goliath. But when I was thrown into the battlefields of temptation, seeing those raw sexual images, somewhat like the older David, who later in life was not prepared for that kind of battlefield, I fell hard to those tempting pursuits; and I could not handle that kind of battle field practice.

Hillman is right in his devotional for today. Christian men today need to recognize that we cannot avoid the temptations and the hypersexual battle weapons Satan has devised to bring down Christian warriors in today’s world. So the only way to deal with those battlefields is the way the Apostle Paul exhorted the Christians in Ephesus to prepare for war, … putting on the full armor of God, as he wrote about in Ephesians 6: 10-18. Paul was right on when he wrote that Christian warriors can’t practice our spiritual battles in a vacuum, protected from Satan’s powerful ploys. NO, … we have to be ready for battle everyday, practicing PERFECTLY, by strapping on God’s full defensive armor, carrying a well-sharpened and well-practiced Sword of the Spirit, and taking and holding the high ground for battle in prayer.

Are you ready for battle today?
>>> Are you wearing the breastplate of righteousness, the belt of truth, the shoes of the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, and the helmet of salvation? …
>>> Are you well-practiced in God’s word, i.e., carrying a sharpened and practiced sword of the Spirit? … >>> And are you situated on the high-ground for battle, which is with a disciplined prayer life?

If you’re not doing battle daily by practicing that way … in God’s perfected practice for battle, i.e., God’s battle plan; … my friend, you are walking onto the battle fields today no where near ready to do battle; and you’re going to be out there … ill prepared and very vulnerable for an enemy who is out after your testimony.

 Remember: “Only perfect practice makes perfect!” And so, take about 11 minutes today, if you’re reading here with me, to GO TO THIS LINK  and prepare yourself for battle today by watching this piece of perfect practice.

My Prayer for Today … Lord, I’m dressed and ready to do battle today. … Amen