Battle Drill Devotional

Be Free from The Things That Tempt You

Read Genesis 2:15-17 and Genesis 3:1-7.
I said I’m free / To do what I want, any old time / I said love me, hold me / Love me, hold me / ‘Cause I’m free / To do what I want, any old time.
So sang British and Albanian singer, Dua Lipa, back in 2019 for a Yves Saint Laurent advert with the strapline, “Don’t be afraid of your freedom”.
That’s what many people think freedom is. Freedom to do what they want.
That was the freedom Adam and Eve craved. Satan tempted them into deciding they wanted to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, that they wanted the freedom to judge what was good and what was evil for themselves. And as a result, they disobeyed God. The consequences were disastrous.
God tells us that true freedom comes from obeying him. As our Creator, he knows what’s best for us. Freedom comes from following God’s guidance and knowing what not to do. The restrictions he places on us are for our own good. They help us to avoid evil and its disastrous consequences.
We don’t have to give in to temptation to learn more and enjoy life. The best way to be free from the things that tempt us is to always follow God’s guidance.
THINK IT OVER
Think about the following:
Where have you looked for freedom outside of God’s will? What was the result?
You can listen to an audio of these devotionals every week. Head to https://battledrilldevotional.podbean.com for more details and to subscribe to the podcast wherever you get your podcasts or you can catch up with us on the Battlefield Resources Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/battlefieldresources. Like the page and get a notification when a new episode drops or sign up to be sent an email - http://eepurl.com/h2FPND. You can also watch a video version of each devotional at www.youtube.com/@RobWestwoodPayne. You can even catch up with them twice a day on Salvationist Radio!
Unless otherwise shown, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004, 2007, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Secret to Resisting Temptation: Thank God for What You Have

Read Genesis 2:15-17 and Genesis 3:1-7. Do you try to keep up with Joneses? Or do you look over the fence and think the grass is greener over there?
One of Satan’s biggest strategies for tempting us to sin is to make us doubt God’s goodness to us. That’s what he did to Eve. He got her thinking that God was being strict, stingy, and selfish by telling her and Adam not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Why would God want to keep their eyes closed and their minds ignorant like that?
By introducing this doubt to Eve, Satan succeeded in getting Eve to forget all that God had given her. She lived in a beautiful garden. She could eat from any tree in it, except one. God had given her and Adam stewardship over all the animals and plants in the garden and had encouraged them to multiply over the earth. He was close to them and walked in the garden with them. But suddenly, as Eve focused on what God had forbidden rather than all he had given, it wasn’t enough. The countless blessings and promises seemed worthless.
Satan tries to do the same with us. If he can get us feeling sorry for ourselves for all we don’t have, then he has a chance to persuade us to doubt God and all his goodness to us.
The next time that happens, choose to focus on all you do have and thank God for it. When you list everything you’re grateful for, your reminded just how generous and loving God is. That’s a fantastic way to resist temptation!
THINK IT OVER
Think about the following:
•        What are the first three things that come to mind for which you are grateful?

When Temptation Attacks, Use These 4 Spiritual Strategies to Stand Strong (Part 2)

Read Genesis 2:15-17 and Genesis 3:1-7. How can we resist temptation? By following four simple guidelines. We looked at two yesterday, and today we study two more:
Say No when confronted with what we know is wrong: Have you ever told yourself you couldn’t help it? I know I have. The problem is that’s a lie. How do I know? Because God’s Word says we will never be tempted beyond what we can bear (1 Corinthians 10:13). God will always give us a way out. He will always give us the opportunity to say “No.”
Saying no can be painful. It can even be embarrassing at times. But it is the first step to winning the battle of temptation in your mind. Satan is shrewd. He’ll use all sorts of weapons to attack you. He can suggest the wrong things are good, pleasant, and desirable. He can get you to rationalise that the wrong things are harmless and that you are entitled to say yes to them. We need to be ready to say a firm “no” as soon as Satan comes scheming.
Hold firmly to God’s Word: God’s Word is a sword. A sword that can puncture any puffed-up temptation Satan might put in your way. A sword is no good if it stays in its scabbard. Your Bible is no good if it stays on your bookshelf, or even on your desk. What happens when you’re away from it?
It's not very practical to carry your Bible everywhere with you, although those of us who have the Bible on our smartphones might come close. What is much better is to learn to memorise Scripture. That way we have it to hand when we need to brandish it in front of some temptation.
These guidelines will all help to resist temptation. They can be used in combination, as the temptations arise. As we use them, we can strong against sin and become more like Jesus.
THINK IT OVER
Think about the following:
•        What could you do to start memorising Scripture?

