Sunday, December 12, 2010

Laying it ALL down...For Real This Time

(katie's post from yesterday that I forgot to add for you all! Enjoy....and PLEASE see Narnia)


Ok guys, so how often do we "lay our sins down" at the altar? How many times have we fallen on our faces and cried out to God, asking for freedom, but when we get up, we may seem to have newfound freedom, but 5 minutes later we are still holding on to the old identity?

Tonight, Aubrey and I went and saw the new Narnia movie. For those of you who haven't kept up with the movies, or haven't read the books, they're by C.S. Lewis, and have a very strong anointing over them. This devotional tonight is based on revelations we both had when watching the film.

First of all, I recommend ALL of you to go see this movie as soon as possible.

Ok, now the story line was a focus on eliminating the evil spirits that gripped the Narnians, which made them lose their focus. The evil spirits were the seven deadly sins, which were present throughout the movie in different characters. 

Now, in the first movie, Edmund was tempted by the White Witch (who represents the Devil) with food. She tells him she can make in a great king, and uses that power to persuade him to turn his family in for power. 

In this case, when Aslan (who represents God) forgives Edmund, it represents Jesus forgiving Peter for denying Him 3 times. 

Edmund continues to fight the battle of not having this power --the power of not being good enough, of not being as strong and mighty as his older brother. He is in a continuous battle with envy and pride throughout the third movie, even though he was forgiven and seemed to have overcame all this sin in the first movie. 

Now in the third movie, the seven deadly sins were represented by seven swords carried by seven Lords. In order for the Narnians to be right again and at peace, the swords had to be laid down at Aslan's Table (aka the altar on which he died & rose again in the first movie). Once the swords/sins were cast at the altar, Aslan would restore peace. 

HELLO! Ok so does this rattle anyone else's brain? lol. In order for the evil to be gone, sins have to be casted at the altar. But it's always a battle to put down the sword you're used to fighting with in order to receive something greater, so we usually will put it down, and then pick it right back up. But we never win the battles with those swords, now do we? 

Now that I've mentioned that.. :)

Once all seven swords were placed on Aslan's Table, the sword Peter was granted in the first movie was being used by Edmund to fight off a representation of his fear. The connection of the swords resulted in a burst of power and confidence into Edmund and the ultimate sword, which enabled him to fight and conquer his fears. He tried overcoming the temptations of the White Witch in all three movies, but was using the wrong "sword" to fight them with. When he picked up the right sword, after laying everything else down, he won. Peace was restored, and they all came face-to-face with Aslan once again.

So how often do we pick up OUR swords and try to fight OUR sins? It's impossible to win when you're fighting fire with fire...you just get a bigger fire. But when we realize we've been corrupted by the sin and have allowed it to control us, and we realize that our swords just aren't doing the job, we come to the conclusion that we need God's sword. God's sword is the Word...which is Jesus...who is God...and the Holy Spirit, so you know that's automatically going to give you victory because our God is the Mighty Warrior. WE WIN! 

There is always a cost that has to be paid, because freedom is never free. Good thing we had someone come and die on a cross, in the most brutal way, to pay for our freedom. It's time to stop fighting our sins, in their many forms, with our own knowledge and experience (or lack thereof). Why do we let ourselves be controlled by sin when it clearly only harms us? Because it has a pretty cover? Or is it just because it's all we know? 

It's time for us to wake up. It's time for us to face our battles with the sharp, two-edged sword made specifically for our own victory, and not our harm. The swords of the enemy are used for self-inflicted harm because we don't really have any understanding of how it works. But when we have God's sword, He teaches us how to use it, when to use it, and who to use it against. We can't say "I've conquered this sin" until we've taken God's sword and slain it to shreds. We can't say "I have the Victory" if we don't give our battles to God. 

Are we like Edmund? We will admit to our sins and fight against them? In the midst of the storm, he was the only one to face his sins and temptations, and he still won. When you feel as if you're the only one fighting, will you still fight? Because God isn't looking for someone who will give up. He wants strong, noble warriors who will fight until death for victory over sin. 

Be a warrior. Be strong. Fight the Fight. Do NOT give up, give in, or tremble before the enemy. Be confident in who you are in the Lord. Be confident in the identity He has given you, and do NOT recognize yourself with the identity the sin gave you. Know He is always with you. He never leaves you, and when you call Him by name, He will answer you. Call out to Him when you need help, and you will have the victory. 

V-I-C-T-O-R-Y, VICTORY IS OUR BATTLE CRY!!!


-Katie

No comments:

Post a Comment