TODAY IN THE WORD

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Daniel 10:1-21
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TODAY IN THE WORD
Christian financial counselor Larry Burkett tells of meeting a Chinese evangelist who had endured persecution for his faith. When Burkett asked the man what amazed him most about Western Christianity, the evangelist replied, ""What amazes me most is how much you are able to accomplish without God.""

That insightful comment reflects something that is too often true for those of us who have been brought up in the so-called ""Christian West."" We can be tempted to settle for a ""safe"" version of Christianity instead of the real thing. But every believer needs to learn the lesson Jesus taught: ""Apart from me you can do nothing"" (John 15:5).

Perhaps one reason we do not see more of God's power is that we have never encountered the kind of fierce spiritual opposition that is commonplace in countries such as China.

Whatever the case, one thing is certain: the spiritual warfare being waged in ""the heavenly realms"" is far above our ability even to comprehend, let alone engage in, on our own power. The prophet Daniel's glimpse of just one heavenly warrior, an angel who was probably Gabriel, left him weak and speechless.

Daniel 10 is an amazing text by any measure. Aside from the angel's awe-inspiring appearance, his message to Daniel was even more startling. As Daniel prayed and fasted, waiting for understanding of a vision, the angel dispatched with the answer was delayed for three weeks, locked in intense warfare with the forces of darkness.

This angel had to call for help from Michael, the archangel with a special relationship to Israel. Michael freed the angel to deliver Daniel's answer, but the warfare was to continue.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Did you notice how our unique glimpse into spiritual warfare was closely linked with Daniel's prayer?

Passages like this help us understand why the Bible tells us to ""pray continually"" (1 Thess. 5:17). Prayer is not shooting up emergency flares to God when things get rough. He is interested in our spiritual development, and that includes learning the value of perseverance in prayer.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: 1 Peter 5:8-11
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TODAY IN THE WORD
British writer G.K. Chesterton was almost as well known for his absentmindedness as he was for his wit. Chesterton often forgot to keep appointments, and once on a lecture tour he had to wire his wife to ask her where he was supposed to be next! Another time, Chesterton astonished his publisher by arriving on time for a meeting, only to hand the man a letter explaining why he could not keep the appointment!

Failing to pay attention to dates, places and times can cause embarrassment and missed appointments. But failing to be alert in the spiritual realm can lead to real disaster. That's because our enemy the devil is always on the prowl, ""looking for someone to devour"" (v. .

The apostle Peter's exhortation to spiritual alertness is a message we need every day. But it's especially timely for us now, after nine days of looking at the nature of our enemy and getting some glimpses into spiritual warfare.

Peter's description of Satan as an adversary who means business fits with everything we have learned about the devil's nature. But Peter also lets us know that Satan's power is limited and that we can successfully resist and defeat him in the power that God supplies.

How do we know this? Because our fellow Christians throughout the world (v. 9) are fighting and winning the same battle. In other words, we are not the first believers to engage in spiritual warfare. The testimony of saints has always been that God gives victory.

But the main reason we can be victorious against Satan is found in verse 10 of our text. We have the promise that God Himself will sustain us in any trial of suffering and make us ""strong, firm and steadfast.""
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
When it comes to dealing with the devil, aren't you glad that we can come to the ""God of all grace"" for help?

We need God's grace every day as we try to live for Him. Where do you feel a particular need for grace today? You can turn that need into a specific prayer request for God's help. Simply come to Him and say, ""Dear God, today I pray for Your grace to help me ________."" Fill in your area of need, and thank Him for His promise to supply.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Mark 7:24-30
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TODAY IN THE WORD
We won't know until we get to heaven just how many people have been influenced for Christ by the prayers and faith of a godly mother or grandmother. The walls of church history are lined with portraits of people such as Timothy who were led to Christ by their mothers. Others were brought back to Christ after straying, or were called into His service, in answer to a mother's prayers. Today we honor mothers and grandmothers whose prayers have helped to build the church.

The mother in today's story was deeply concerned about her child, and she too moved the hand of God by her faith and humility. In this way she serves as a model of trust, even as this incident reminds us of the reality of spiritual warfare in the ministry of Jesus.

For reasons we are not told, Jesus made a trip north of Galilee into Gentile country, arriving in an area that is part of present-day Lebanon. Verse 24 suggests that He may have been seeking a few days of rest away from the crowds that thronged Him. But because His reputation as a healer had preceded Him, He could not find solitude.