When Temptation Attacks, Use These 4 Spiritual Strategies to Stand Strong (Part 1)

Read Genesis 2:15-17 and Genesis 3:1-7. How can we resist temptation? By following four simple guidelines. We’re going to look at two today, and two tomorrow:
Pray for the strength to resist: The Bible is full of people who prayed to God to give them the strength to resist temptation. David, Daniel, Peter, and Paul all prayed this prayer in several ways.
What do you pray? It doesn’t have to be complicated. When you’re being tempted, there isn’t much time to construct a prayer full of poetry and beauty! Most of the time, it’s enough simply to pray, “Help!” “Help! I’ve got to work with that co-worker who really winds me up, today, Lord”. “Help! I’m supposed to be dieting, but that piece of chocolate cake looks good!” “Help! I really want to have a social media rant today!”
We can find the strength to resist temptation simply by asking God to help us.
Activate the emergency plan: Run for your life! Sometimes, the best thing to do when faced with a temptation is to run away from it! That’s not weakness. You don’t win any brownie points for getting as close to a temptation as you can, especially if you then fall into it because you’ve gotten too close!
Tempted to think about something you shouldn’t because of what’s on your television? Change the channel, or better still, turn off the television and do something else. Tempted to overindulge in snacks? Lose yourself in an enjoyable book instead or go for a walk.
Run away from the situation. Don’t stick around to see if you can resist the temptation. Just get away from it.
Every time you follow one of these guidelines and resist temptation, you become more like Jesus.
THINK IT OVER
Think about the following:
•        What changes might you need to make in your life to minimise your exposure to temptation?

The Temptation to Sin Is Not a Sin

This week in Battle Drill devotionals we look at temptation and how to resist it.
Read Genesis 2:15-17 and Genesis 3:1-7. Are you frightened by tempting thoughts? Do you feel demoralised that you aren’t beyond temptation? Many Christians are, including me at times. The first thing that will help us resist temptation when it comes is to realise and remember that being tempted is not a sin. Jesus was tempted to sin.
Of course, unlike Eve, and unlike us, Jesus did not sin. And he stands ready to help when we face temptation. He understands our weakness because he has had to resist temptation himself. He was tempted to get angry. He was tempted to give up. In fact, the Bible says he was tempted in every way we are. But he did not sin. And he has the power to help us not to sin too.
Because Jesus was tempted to sin but did not sin, he can help you overcome any temptation that comes your way. He wants to help you. Ask him to defeat your fear and discouragement about being tempted and he will give you the power to resist the temptations you face each day.
THINK IT OVER
Think about the following:
•        How does knowing Jesus never sinned help you trust he has the power to help you overcome your temptations?

Leaning Into The Truth Of Our Vulnerabilities

Read Matthew 17:1-9. Do you ever look at your weaknesses and your vulnerabilities and think I’m never going to amount to much for God? I’m destined to being a mediocre Christian at best?
I suspect poor Peter might have felt a little of that as he, James and John, and Jesus began to make their way back down that high mountain. Six days before, he’d tried to protect his friend Jesus by challenging him over his insistence that he would be going to Jerusalem, where he would suffer at the hand of the religious and political leaders in the city and would eventually be put to death, before rising again. Jesus called him Satan in return! (Matthew 16:21-23).
Then he’d got over-excited at seeing Jesus transformed on the high mountain and had suggested building three shelters as memorials of the event, and God had to interrupt him to get him to shut up and listen to Jesus!
A bad week in anyone’s book!
As they made their way of the mountain, Jesus tells Peter, James and John not to tell anyone what they had just witnessed until after his resurrection. Why? Because he knew they did not yet fully understand. In fact, perhaps they could not fully understand until Jesus had died and been raised from the dead.
We can’t always understand our weaknesses and vulnerabilities. We’d rather not have them. But we can learn to sit with them. We can lean into the truth that God has the strength to transform them, to equip us to take the next step in our journey of faith. We have so much more to learn! And there is so much more to come!
THINK IT OVER
Think about the following:
What weakness and vulnerability might you need to learn to sit with and allow God to slowly transform?
You can listen to an audio of these devotionals every week. Head to https://battledrilldevotional.podbean.com for more details and to subscribe to the podcast wherever you get your podcasts or you can catch up with us on the Battlefield Resources Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/battlefieldresources. Like the page and get a notification when a new episode drops or sign up to be sent an email - http://eepurl.com/h2FPND. You can also watch a video version of each devotional at www.youtube.com/@RobWestwoodPayne.
Unless otherwise shown, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004, 2007, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

