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In isolation we fight our battles alone. Of course, God is with us in those battles, but they are fought better in the fellowship of others; confessing our sins to one another and praying for each other. The effective, fervant prayers of the righteous has the power to do and accomplish much more that we can do on our own. There is strength in numbers!

James 5:16 NKJV
[16] Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.

https://bible.com/bible/114/jas.5.16.NKJV

Warriors in the heat of battle would typically link shields together, making a full circle against the enemy, creating an impenetrable force. When we link our shield of faith with others, that’s a mighty force to be reckoned with! The enemy won’t stand a chance of breaking through!

Ephesians 6:16 NLT
[16] In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil.

https://bible.com/bible/116/eph.6.16.NLT

Proverbs 24:19-20 NLT
[19] Don’t fret because of evildoers; don’t envy the wicked. [20] For evil people have no future; the light of the wicked will be snuffed out.

https://bible.com/bible/116/pro.24.19-20.NLT

Psalms 37:1-3 NLT
[1] Don’t worry about the wicked or envy those who do wrong. [2] For like grass, they soon fade away. Like spring flowers, they soon wither. [3] Trust in the Lord and do good. Then you will live safely in the land and prosper.

https://bible.com/bible/116/psa.37.1-3.NLT

Proverbs 23:17-18 NLT
[17] Don’t envy sinners, but always continue to fear the Lord. [18] You will be rewarded for this; your hope will not be disappointed.

https://bible.com/bible/116/pro.23.17-18.NLT

It seems like the wicked prosper while doing wrong. They don’t seem to be worried or concerned about their ways, they’re not suffering or so it seems, and they are enjoying themselves from the spoil of their wicked deeds. But they will not prosper forever. They have no roots in the house of God  or the Kingdom of God. Their prosperity is for a moment and won’t last. Calamity will come upon them and they will fall mightily because they have no solid foundation to stand upon. Their light will be extinguished.

Trust in the Lord, not in the temporary material gain that the wicked depend on. When you fall on hard times, your faith will remain intact and you will endure. In good times and in bad, the Lord your God will continue to hold in the palm of His hand, and keep you as the apple of His eye.

The light that shines in you illuminates your soul and gives light to those around you. They will see your faith and trust on display as you stand firm, while the light of the wicked will fade and eventually blow out, like a candle in the wind. Their prosperity won’t save them.

The love of money is the root of all sorts of evil. Those who trust in riches and material wealth have no roots or foundation to stand on. They’re walking on sinking sand. Their foundation will crumble, leaving them crushed and destroyed.

Trust in the Lord and do good, then you will dwell safely in the land and prosper.

Do good: when you trust in the Lord to guide you in His light, you will see the way to go. It is always a good path in which you will prosper; not in the worldly sense, as in money and material wealth. While that may a part of your prosperity, you can’t rely on that to last into eternity. Work for that which has eternal value, for this life and for the Kingdom of God.

Loving and serving others is the way to go, the good we are instructed to do. This is the work that will endure for eternity. Loving God and one another fulfills the entire law!

Live your own life and stop comparing yourself to others. Put God’s kingdom and His righteousness first and everything else will follow. The world might seem to have an edge or advantage, but it’s merely a facade. Deep down inside, at the core of your being, you know what is right and good.  Listen to the voice of the Lord, the Shepherd and Overseer of your soul. He’ll always lead you in the way you should go!

Do I have control over the tongues of others when they tell lies, spread gossip and rumors about me?

What about my own tongue? Do I tell lies or spread gossip and rumors about others?

Do I have lying lips and deceitful tongue?

I need to watch my own tongue first. Gossip, rumors, slander, outright lies; all of the above are so prevalent. However, the truth starts in me.

To thine own self be true. I can’t control what others say about me, but if I’m a man of integrity, treating others with respect and observing the golden rule, then other people won’t have much fuel to use when they choose to use their tongue to crush my reputation or otherwise harm me.

Jealousy is often the motive behind lies and rumors, when others choose to “talk smack” about me.

What goes around comes around. If you’re talking about others, others will talk about you. If you listen to gossip and rumors about others, these people will talk about you too. That’s what a talebearer is; a gossip, a busy body, a meddler in other peoples’ business.

