Do not keep your sword from bloodshed...

"A curse on him who is lax in doing the LORD's work!
A curse on him who keeps his sword from bloodshed!”
Jeremiah 48:10

It has been the prayer of my heart of late that I may see clearly the work that the Lord has for me and that I may do that work in loving obedience; the obedience that comes from the grace of Christ which is so lavishly poured out in us!

I am not one which is given to praying much specifically in opposition to the enemy of the saints, particularly not addressing that old serpent directly. But the second stanza of this verse caught my attention this morning. Have I kept my sword from bloodshed is the question I ask myself. Have I spared the enemies which God has specifically asked me to slay?

Recollect the familiar story of Saul and the Amalekites from 1 Samuel 15. Verses two and three:

“This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'I will punish the Amalekites for what they did to Israel when they waylaid them as they came up from Egypt. Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy everything that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys.' "

As we know, Saul failed to follow the word of the Lord precisely. He pretended he had, and might possibly have actually believed he had (See V13 and V20). In the same breath, by his own admission, he had kept some of the animals and the King, Agag, alive. As a result, the Lord took the kingdom of Israel from him.
Is there anything in my life that God has addressed as such? Is it possible that I am have lost my desire for the kingdom of God because there is something that God specifically told me to utterly destroy and I kept my sword from bloodshed?

Lord-
I know that there are things in my life about which you have spoken. Things which you have told me must be utterly destroyed. Help me this day to face these foes head on, not keeping my sword from bloodshed! The enemy has placed many stumbling blocks in my path, but I now agree to do as you have said, to follow your instruction precisely and destroy his works and his influences in my life.

Slaves to obedience...

Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?
Romans 6:16

This passage has been working at me for some weeks now. I know that each of us can understand being slaves to sin as we are born into that slavery. It is a bit harder to imagine being a slave to obedience. That concept is totally contrary to human nature.

The word slave (translated servant in the King James) indicates voluntary or involuntary servanthood. Slavery to sin is of the involuntary kind. It is innate, inborn, the natural state of mankind. It comes to us a easily as breathing or eating. Slavery to obedience is definately voluntary. It is the willing obedience to Christ which must be worked at, sought, and learned (see John 8:31-32, Romans 6:17).

The part of this verse that amazes me is that Paul indicates that our capacity for obedience is at least equal to our capacity for sin. What a revelation this is!

Lord-
As Paul has stated in the passage above, I want to know what it is to be a slave to obedience that leads to righteousness. I voluntarily offer you myself as a bond-servant. Place me under obligation to your righteousness. Thank you.