How To Start Building The Kingdom Of God Right Now

Read Matthew 17:1-9. Are you a talker? I’ve met people who can sit for hours and say nothing. I’ve also met people who can “talk the hind legs off a donkey”!
If you’re one of the latter, then this report of Jesus being transformed on a high mountain whilst three of his closest disciples watched on has some good news in it for you!
Matthew reports that as Jesus was transformed, his face shone like the sun and his clothes became as white as light. Then suddenly, two of the most important people in the Jewish faith - Moses and Elijah - appeared with Jesus. And what were they doing? They were all talking together!
This transformation was a foretaste of heaven - and the participants were talking! Why? Because in the Kingdom of God, relationships matter. The Kingdom of God reminds us we are individuals that are part of a wider whole, connected by relationships - our relationship with God, and our relationship with others.
The great thing is we don’t have to wait until heaven before we start talking! We can have them today (and some of us have a lot of catching up to do to some others!). We can talk with God. And we can have good conversations with each other. Both are good training for eternity.
The Kingdom of God is a community. One day it will be the perfect community. You and I can start building it today. And all we have to do is talk!
THINK IT OVER
Think about the following:
•           Who does God want you to have a good conversation with today?

Are You Really Following Jesus?

Read Matthew 17:1-9. Have you ever been in a noisy, crowded room when a teacher, or someone else in authority has shouted for everyone to be quiet and listen? The silence that follows often seems like a miracle!
I wonder if that’s what happened on this high mountain to which Jesus brought his disciples Peter, James and John? I can imagine Peter babbling on about how wonderful the whole experience was and whether he should build these three shelters in remembrance of it all, when suddenly the voice of authority - the voice of God himself thunders: “This is my dearly beloved Son, who brings me great joy. Listen to him”.
Shut up, and listen! It’s a message I need to hear from God more often that I might choose to admit! Shut up, and listen! Don’t know what to do next? Shut up, and listen! Need direction and guidance over a big decision you need to make? Shut up, and listen!
Jesus is more than a great leader. He is more than simply the best example of how to live the human life. He is more than a good influence. He is the Son of God. When you understand this profound proof, then what other response is there but to shut up, and listen?
He is our authority for truth and guidance. We must listen to him. We must learn to pause and wait for his direction. We must align our lives to his will.
If we call Jesus, “Lord” then we have no choice but to listen to him and follow his guidance today.
THINK IT OVER
Think about the following:
•           What is Jesus saying to you today?

Why You Should Say Yes To Jesus

Read Matthew 17:1-9. Have you ever wondered if the disciple Peter was a Salvationist? He was an activist! He always wanted to do something, to say something, to act on what Jesus was teaching him!
Peter has just experienced the most spiritual mountaintop experience he has had in his life. His teacher, Jesus, whom he has recently declared is the Messiah, the Son of the Living God, has just proved it to him by being transformed so that his face shone like the sun and his clothes were as white as light.
And what’s his response? I must do something! I know, Jesus, shall I build these three shelters as a memorial? Poor Peter had missed the point, as we so often do. He had the right idea about Jesus, but his timing was off. There is a time to act. But there is also a time to simply worship and adore.
The heart of worship is surrender. Arch-activist, General William Booth had it right when he said, “The greatness of a man's power is the measure of his surrender”.
Peter wanted to please Jesus. He wanted to do something to win his approval. But so often, the Bible teaches us that rather than trying, rather than acting, rather than doing, what Jesus wants us to do is to submit, to obey, to surrender. To stop doing and be what he wants us to be.
Let’s be ready to say “Yes, Lord” to whatever Jesus asks of us today: whether it’s being still, worshipping and learning from him, or whether it’s a specific action.
THINK IT OVER
Think about the following:
•           What might you need to stop doing today in order to be with Jesus?