If I’m known by others as a man of honesty, integrity and trustworthiness, when lies, rumors and gossip are lodged against me, they won’t believe it and may actually speak up on my behalf .

Talebearers exist in the church too. Sad but true. It’s a part of our sinful nature to lie. We instinctively learn to do it as toddlers and it becomes engrained into our moral makeup as we grow and develop. However, feeding on the word of God curbs our desire to become known as a liar or a talebearer. If our parents are doing a proper job in raising us, we’ll grow up knowing that lying is wrong, that it’s sinful behavior, and is unacceptable.

In a court of law, lying is known as purjory and is a crime and is punishable by law. Libel and slander are also crimes and can be the subject of civil lawsuits.

The power of the tongue starts in me, when I prayerfully and willfully choose to live by the Truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help me God!

David prayed to God to deliver him from such lying and deceit; not only from the mouths and lips of others, but also from doing the same, either in retaliation or from using his own tongue to frame untruths and lies about others!

I want to be like David, a man after God’s own heart. David referred to himself as “a servant of the Lord” (Psalms 36 introduction) a servant of the Lord will not be included with lies and rumors; not in crafting them with their own heart and tongue, nor listening to that being spread and circulated by others. A true man of God, filled with the Spirit of God, will not be a part of such behavior, nor associate with those who do such things.

That’s what David prays about in Psalm 120 (and many other places in Scripture!

Proverbs 11:13 NLT
[13] A gossip goes around telling secrets, but those who are trustworthy can keep a confidence.

https://bible.com/bible/116/pro.11.13.NLT

Psalms 120:1-3 NKJV
[1] In my distress I cried to the Lord, And He heard me. [2] Deliver my soul, O Lord, from lying lips And from a deceitful tongue. [3] What shall be given to you, Or what shall be done to you, You false tongue?

https://bible.com/bible/114/psa.120.1-3.NKJV

Luke 22:31-32 NKJV
[31] And the Lord said, “Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. [32] But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.”

https://bible.com/bible/114/luk.22.31-32.NKJV

Luke 22:32 NLT
[32] But I have pleaded in prayer for you, Simon, that your faith should not fail. So when you have repented and turned to me again, strengthen your brothers.”

https://bible.com/bible/116/luk.22.32.NLT

Sifting wheat in those days was done by foot, by stomping the wheat on the threshing floor, thereby separating the wheat from the chaff. The good part then became flour to be used in food preparation, while the chaff, which is the waste part, is thrown out into a heep, where the wind drives it away.

Satan wants to separate us from God by stomping, crushing, and bruising us, thereby squeezing the life out of us with anxiety, stress, worry, fear, doubt, discouragement, and every other care and concern that consumes us.

While Satan wants to sift us like wheat attempting to separate us from the love of God, God will use this process in our lives to strip away the bad stuff; the chaff, while the good stuff remains so that He can use us for His good purpose. The enemy wants us to be like that chaff, blown about by every wind and storm.

Jesus wants us to stand firm in our faith. Jesus didn’t tell Peter he blocked Satan from doing this, but instead promised to pray for him, that his faith will remain intact while this process is unfolding and working its way out. God never promises to keep us from such trials and tribulations, but He will give us faith on the inside to endure as this stomping and sifting is going on.

And when we’ve endured, through faith, we’ll be equipped to minister to others who are going through their own storms of life.

In the midst of our threshing floor, we’ll endure our own sifting and return better than we were before, better than we ever thought!

This is never a pleasant experience, but is necessary. Our humanity so often gets in the way of God’s plan. God knows our hearts. When push comes to shove and the enemy gets under our skin, we’ll be strongly tempted to deny Jesus as Peter did, and we will mostly likely have the same response and outcome that Peter did.

Jesus wasn’t telling Peter this sifting could or might happen. It will happen, but Satan has boundaries. It’s always permitted by God, but God is in control. You will endure through faith. You will return when you repent, confess and forsake your sin. And Jesus will be working in and through you at a much deeper level.

James 5:16 NLT
[16] Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.

https://bible.com/bible/116/jas.5.16.NLT

I think the church as a whole does a poor job of providing a place where people, especially men, can be open and transparent with the sin and weaknesses in their lives; especially with issues of sexual immorality. The Bible tells us to confess our sins to one another and pray for one another. How often do we do this?