One person who sought Him out immediately was this mother, who came to Jesus and fell at His feet with her request. What follows is one of many intriguing conversations in the New Testament.

Jesus told her: ""It is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to their dogs"" (v. 27). While in this analogy the Gentiles are household pets, they're not being insulted. Jesus was simply reflecting the fact that His ministry of teaching and miracles was to the house of Israel. In any house, the children are fed before the pets. Later, Gentiles would be ""grafted onto the tree"" as equal children of God (Rom. 11:13-24; Gal. 3:26-29).

Without a doubt, Jesus was also testing her faith. The woman passed the test. Her reply in verse 28 reflected well on her faith and humility, and Jesus was pleased. His assurance to her (v. 29) reveals that the demon abusing her daughter was sent away without so much as a word of command or argument.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
If there are believing mothers in your family line, you are a wealthy person.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Matthew 4:1-11
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TODAY IN THE WORD
A recent article in the Wall Street Journal told of a man living in Taiwan who claims the title of governor of Fukien Province. The problem is that Fukien, which is on the Chinese mainland, already has a governor who rules the affairs of its 27 million citizens. The other man's claim goes back to 1949, when the Nationalists fled China for Taiwan (then known as Formosa) after their defeat by the Chinese Communists.

The bottom line is that this Taiwanese man's claim to rule Fukien Province is essentially worthless. He has an office and a staff and carries on as if he were governor. But he has no real authority to rule at all.

Satan has also been carrying on as if he were a legitimate ruler. But at the temptation of Christ Satan's claims were proven to be false, and he was exposed as a temporary usurper.

The analogy doesn't hold at every point, of course. Unlike the ""governor"" in today's illustration, Satan does have real power. And at least for now, the kingdoms of the unbelieving world do lie in the devil's lap. But one day Jesus Christ will return as Ruler of all.

The temptation of Christ is an example of spiritual warfare without parallel. We can only read the text and watch awestruck as Jesus engages Satan in face-to-face battle. We do not believe that it was even possible for the sinless Son of God to yield to Satan's offers.

For that we can be eternally grateful! Whereas Adam and Eve had fallen to the serpent's temptation, there in the desert Jesus refused the temptation to bypass the cross. He also refused to go outside of the Father's will for His physical needs of food and protection.

We will never be tested to the same degree or with the same effects as Jesus was tested. But because He experienced temptation, He is sympathetic to us in our need (Heb. 4:14-16). And we can imitate Jesus' example by drawing on God's Word to refute and defeat Satan.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
If you want to turn today into an extraordinary Monday, consider the benefits available to you because Jesus endured and triumphed over temptation.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Mark 1:21-28
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TODAY IN THE WORD
When President Harry Truman went to the Potsdam Conference at the end of World War II, he took with him an old Missouri friend named Fred Canfil. Truman introduced his friend to Soviet leader Joseph Stalin by saying, ""Marshal Stalin, I want you to meet Marshal Canfil."" From that point on, Canfil was treated with great respect by the members of the Soviet delegation. Truman failed to mention that his friend had achieved his title because Truman had recently appointed him as a federal marshal back in Missouri.

It seems that the President was letting his Soviet counterpart have a good American needling. But the story makes the point that false claims to authority can lead to false subservience on the part of people who don't know any better.

This pretty well describes the case with the demons who were active in Jesus' ministry. These evil spirits harassed and tormented people, and the Jewish leaders of Jesus' day seemed to be powerless against them. Thus, the demons were able to claim ""territory"" in people's lives and exercise authority over them.

This was the case of the man at the synagogue in Capernaum. As Jesus taught, the demon inside the man sought to disrupt the Lord's ministry. By using Jesus' name and rightful title (v. 24), the demon was attempting to gain control over the Lord. The demon's use of the plural ""us"" indicates that he was speaking for the demonic world.

Jesus commanded the demon to be quiet, silencing his futile attempt at control. Then to demonstrate who was the true authority in this situation and to give the poor man relief from his suffering, Jesus ordered the demon to be gone. Satan's henchman had no choice but to obey.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Even as believers, we can allow Satan to claim territory in our lives and keep us frustrated and defeated.

