In the spirit of the Christmas season, I would like to share some nativity photos taken on my recent trip to the Holyland. Located inside the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem is the Grotto of the Nativity, the traditional site of Jesus’ birth. This fourteen-pointed silver star embedded in white marble marks His birthplace.

Jesus Actual Birthplace – Bethlehem

Located inside the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem is the Grotto of the Nativity, the traditional site of Jesus’ birth. This fourteen-pointed silver star embedded in white marble marks His birthplace.

Altar of the Manger – Bethlehem

Opposite the altar of the Nativity where the star is located, a visitor need only take three steps to see the Altar of the Manger, the place where Baby Jesus was laid after He was born.

“Don’t feed the animals”
Stated clearly on the sign
What harm can be done?
I’ll feed them just this one time

Like a docile fool, you play into their hands
Only to be pursued, by their further demands
A one time meal, now a feeding frenzy
To satisfy these animals, that will always be hungry

Message

To feed the flesh is to deprive the spirit;
To increase the flesh is to decrease the spirit;
What animals are you feeding today?

© Copyright A.K.Browne, All Rights Reserved.

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The battle cry of defeat is sounded
Yet the flesh refuses to be grounded
He fights back hard, as hard as ever
Refusing to surrender to his inevitable blunder

Weakened from an overwhelming need to feed
The soldier must submit to the Spirit’s lead
The battle cannot be lost, there’s so much at stake
Failing yet again, will be too hard to take

A seasoned veteran, the flesh has been here before
He knows what is needed, to win it, once more
Armed with empty promises of instant satisfaction
That can only deliver at the cost of one’s freedom

The battle cry of defeat is sounded
This time for the soldier that is wounded
Reaching for the Word, the only arsenal that can empower
Providing what he needs in this, his desperate hour

© Copyright A.K.Browne, All Rights Reserved.

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Yesterday I had a heart to heart with my 8 year old son, trying to understand why he sometimes misbehaves in spite of my daily words of encouragement and correction. His simple explanation was: “Mom, I don’t know why – I just can’t help myself.” Even though I was frustrated, it was hard to truly be upset because I understand where he’s coming from. Paul even understands where he’s coming from for as he says in Romans:

Romans 7:18-19 (NIV) ” I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing.“

My son saw my frustration and became upset, not because he was in any trouble, but because it hurt him to see me displeased. We’re the same with our Heavenly Father and it hurts us when we feel that we have failed him because of something we did or didn’t do. So how do we not fail? How do we become victorious in our daily battles with the temptations of the flesh?

I think we first need to understand one thing – we’re at war; the enemy is Satan and the battlefield is our mind. “The devil made me do it” is a common excuse we have all used at one time. But truly, the only power Satan has is the power of deception. He’ll deceive you and trick you into falling. One trick that he has used with me is Compromise. For example, he’ll never tell you to eat the whole pie! But he’ll tell you to have a slice today – it won’t do any harm; then tomorrow he’ll tell you the same thing. Before you know it, you have eaten the whole pie!

In war you must arm yourself. Our weapon and armor is the Word of God. To even have a fighting chance, you must continually wear it.

Ephesians 6:11-13 (NIV) “Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.“

Stay Tuned for Part Two – Renewing the Mind

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Today I lost the battle because my armor failed me

I failed the test because the test failed me

I am at war with my body but it is my body that antagonizes me

I keep going around the same mountain because this mountain pursues me

I failed the test again but….

To be true…..it wasn’t the test that failed me

I failed me…..

By succumbing to sin and granting it power over me

I failed me….

By believing Satan’s lies and allowing him to entrap me

I failed me….

By not trusting God beyond what I could see

I failed me….

By silencing my spirit and applauding my flesh to victory

I failed me….

By choosing the path I thought, was easy

Today I lost the battle because I chose to fight it alone

Victory could have been mine, had I just taken it to His throne

© Copyright A.K.Browne, All Rights Reserved.

“ I can’t believe this is happening……Again!

”Why can’t I just overcome this already?

“I’m supposed to be free from sin so why can’t I get freed from this sin”

“Why do I keep failing this test?”

You’ve taken this test many times, but still with the same result: F. Now you wait for the next test, probably the same test, and hope and pray for a better result.

Woman to Woman, if we’re really honest with ourselves, we have either said or thought similar expressions of frustration, upon failing a test or trial that we have faced and continue to face.

Galatians 2:20 (NIV) ” I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”

As believers in Jesus Christ and the sacrifice He made on the cross, we know that we have been set free from the bondage of sin. As Paul says in the scripture above “it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.” If we have truly accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, His Holy Spirit lives in us and just like Jesus had when He was on earth, we as believers –because of His sacrifice- now have the same power within us to resist sin and to conquer the temptations that we encounter on a daily basis.

Romans 8:37 (NIV) “in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us”. Yet, we still struggle with the desire or urge to sin and at times, we stumble, we fall, we fail.

Woman to woman, what do you struggle with the most? Chances are your, main struggles deal with the temptations of the flesh. When considering topics that would launch our site, Disciplining and Conquering the Sinful Nature of the Flesh, resonated strongly within all of us. Over the next few weeks, this is the topic that we will further explore as we look at how we can live free of sin through the power of the Holy Spirit and truly become “more than conquerors.”

Galatians 5:16 “Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh”

See Related Poem: Excuses, Excuses by A.K.Browne