Growing up in the Catholic Church, we did this regularly, going to confession and telling our sins to the priest, behind the veil, inside the confessional booth. But it became more of a religious ritual than an opportunity to find comfort and support in the midst of sinful habits that have gripped one’s soul.

If the church as a whole did a better job of creating an environment where men have the opportunity to tell another brother(s) they are really struggling in an area, like pornography and everything that goes with that, so many men would be set free from the vice grip of pornography. It becomes a trap in their own minds, ruled and policed by the demons of guilt, shame and fear. Sexual immorality and compulsive behaviors are more prevalent among Christian men (and some women)than we realize or are willing to admit. We can and must do a better job.

Men, for the most part, will keep this sort of stuff to themselves. It’s very hard for others to see this sort of problem in a man’s life. It’s not as obvious as taking drugs or consuming alcohol. Even gambling addiction or food addiction can be seen more clearly.

Every other sin we commit is outside of the body, but those who commit sexual immorality are sinning against their own flesh, and it comes from a God given and  ordained purpose within our natural bodies. God gave us sexual desires for the purpose of procreation and fulfillment of our roles within marriage; a monogamous relationship between a man and a woman, which is the complete image of God, celebrated in the figurative language between Christ and His body, the church !

Joshua 24:15 NLT
[15] But if you refuse to serve the Lord, then choose today whom you will serve. Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates? Or will it be the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live? But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.”

https://bible.com/bible/116/jos.24.15.NLT

We all have our own gods we look to and serve.

Choose this day whom you will serve. As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
Sometimes I think of “my house” as this earthly tent I reside in, because that’s where it starts, in my heart. If someone is swept away by vice; porn, gambling, drugs and alcohol, sexual addiction, even food addiction, etc. they really need to examine their own heart and motives, especially if they claim to be a Christian. Man looks at the outer appearance but God looks at our hearts. No one can say they didn’t know, because God has spoken through the scriptures and in their heart. What we’re really doing and saying when we partake of these vices and other things is that God is not enough!

We’re double minded with divided hearts when we claim to love and serve God, yet spend our time serving ourselves and our lusts and desires.

Who are you really serving?

The Lord examines our heart and motives through the living power of His word (Hebrews 4:12).

Proverbs 21:2 NLT
[2] People may be right in their own eyes, but the Lord examines their heart.
https://bible.com/bible/116/pro.21.2.NLT

Proverbs 16:2 NLT
[2] People may be pure in their own eyes, but the Lord examines their motives.
https://bible.com/bible/116/pro.16.2.NLT

God is on the inside. He sees everything. My heart, mind and soul are laid bare before Him. He knows all of my ways. My human nature is filled with pride, deceiving me into seeing myself as right and pure…religious even. That’s what a Pharisee is. In the literal sense, Pharisees were the religious leaders in the days when Jesus walked the Earth. From all appearances they seemed to be religious, right and pure, but this was merely the outer appearance, the facade. On the inside where God sees they were hollow, like “whitewashed tombs filled with dead men’s bones” which is why they could not see God at work through Jesus.

When we’re living in our natural human state, relying on our own intelligence and wit to get by, along with the wisdom, ideologies and philosophies of this world to guide us, pride keeps us from going deeper, and seeing beyond our human surface into our own soul and conscience. Our old man will deceive us and the lust of the eyes, lust of the flesh, and the pride of life will rule our hearts from our feelings and emotions instead of the Holy Spirit whom God imparts to those who repent and believe the Gospel, the good news of a risen Savior, who suffered and died for the sins of the world.

Yet there is One who weighs our hearts and who examines our motives. Man judges by our outer appearance, but God sees us on the inside, in our heart. Here he examines, weighs and judges us. (1 Samuel 16:7)

Are you listening?

God sends people our way to give us wise counsel and advice, but when we’re good and right in our own eyes, we will not have eyes to see, ears to hear, or hearts that are prepared that receive His word; His truth which He desires to impart to us.

We cannot claim ignorance when God speaks to us through the scriptures or through those he sends our way, and fail to take heed. We cannot say we didn’t know. Everyone is held accountable for what they have heard, because God has spoken. Those who think they are pure and right in their own eyes and ways have abandoned their own moral conscience. They are walking in darkness and the light of God’s word is not leading them. They’re walking their own path and will eventually stumble. When this happens they have no inner compass to guide them and wander like sheep without a shepherd. Sheep don’t know they’re lost. They’ll just keep wandering and strolling along, without any guidance or direction.

