Romans 12:1-2 Therefore, by the mercies of God present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that by testing you may discern, what is good, pleasing and perfect will of God."

We need to draw nearer to God, through prayer, through the Word, and God will transform us into the image of Christ. Will it be complete in this lifetime? Not till we see Jesus face to face, 1 Cor. 13:12, and 1 John 3:2 "Dear friends, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him as He is." But Jesus has already won the victory, and "He who began a good work in your will perfect it at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." Phil. 1:6

Great topic, PenguinPeru

Wow, after reading these 1st two opening posts, all I can say is AMEN!! I certainly do not live a 'defeatist life' as a Christian, since I am now an Heir Apparent...a daughter of the King of Kings, & Lord of Lords! I don't mind being the one with a small bank account, cuz I always have enough to eat. I don't mind living in an apartment, cuz I'm NOT living on the street. I don't mind having old clothes, cuz I always have something to wear. And I don't mind that my (earthly) Dad has passed away, cuz my true Father lives forever! I have hope, I have purpose, I have joy that each day I live in this world brings me 1 day closer to the day I enter the Kingdom without end. My Savior did the unimaginably costliest thing He could do, by laying down His life...for ME! And for you. The only thing I want to do, is thank Him for the rest of Eternity! How GREAT is our God! :)

The answer to the question in the title of this post is simple, Penguin. We live defeated lives because we are ruled by our flesh.
"For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds, casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God. And bringing into captivity every though to the obedience of Christ. And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, whn our disobedience is fulfilled."
Brothers and sisters, we are in a spiritual war, and if we don't know of and use the spiritual authority we have through Christ Jesus, then we will live defeated lives.

I think we live defeatist lives b/c we are caught up in the crises that hurt us or make our lives more difficult. We know about heaven but we choose to think about how sad we are; we think about the person that let us down. Sometimes it's hard not to think about this b/c we actually feel physically down or upset.
You and ndnthomas make good points. we should be happy about what Jesus has done for us; we are ruled by our flesh; we are in a spiritual war.

Through parts of last year, I was struggling with these same issues. Time after time, I felt let down and defeated. God has brought me up and like Christine, I don't have much in material possessions, but what I do have inside is much more than owning any material possessions. Today, I see many Christians struggling with the same issues. It's vital to have other Christians understand that there is a spiritual warfare happening and that although Satan has not defeated us for our eternal lives, he's sure doing his best at making this life as bad as he can. His wishes are for us to NOT read the Bible and NOT pray because the enemy knows that with this power we're productive and worse yet for him, we're helping each other out. When we remain feeling solatary, we become depressed and miss out in opportunities to help those who really need us.

We're conquerors and winners because of Christ. Also thanks for the verses. They're great swords against the enemy.

I walk by faith and not by sight...even though I may feel beaten down sometimes,I MUST live on the Scriptures promices....other wise I might fall into the pit of despair .

I've been beaten down a lot emotionally and physcially,dealt w BP and a DX of breast cancer...it was an easy time for me to fall into a bad place.

It took a lot of prayer to keep me out of the deepest hole of depression,and only by GODs grace was I saved from some really bad times.

I fell down into that pit of despair today. I said things I wish I hadn't. I lost most faith (or faithfulness in my thoughts about God) for about an hour. I was in total despair about my miserable job, car problems that required a mechanic both yesterday and today, and a general feeling that " I've been left behind". I wish I could say I "feel" better now, since I do repent of unbelief, but I am physically drained from it. Oh, if only there was an "artificial faith" that would just "kick in" for a short time, when regular faith failed. I used to use tongues like that. I prayed in tongues "more that ye all". It seemed to edify me back then, but somehow it seems like "life" just got bigger than "shundai". I envy all your faith. I wish I could love Jesus more than I do. I'm just tired of pain, poverty, and postponement. Someday I got to be free...

If a "christian is living a defeated life" my opinion would be that such a person is following blind guides.

A leader of the church should be one who exemplifies Gods word, not someone who is trying to teach it. We have a teacher, and only one teacher. That is the Holy Spirit of God. Jesus is the way, if we look at his example then emulate His example, we are not living defeated lives.

We know from Jesus admonishment to his disiples that one who leads must make himself servant to all. Even humbling himself to the point of death.