If that's the case in your life, today's lesson brings good news. You don't have to yield to the enemy in any area of your life. You already have the authority and the power of Jesus Christ to win back any territory that has been lost.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Mark 5:1-20
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TODAY IN THE WORD
Salvage workers who located the Henrietta Marie off the Florida Keys found a grim testimony to the ship's work. The Henrietta Marie, which sank in a storm in 1700, was a slave ship. On its last voyage, the ship left London for West Africa. There it left its cargo and picked up a load of slaves, taking them to Jamaica. Searchers found iron shackles for adults and children. ""It's unfathomable that someone would put these on some little kid,"" one diver said.

Our adversary the devil also deals in human slavery. And the cruelty of his slavery can be unfathomable. Witness the condition of the man who met Jesus when He traveled to the opposite side of the Sea of Galilee.

Few characters in all of the Bible inspire more pity than this ""wild man"" tormented by many demons. His self-destructive ways leave no doubt that Satan's goal in human lives is to ""steal and kill and destroy"" (John 10:10).

But then Jesus appeared on the scene, ready to engage this ""Legion"" of Satan's henchmen in spiritual warfare. Unlike the incident we studied yesterday, Jesus did not order the demons to be silent when they identified Him.

Instead, Jesus engaged them in conversation and even granted their request to occupy the pigs. This portion of the story, perhaps the most well-known and the most puzzling, should not sidetrack us from the central truth: by His power alone, Jesus set a person free from the shackles Satan had clapped around his body and soul.

Once the man was set free, his first and only desire was to become Jesus' follower and witness. Jesus gave him a tough assignment--witnessing to his own family and neighbors about God's grace in his life.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Chances are your Christian testimony has nothing in it that comes close to what this man endured. Praise God for that!

But whether you came to Christ at a tender age, or after years of living in the world, your testimony is an important piece of your spiritual weaponry. Your family, friends and neighbors need to know what you know. They need the Jesus you love and serve!

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Luke 22:7-34, 54-62
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TODAY IN THE WORD
Many stories circulated in nineteenth-century Washington concerning President Martin Van Buren's ability to avoid taking sides on whatever issue was before him. It is said that the term ""non-commitalism"" became a popular term in the capital to describe Van Buren, who was elected in 1837.

One story tells of a man who accepted a bet that he could make Van Buren admit the sun rises in the east. But Van Buren was equal to the task. Concerning the sun's rising, he replied, ""As I never get up till after dawn, I can't really say.""

No one would ever accuse the apostle Peter of ""non-commitalism""--over-commitalism, maybe! On the evening of the Last Supper, Peter made a commitment he couldn't keep because it was made in the power of his flesh.

Jesus knew Peter would betray Him three times; so before Peter even speaks, Jesus addressed His impetuous disciple. The words of verses 31-32 must have seemed enigmatic to Peter and the others at the time.

Peter obviously didn't catch on. He was full of confidence (v. 33). But he was about to lose a spiritual battle with the enemy, and Jesus wanted to make sure Peter's wound wouldn't be fatal.

Peter's betrayal happened that same night; and Luke notes poignantly that Jesus ""turned and looked straight at Peter,"" who went out and wept bitterly (vv. 61-62).

What a tremendous lesson we can learn from this incident! Jesus mentioned the desire of Satan to grind us to flour. The devil is not impressed or deterred by human boasts or resolutions.

But an encouraging truth is that Jesus was praying for Peter. He even reassured His lead fisherman that he still had a great ministry to accomplish. This text reminds us of the dangers of running headlong into spiritual battle in our own strength. The enemy is too great for us to defeat with the weapons of the flesh.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Most of us make resolutions about all the good things we are going to do for the Lord. That's human nature.

There's nothing wrong with resolving to pray more or study your Bible every day. In fact, we want to encourage you--as we often do about the middle of the month--to renew your commitment to daily study with your Bible and Today in the Word.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Matthew 26:36-46
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TODAY IN THE WORD
Police believe they have finally nabbed the cat burglar who was looting mansions up and down the East Coast. Like his fictional Hollywood counterpart, the man would dress all in black and slip undetected into homes where the family and servants were asleep. He knew what he wanted, taking priceless antiques, sterling silver, and other expensive articles--including a $1귔 ice cream scoop.

We've seen some pretty spectacular examples of Satan on the attack this month, both in the Old Testament and in the ministry of Jesus. But we need to remember that he does not always launch a frontal attack. Sometimes he comes as quietly as a cat burglar, stealing away our spiritual vigor when we are lulled into thinking we are safe.