Why You Exist To Worship Someone

In Battle Drill devotionals this week we examine a true mountaintop experience and consider what Jesus’ divinity means for us today.
Read Matthew 17:1-9. Until you come to understand that God created you to worship, life will not make sense. But if you look around you, and consider your own experience, you will realise that every human being has an innate need to worship someone or something. That someone or something we worship is where we discover our own worth.
If we don’t worship God, then we will find something else to worship - money, possessions, career, family, even a football team!
After nearly three years together, it seems as if Jesus’ disciples had finally understood this. When Jesus asked them who they thought he was, Peter replied, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God” (Matthew 16:16). But immediately afterwards, this declaration of Peter’s was tested, and he came up short (Matthew 16:21-23).
So a few days later, Jesus leads Peter, James and John up a high mountain, to be alone. In this place, the disciples experienced a vision, a brief glimpse of Jesus’ true glory. His face shone like the sun. His clothes became white as light.
This was a special revelation of Jesus’ divinity to them and God’s affirmation that he truly was what they had declared him to be. It was also a reminder that the only proper response to Jesus’ glory and divinity was to worship.
When we truly worship Jesus, when we focus on his glory and his divinity, then anything else that might call on our attention, anything else that might seem worthy of worship, fades into darkness. As Cathy and Wayne Perrin wrote:
When I look into your holiness,When I gaze into your loveliness,When all things that surroundBecome shadows in the light of you;When I’ve found the joy of reaching your heart,When my will becomes enthroned in your love,When all things that surroundBecome shadows in the light of you: I worship you, I worship you,The reason I live is to worship you.  Wayne and Cathy Perrin © 1981 Integrity’s Hosanna! Music/Adm. by Capitol CMG Publishing excl. the UK, adm. by Integritymusic.com, a division of David C. Cook, songs@integritymusic.com Used by permission.   CCL Licence No. 135015Copied from The Song Book of The Salvation Army Song Number 402
THINK IT OVER
Think about the following:
What are you tempted to worship instead of Jesus? What can you do to ensure you remain focused on him?

Why Love Is A Choice And Not A Feeling

Read Deuteronomy 30:15-20. “I just fell in love!” Have you ever heard or said that? It gives us the impression that love is something uncontrollable. It just happens to you.
But here’s the problem. Jesus commands us to love one another:
John 13:34–35 NLT
So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples”.
How could Jesus command us to do something that is outside of our control? The answer is, he can’t. Because love isn’t uncontrollable. It isn’t something that just happens. It’s a choice. It’s a commitment.
God gives us the choice to love and to follow him. You can choose to turn away from God and go your own way. But he warns you that ultimately, that choice will lead to death. He still won’t force you because love is a choice. It can’t be forced.
The same is true in respect of our relationships. We choose whether to love someone else. God won’t force us to love anyone. It’s a commitment only we can make.
Will you choose to Love God and Love Others? If you do, then you’ll choose life.
THINK IT OVER
Think about the following:
How do you understand love differently once you realise it’s a choice rather than a feeling?
You can listen to an audio of these devotionals every week. Head to https://battledrilldevotional.podbean.com for more details and to subscribe to the podcast wherever you get your podcasts or you can catch up with us on the Battlefield Resources Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/battlefieldresources. Like the page and get a notification when a new episode drops or sign up to be sent an email - http://eepurl.com/h2FPND. You can also watch a video version of each devotional at www.youtube.com/@RobWestwoodPayne.
Unless otherwise shown, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004, 2007, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

How To Be A Better Person

Read Deuteronomy 30:15-20. What’s the difference between dogs and cats? Adam and Eve asked God to create a companion for them, that would remind them of God’s love for them. So, God invented the dog, a reflection of his love for humanity.
But there was a problem. The dog loved Adam and Eve so much that they became prideful, strutting around the Garden of Eden like peacocks, believing they were fully worthy of the love that dog gave them.
The angels complained about Adam and Eve’s pride, so God said he would create a companion who would see them for who they really were and would remind them of their limitations. So, God invented cat. Cat would not obey Adam and Eve and when they gazed into cat’s eyes, they weren’t sure whether he loved them or was just waiting for them to supply his next meal.
Adam and Eve learned humility.
Humility is a choice. It is easy to become proud and forget about God, particularly if we are experiencing some success. But we can choose to think about God and others more than ourselves. That was the choice Moses laid out before God’s people: choose to focus on God, on his commands and his ways and you will choose life. Rely on yourselves and think the Promised Land is all down to you and what you’ve done and choose death.
Like our humble dogs, will we choose life by focusing on others? Or will be cats who think life revolves around them? It’s up to us to decide!
THINK IT OVER
Think about the following:
How can you choose humility in the small, insignificant choices you make every day, as well as in the more obvious ones?