Foreigners and Exiles

 "Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul."

— 1 Peter 2:11

Gracious Lord Jesus, my friend and my King,

Peter writes to the exiles scattered throughout the provinces of modern-day Turkey who were refugees fleeing persecution in their original homes and were living in a foreign land. They were sojourners, aliens, pilgrims, strangers in a world hostile to their Christian faith. That reality is familiar to me, albeit not to the extreme these believers faced. We are all living as foreigners in this world. We are in the world but not of it. Our citizenship is in Heaven (Philippians 3:20). Recognizing that I am not a part of this world any longer and that I belong to a new country, a better country according to Hebrews 11:16, I no longer give in to my sinful desires, my passions and lusts, that were part of my old way of living.

I am to abstain from sinful desires. To abstain means to hold back, to keep off, to prevent, to hold oneself off. This is the same word in 1 Thessalonians 5:22, "Abstain from every form of evil." The reason to hold back from these ungodly passions and desires is that they wage war against my soul. The picture here is that these lusts of my flesh actually mount the equivalent of a military campaign against my soul. That which seems to fulfill a desire deep within is like a Trojan horse which once inside destroys me. The only way to win against this military campaign is to not let them in the door! I can't win in this game and my soul is at risk so I must refuse to even sit at the table.

Lord Jesus, thank You for the reminder that I do not belong to this world and its desires, passions, and lusts do not belong to me. You have given me Your power by Your Holy Spirit to resist and abstain from the urges within me. This military expedition against my soul won't win because I'm not letting them in the door!

— In Jesus' Name I pray, Amen!

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