That's the picture we have before us in today's text. The dozing disciples were the victims of temptation, not just of fatigue. Jesus felt an intense need for their companionship--not because He was afraid, but because He was engaged in intense spiritual warfare just a few yards away.

What an ironic scene. There were two battles going on, and Satan was one out of two. He definitely lost his struggle to get Jesus to shrink back from the Cross. But the devil found success in lulling Jesus' disciples into spiritual lethargy. On this occasion, they never did get their act together and pray (v. 45).

What can happen when Satan tempts us to doze off spiritually? He can work a lot of mischief in the absence of our watchful prayer. Lack of alertness can even lead to spiritual defection, which happened that very night to Jesus' disciples (see Matt. 26:31).
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
One piece of mischief Satan can do after tempting us to doze off spiritually is load us with guilt when we wake up and realize that the ""cat burglar"" has struck.

Perhaps you are weighed down today by the memory of a spiritual failure. You may even have confessed the incident repeatedly and gained assurance of God's forgiveness, only to find that the enemy still taunts you with the memory.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Luke 22:47-53
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TODAY IN THE WORD
Former youth worker Brad Holt tells of an object lesson he used to teach teen-agers that things aren't always what they seem.

Brad would arrive at a youth meeting with a gift box, attractively wrapped in bright paper. ""Who would like a present?"" he would ask.

One ""lucky"" youth would grab the package, excitedly rip off the paper, and find… garbage? After the laughter died down, Brad would talk about the spiritual principle behind the illustration. Something or someone may seem pleasant on the outside, but on the inside they may be dead and ugly.

Like that deceiving gift package, Judas was not what he appeared to be. And the great ""thief"" (John 10:10), Satan himself, looked inside Judas' heart and discovered his dark secret. Interestingly, the Bible also calls Judas a thief (John 12:6).

So Satan knew exactly where to hit Judas with temptation: his love of money. Judas was paid for his betrayal, although his ""blood money"" later brought him torment. The story of Jesus' betrayal is a picture of Satan gaining the upper hand in a human heart and doing his worst spiritual destruction.

Satan was so much in control of Judas and the crowd that came to arrest Jesus that Jesus called the whole scene Satan's hour (Luke 22:53). Darkness was having its way that night, especially in the heart of Judas.

And just to make sure we don't misunderstand who was behind all of this, John says that the devil prompted Judas to betray his Lord (John 13:2).
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
We don't like to think about Judas, because we don't want to think that we're like him in any way.

But honesty forces us to admit the truth of Jeremiah 17:9: the deceitfulness of the human heart. The answer is not to despair, but to draw even closer to the Lord and trust in His power to sustain us.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Galatians 5:16-26
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TODAY IN THE WORD
The great American preacher and theologian Jonathan Edwards once wrote: ""The truly humble Christian is clothed with lowliness, mildness, meekness, gentleness of spirit and behavior. These things are just like garments to him. Christian humility has no such thing as roughness, or contempt, or fierceness, or bitterness in its nature.""

The contrast Edwards describes is a concise commentary on today's text. When the Scripture talks about our Christian lives on earth, the two great contrasts used are ""flesh"" and ""spirit."" The former is enslaved to sin. The latter is that part of us over which the Holy Spirit reigns.

Paul leaves no doubt in verses 17-18 that the ""sinful nature,"" the flesh, is directly opposed to the Holy Spirit. In terms of spiritual warfare, we can see right away that conflict is inevitable. Like two great armies arrayed against each other, flesh and spirit are bound to clash.

Why is the flesh so contrary to the Holy Spirit? Because it is the sinful nature that we were born with, that we inherited from Adam. The flesh is Satan's domain. You can tell that by looking at the list of sins in verses 19-21. This list includes sexual sins, religious sins, sins of the spirit, and sins of the flesh. Paul says those who practice these things as a way of life will not be part of the kingdom of God.

If believers allow our enemy to gain the advantage over us through our sinful nature, we can be caught in these sins as well. The Holy Spirit's desire, however, is that we allow Him to produce His fruit in us.

Turning from the list of fleshly sins to the fruit of the Spirit (vv. 22-23) is like stepping from a dirty alley into a beautiful, fragrant garden. This nine-fold manifestation of the Spirit's work within us contains almost every virtue we need to live a life pleasing to the Lord.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Most of us can remember times when we felt a special need for one portion of the fruit of the Spirit. Or we may have had a special desire for God to develop that virtue in us.