Proverbs 24:12 NKJV
[12] If you say, “Surely we did not know this,” Does not He who weighs the hearts consider it? He who keeps your soul, does He not know it? And will He not render to each man according to his deeds?

https://bible.com/bible/114/pro.24.12.NKJV

Luke 16:15 NLT
[15] Then he said to them, “You like to appear righteous in public, but God knows your hearts. What this world honors is detestable in the sight of God.

https://bible.com/bible/116/luk.16.15.NLT

1 Corinthians 4:4 NLT
[4] My conscience is clear, but that doesn’t prove I’m right. It is the Lord himself who will examine me and decide.

https://bible.com/bible/116/1co.4.4.NLT

Ephesians 6:10-13 NKJV
[10] Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. [11] Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

[12] For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

[13] Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

https://bible.com/bible/114/eph.6.10-13.NKJV

Ephesians 6:12 NLT
[12] For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.

https://bible.com/bible/116/eph.6.12.NLT

Ephesians 1:21 NLT
[21] Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else—not only in this world but also in the world to come.

https://bible.com/bible/116/eph.1.21.NLT

Your no match for Satan, who roams about like a roaring lion, looking to devour you. But you don’t have to go toe to toe with him either.  The enemy can only come at you on the outside. You have a friend who sticks closer than a brother. He lives on the inside as the sheriff of your heart and mind. The Holy Spirit guards your heart and mind, in Christ, with his peace which surpasses all understanding. So lay all of your anxieties, fears, doubts and concerns before Him. Let him truly be the Lord and Savior of your life and soul.

You’re not better or more important than any other member of the body of Christ. Every member has a purpose and function in the Church, as Christ has given them through the Holy Spirit. Pray and seek His will and purpose for you in the body of Christ. Humble yourself in the sight of the Lord and He will lift you up. He will exalt you. You don’t need to exalt yourself or recommend yourself to others. God will show them and you’ll see it within your own heart, mind and soul, as you surrender to Him daily, take up your cross and follow Him.

Romans 12:3-5 NLT
[3] Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us. [4] Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, [5] so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.

https://bible.com/bible/116/rom.12.3-5.NLT

Romans 12:6-9 NLT
[6] In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. [7] If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. [8] If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly. [9] Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good.

https://bible.com/bible/116/rom.12.6-9.NLT

When we are truly loving and serving one another in the body of Christ, we will glorify Him as His light shines in and through we the Church. The Church is not just me, but we! Together we are promoting His Kingdom.

The stain and stench of sin can only be washed away by the blood of Jesus.

Hebrews 9:22 NLT
[22] In fact, according to the law of Moses, nearly everything was purified with blood. For without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness.

https://bible.com/bible/116/heb.9.22.NLT

Proverbs 20:9 NLT
[9] Who can say, “I have cleansed my heart; I am pure and free from sin”?

https://bible.com/bible/116/pro.20.9.NLT

Psalms 51:5 NLT
[5] For I was born a sinner— yes, from the moment my mother conceived me.

https://bible.com/bible/116/psa.51.5.NLT

1 John 1:8-10 NLT
[8] If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. [9] But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. [10] If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts.

https://bible.com/bible/116/1jn.1.8-10.NLT

Our righteousness is like filthy rags before God!

Isaiah 64:6 NKJV
[6] But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; We all fade as a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, Have taken us away.

https://bible.com/bible/114/isa.64.6.NKJV

Jesus Christ is our High Priest. The one and only sacrifice for the sins of mankind. There is no other way, no amount of works or sacrifices, no good deeds, no religion or anything else that we can do to atone for our sins..all we can do is fall on our knees, lift up out heart and soul before Him, repent, which is to turn away from our sin and turn towards God, confess our sin, receive His grace and mercy, along with His forgiveness. Allow Him to cleanse us of all sin and unrighteousness.

Do this often, every day!

Hebrews 9:23-28 NKJV
[23] Therefore it was necessary that the copies of the things in the heavens should be purified with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. [24] For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us; [25] not that He should offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood of another— [26] He then would have had to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. [27] And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, [28] so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.

https://bible.com/bible/114/heb.9.23-28.NKJV