There can be many things going on here tho. Some might say, as others go thru trials that they are living defeated, and I would disagree. Trials of many kinds are for us allowed by God to build up our faith. This is the work of the spirit, building us up in faith so that our faith may become mature. Which is why James wrote and said, Do not lament when you suffer trials of many kinds but rather consider it all JOy. Considering it joy is not the same as being joyful in all things, which in my opinion only comes after the annointing of the oil of joy(hebrews and elsewhere) which I have noticed only comes with mature faith. This is the secret paul writes about, of being content in all circumstances.

It is my opinion that many Christians live there entire lives without maturing in faith. When asked bluntly, my reply is simple. We have an enemy who is formidable. WE have no hope of defeating our enemy in our own power. It is only by the power and authority given to us by Jesus, exercised properly in his name under HIs authority that we have complete power over all circumstances and ourselves and yes, even over our own flesh and every power of darkness which stands against God.

So if we are living defeated lives, it is due to the lack of practicing in humility the authority given to us by God throu Jesus and the outpouring of the Holy spirit. God Reigns and so do his children with HIm. WE can do all things through HIm who gives us strength and power and authority.

Praise Adoni Elohim.

I don't think it has anything to do with "leadership" or "humility". Stuff. Maybe it just has to do with honesty. This week a lot of folks are "up" that seemed quite "down" last week. Right. I guess that's the flesh. When everyone was "exulting" and rejoicing about having "arrived" in the church at Corinth, Paul mocked them:

"You are already full! You are already rich! You have reigned as kings without us--and indeed I could wish you did reign, that we also might reign with you! For I think that God has displayed us, the apostles, last, as men condemned to death; for we have been made a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to men. We are fools for Christ's sake, but you are wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are distinguished, but we are dishonored!" 1 Cor. 4:8-10

And on and on.... So everyone has bad days.

Tom you may have bad days, I do not. I think the chapter you quoted needs to be taken in context. And the end summation reads this way.

20For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power. 21What do you prefer? Shall I come to you with a whip, or in love and with a gentle spirit?

Kingdom of God is about Power. Power is about authority. God reigns. He dishes out authority. I cant see any way around how this is totally about leadership(even from the passage you quoted) We are all entitled to our opinions. (I can always be wrong, but am I? Show me from scripture how I am wrong please)

Well I don't know about anyone but myself . and LeftWing had a good point for some of us we get caught up in what is going on in our life at the time's or what has happen in our past (thats Me) the past and I know when I take my eye's off the Lord and let the flesh take control thats all it takes for me to go down hill it's not that I want to I think it's just that I need to learn to trust the Lord with everything that has been going on in my life past and future. For me right now it's a learning process and it has alot to do with trust something I never had. I Pray that the longer I live for the Lord my Bad days will become better days as I learn to grow in the Lord.

Thanks penguin

I'm having a better day today. Someone prayed for me. The Bible says Jesus did (does) pray for me. Joey and Christine did too, and probably fifty other people.

Up and down days are a part of this life and if it didn't hurt so bad there would be no point to them.

Romans 12:15 says "Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep."

Joeyruready, I agree with what you are saying. I would add this to what you said. I believe that the reason why many live defeated lives is because their eyes are on their circumstances and not God. It is a lack of faith. This doesnt mean we won't have struggles. I believe that we can get so busy that we don't spend time with God like we should. Many depend on the once or twice a week of church to get them through the week instead of studying God's Word; therefore, they don't grow in the Lord. Some are depending on others faith to get them through. True freedom comes when we have total reliance on God. Growth happens when we depend fully on His Word. If we think about Paul being in prison. He could have looked at his situation and felt defeated but instead he interceded and knew the power he had in the Lord. He didn't let the world determine whether not he had faith. He knew that by the power of the Holy Spirit he would be set free. I believe the only way we can live by faith is that we are in communion with God daily. It is about getting our priorities right.

Excellent, Livingin Peace. You are so right and it is a reminder that is needed over and over again. Thank you.

To quote a friend of mine. "... I've read the book from cover to cover; we win". That pretty much says it all. We have no reason to live as though defeated by the world. Christ died so that we might live. He paid the ultimate sacrifice for our sins. We have only to believe in Him. Jesus Christ died so that we can have eternal life. So why are we so defeated. You present a very good question. We should be living life victoriously. That is what i chose to do. Sometimes it is difficult to feel victorious when life gets you down. But as He promises, all things work together for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.