That may be the case for you today. Although the goal is that we reflect the entire array of the Spirit's fruit, sometimes it helps to concentrate on one area for awhile.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Romans 6:1-23
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TODAY IN THE WORD
The 1912 Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden, were considered very successful. At these Games, the public address system and electronic timing were introduced to Olympic competition. But by 1914 Europe was at war, and the 1916 Summer Olympics were canceled.

This bit of history reminds us of one of life's realities. When people are at war, they don't really have time to play games. The apostle Paul wasn't playing games with his spiritual life. He had experienced the reality of spiritual warfare in his own heart and life, and he was eager to learn and to share principles for victory.

Today is the second day of our final section in this month's studies. Looked at our enemy, we have seen spiritual warfare up close in the Old Testament and in the earthly ministry of Jesus. Now we need to spend these last two weeks of May learning how to fight the good fight ourselves.

For this we will spend most of our time in the letters of Paul. He was uniquely called of God to reveal the nature of spiritual warfare in this age of the church.

Romans 6 is a great example of this. It is part of Paul's classic statement of the struggle between the flesh and the Spirit in the Christian's life. We've all felt this struggle.

Here in Romans 6 Paul draws a clear line in the sand. The questions in verses 1 and 15 set the stage. In each case the answer is the same. We who know Christ cannot continue to live in sin. Why? Because we have died to sin through our complete identification with Christ in His death and resurrection (vv. 1-14).
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Clearly, it is possible for believers to fall into sin. But the Bible says this is different from living a deliberate, consistent lifestyle of sin under the control of the enemy.

We cannot afford to take sin lightly. Paul certainly did not! When we realize the price Jesus Christ paid to redeem us, we understand the cost of sin.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Romans 7:1-25
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TODAY IN THE WORD
A certain type of vandalism--painting buildings, trains and other objects with graffiti--has become an international sport for some people. These graffiti ""artists"" fly to various cities around the world, intending to leave their mark so they can brag about their dubious achievements. Last summer, when four young Germans were arrested in New York City, police found hundreds of spray paint cans in their bags. One of the men freely admitted that they had come to New York to paint ""a wall, a train, or anything.""

What these jet-setting vandals do to deface property is similar to what Satan tries to do to believers. He is an unwelcome visitor, looking for opportunities to deface our lives and testimonies with the ""graffiti"" of sin. As we learned yesterday, our enemy has an ally within us, the sinful nature that we carry as our heritage from Adam.

But that hardly makes us pawns of the world, the flesh, and the devil (1 John 2:16). Paul ends Romans 7 on a note of victory, expressed in today's verse. And John declares: ""Everyone born of God overcomes the world"" (1 John 5:4).

We are on our way to the eternal victory of heaven. But there are some struggles to deal with along the way. In Romans 6 Paul outlines our identification with our new Master, Jesus Christ. In chapter 7, he shows the impossibility of achieving the righteousness God requires by trying to keep the law's requirements.

As believers, we are set free from the law the way a woman is free from the ""law of marriage"" if her husband dies (Rom. 7:2). Our problem with trying to meet God's standards is that our sinful nature will always be in rebellion against God.

It's not that God's demands are evil. Far from it, Paul says (v. 7). The flaw lies within us. All God's law does is arouse us to an awareness of how sinful we are and how far short we come of His requirements.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
In coming days we're going to see that God has given us many weapons with which to fight and win in spiritual warfare.

But along with using the weapons He has provided, we need to make sure we are not giving aid and comfort to the enemy! This is a good time for you to look around your home or apartment to see if you are allowing any of the enemy's propaganda to get to you or your family.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Romans 12:1-2
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TODAY IN THE WORD
Genesis chapter 22 tells a familiar story. In this gripping account, God asked Abraham to present his only son, Isaac, as a sacrifice. In obedience, the two of them set out, carrying items needed for making an offering to the Lord. When they arrived at the designated spot and Abraham began preparations, Isaac asked, ""Where is the lamb for the burnt offering?"" Abraham's answer: God will provide (Gen. 22:7-8).

Abraham bound Isaac and laid him on top of the wood on the altar. Just as he was about to slay his son with a knife, the Lord intervened and provided a ram for the burnt offering. God honored Abraham's willingness to sacrifice that which was most valuable to him, his son. In faith, Abraham put his all on the altar (Heb. 11:17-19).

