Joshua, Chapter 10,
Verse 8
The LORD
said to Joshua: Do not fear them, for
I have delivered them into your power. Not one of them will be able to
withstand you.
God
was stronger than Adonizedek,
king of Jerusalem and his posse. God
is stronger than the Devil and his entire posse. God is stronger than all the
communists, atheists, politicians, and propaganda ministers of our age. Our
Lady tells us to not fear them, but fear God and pray.
The wrath of God is indeed being
revealed from heaven against every impiety and wickedness of those who suppress
the truth by their wickedness. For what can be known about God is evident to
them, because God made it evident to them. Ever since the creation of the
world, his invisible attributes of eternal power and divinity have been able to
be understood and perceived in what he has made. As a result, they have no
excuse; for although they knew God they did not accord him glory as God or give
him thanks. Instead, they became vain in their reasoning, and their senseless
minds were darkened. While claiming to be wise, they became fools and exchanged
the glory of the immortal God for the likeness of an image of mortal man or of
birds or of four-legged animals or of snakes.
Therefore, God handed them over to impurity through the lusts of their
hearts for the mutual degradation of their bodies. They exchanged the truth of
God for a lie and revered and worshiped the creature rather than the creator,
who is blessed forever. Amen. (Rom. 1:18-25)
Aids
in Battle [2] The Power of the Holy Spirit
Tutelage
of the Holy Spirit[1]
Being
baptized in Christ is the only requirement for receiving the Holy Spirit, but
to grow in the Spirit there are certain things that are necessary and these are
a few of them.
- A genuine desire to be holy
I always use the word 'holy' to mean living a life pleasing to God in every possible way, not just in those matters you consider expedient; and obeying his commandments to the fullest extent that you are capable of. Holiness has to be your goal and you must be prepared to do whatever it takes to attain it, which includes a total, unwavering commitment. The course is gruelling and if you aren't committed, you will crash out in no time. - Heartfelt repentance
You have to be genuinely sorry for your sins. It doesn't matter that you might be constrained by sin at this point — part of the Holy Spirit's role is to take away the constraints and free you of sin, which will happen in time — but what is important at this stage is that you be truly sorry for the offences that you have committed against God and be determined never to sin against him anymore. - Honesty and courage
Another requirement is honesty, more with ourselves than with anybody else, and the courage to face up to who we really are. Most of us put up facades for public display and have been doing it for so long we have ended up even fooling ourselves. The Holy Spirit is going to rip the masks apart, albeit gently, and reveal things about you that you will not like to see. If you aren't willing to face up to the truth of who you are and be ready to remedy yourself without justification, you aren't going to make much progress. - Love for God
A vital requirement is a genuine love for God, translatable into action. Love for God is something that will grow as you grow in him, but what you need is a basic element of it to begin with, because it is only love for God that will help you make a lot of the tough decisions that you will be called to make as you progress through this school. The more love for God that you have, the more you will be prepared to do for him, which will, consequently, make it that much easier for you.
Devotions/Prayers
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