Similarly, Romans 12:1-2 tells us to present ourselves as living sacrifices to God. We can hold nothing back. His mercies demand total faith and surrender on our part.

Perhaps the most important word in this text is the first one: ""Therefore."" This word indicates that because of all that God has done for us in Christ, offering ourselves to Him is only reasonable. It's also a great defense against the devil's wiles. A body presented to God is off limits to the enemy (see Rom. 6:11-14).

A renewed mind is another strong defense against our spiritual enemy. The difference between conforming to the world's pattern and being transformed by God is the difference between darkness and light, between death and life.

Notice how Paul pictures the unbelieving world--and by extension, its ruling prince, the devil. The world's system is constantly hammering away at us, trying to bend and shape us until we are doing other than God's will.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
We usually think of God's will in terms of a decision or a choice we need to make sometime in the future.

But in the Scriptures, the emphasis is on the will of God that is clearly revealed in its pages. This is important because it's in the context of obedience to His revealed will that God helps us with the specific decisions we need to make.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: 2 Corinthians 4:1-6
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TODAY IN THE WORD
Earlier this month we mentioned G.K. Chesterton, the great British writer and defender of the faith. In 1908, Chesterton wrote that Christian truth is a ""thrilling romance."" He went on to say: ""People have fallen into a foolish habit of speaking of orthodoxy as something heavy, humdrum, and safe. There was never anything so perilous and so exciting as orthodoxy.""

The apostle Paul would no doubt have said ""Amen!"" to Chesterton's sentiments. Paul was consumed by love for the truth of God. He gave his life to proclaiming and defending it, and in today's text he commends truth as a potent weapon against Satan's deception. We can't improve on that!

Any military commander can tell you about the difficulty of conducting a war when you're not getting accurate information. That's why armies work as hard on confusing and deceiving their enemies as they do on defeating them in battle.

Satan is in his element when it comes to deception. We know that Jesus called him the ""father of lies"" (John 8:44). He is the ""god of this age"" (2 Cor. 4:4), blinding anyone he can to the truth, spreading his lies.

The primary targets of Satan's deception are unbelievers. But Jesus also warns us that in the end times, Satan's false prophets and false Christs will seek to deceive even the people of God (Matt. 24:24).

If deception is one of Satan's chief weapons in spiritual warfare, the best way to counter his efforts is by living in the light of the knowledge of God revealed in Christ (2 Cor. 4:6). The great thing about the truth is that when we live by it, we have nothing to hide or fear. Paul renounced ""secret and shameful ways"" (v. 2) because they are incompatible with the truth.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Jesus tells us in today's verse that His truth has a sanctifying effect on us.

Sanctification is our growth in the faith, the goal being spiritual maturity and Christlikeness. But true spiritual growth demands that we submit every part of our lives to the searching light of the Word.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: 2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1
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TODAY IN THE WORD
George Washington once said: ""Associate with men of good quality, if you esteem your reputation; for it is better to be alone than in bad company.""

This insight from our nation's first President is a mirror image of today's verse (1 Cor. 15:33; cf. Prov. 22:24-25). If we associate ourselves with ""bad company,"" our lives will reflect the negative influence they have on us. The opposite is also true: godly friends can have a positive influence on our character and actions.

In friendships as in other areas of life, our enemy's goal in spiritual warfare is to outwit us as believers (2 Cor. 2:11). In all our relationships, we need to be on guard against his schemes.

If we fail to be alert or discerning about people, we will be drawn into the wrong kind of relationships, with the destructive or sinful effects described in today's verse.

For example, we usually think of being ""unequally yoked"" (2 Cor. 6:14) as applying to marriage to unbelievers, and it certainly can have that meaning. But as many Bible teachers have pointed out, this principle also applies to any relationship that brings believers and unbelievers into close proximity and sharing of life or resources.

For example, what's so bad about a business partnership between a Christian and a non-Christian? According to Paul, it mixes two worlds that have nothing in common. It attempts to merge two ways of life, two allegiances, that are diametrically opposed to each other. The Bible says flatly, ""Friendship with the world is hatred toward God"" (James 4:4).
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Sometimes it's hard for us to evaluate our friendships and our interaction with those who don't know Christ.

How can we know when it may be time to pull the plug on a relationship with an unbeliever? If sin of some sort is being committed, Paul answers the question for us: ""Let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit"" (2 Cor. 7:1).