Tag: Spiritual Warfare

Are you wearing the “belt of truth”?

The belt of truth

Stand your ground, putting on the sturdy belt of truth.

Ephesians 6:14 NLT

“You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free,” says Jesus (John 8:32). But what will the truth set us free from?

First of all, it sets us free from the snares of deception. When people know the truth, they can’t be taken in by a lie. You can’t convince people to believe in something that they know in their hearts and minds is false.

The truth will also set you free from guilt and shame. When you’ve held tightly to the truth, you don’t have to worry about a lie coming back to haunt you. You don’t spend your nights lying awake wondering what words of deception might trap and ensnare you. You are free to live with a clean conscience and an innocent heart.

Finally, the truth sets you free from judgment. When you trust in the truth of Jesus, you have no more fear of death — physical or spiritual. You know his promises to be true and his words to be life-giving. You can no longer be bound by Satan’s lies.

The belt of truth Paul writes about is the strap that holds together the entire armor of God. Without it, everything else would fall away and Satan would have an open target to your heart. So take the truth of Christ, and latch it firmly around your waist. Let it set you free!

From a devotional by Frank M. Martin in Embracing Eternity (Tyndale House) p 293

Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing House

Blessings come from applying God’s Word.

Consume my life

Ed McCully, Peter Fleming, and Jim Elliot

God’s Word is powerful

He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.

Jim Elliot, 1949

God, I pray Thee, light these idle sticks of my life and may I burn for Thee. Consume my life, my God, for it is Thine. I seek not a long life, but a full one, like you, Lord Jesus.

Jim Elliot, 1948

Jim Elliot’s prayer

When he died [at the hands of the Auca Indians], Jim left little of value, as the world regards values.…Of material things, there were few; a home in the jungle, a few well-worn clothes, books, and tools. The men who went to try to rescue the five [missionaries — all of whom died] brought back to me from Jim’s body his wrist watch, and from…the beach, the blurred pages of his college prayer-notebook. There was no funeral, no tombstone for a memorial.…No legacy then? Was it “just as if he had never been”? Jim left for me, in memory, and for us all, in these letters and diaries, the testimony of a man who sought nothing but the will of God, who prayed that his life would be “an exhibit of the value of knowing God.”

The interest which accrues from this legacy is yet to be realized. It is hinted at in the lives of…Indians who have determined to follow Christ, persuaded by Jim’s example; in the lives of many who write to tell me of a new desire to know God as Jim did.…His death was the result of simple obedience to his Captain.

Jim Elliot and four other missionaries met their deaths trying to reach the Auca Indians for Christ.

Elizabeth Elliot, Shadow of the Almighty

Adapted from The Prayer Bible Jean E. Syswerda, general editor, Tyndale House Publishers (2003), p375.

Digging Deeper: End of the Spear by Steve Saint (Tyndale, 2005), son of Nate Saint, chronicles the story of the encounter with the Ecuadorian tribe, which also became a major motion picture.

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Thou SHALT love . . .

. . . Thou shalt love the Lord thy God. . . .

Thou shalt love thy neighbor . . .
–Matthew 22:37–39

Here is the answer to the world’s problems today—“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God,” “Thou shalt love thy fellowman.” That teaching is not out-of-date; it is absolutely relevant today. It is the only way in which the problems of the world today can be solved, whether the problems are those of individuals or of nations. If we love God with all our heart, we will have a capacity to love our neighbors. True love will find an outlet in service—not merely in singing hymns, attending church, or even in praying—but in trying our utmost to prove our love, by obeying the will of our heavenly Father.

Prayer for the day

True love demands everything I have. Take all the hidden things in my life that keep me from loving You and my neighbor as I should. Let me obey Your will unequivocally, dear Lord.

Don’t take anyone else’s word . . .

“Don’t take anyone else’s word for God.

Find Him for yourself, and then you too will know by the wonderful,

warm tug on your heartstring,

that He is there, for sure.”

~ Billy Graham

(My note:

“Don’t take anyone else’s word for what’s in the Bible.

Read it yourself.

Many people,

including even some well-meaning pastors,

take scripture out of context

and use it for their own opinions to try to get a point across. ~ Sharon)

Joy in Sharing

by Billy Graham

We . . . offer our sacrifice of praise to God by telling others of the glory of his name.
–Hebrews 13:15 (TLB)

Jesus knew that one of the real tests of our yieldedness to God is our willingness to share with others.

If we have no mercy toward others, that is one proof that we have never experienced God’s mercy.

Emerson must have been reading the gauge of human mercy when he said, “What you are speaks so loud that I cannot hear what you say.”

Satan does not care how much you theorize about Christianity, or how much you profess to know Christ.

What he opposes vigorously is the way you live Christ.

Some time ago a lady wrote and said, “I am 65 years old. My children are all married, my husband is dead, and I am one of the loneliest people in all the world.” It was suggested to her that she find a way of sharing her religious faith and her material goods with those around her. She wrote a few weeks later and said, “I am the happiest woman in town. I have found a new joy and happiness in sharing with others.” That’s exactly what Jesus promised!

Prayer for the day

There is no greater joy, Father, than sharing Your love. Help me to convey this in all my dealings with others.

How do you explain God to an atheist?

We are needing guidance on this subject. We have a friend who is an atheist. We’ve explained what we know from the Bible, and from our own personal experience with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Because he has done much research and study on the subject of God, creation, the Bible, etc., he doesn’t feel God is real.

The oddity is that he is one of the most loving people we know. That seems to conflict with our thoughts, since we know that God is love, and all love comes from him.

Rather than go into all of the research we’ve done, we’re reaching out to you to give us insight and guidance. Any website addresses, Bible passages, or resources that you feel would be helpful would be greatly appreciated. Your prayers are needed as well as your personal support.

He is 87 years old, has been a professor in college, and is an avid reader.

Thanks so much.

Prayer changes things!

A banner on the wall in my home church when I was growing up

kept us reminded of that wonderful personal relationship

we can have with our Lord by just talking to Him.

Prayer Changes Things!

He knows what’s going on.

He just wants us to talk to Him about it.

He wants to talk to us, too.

He wants to know we care enough to stop what we’re doing

and offer up our concern to Him.

YSIC,

Sharon

Daily Promise – October 18 – Bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ

2 Corinthians 10:3-5 KJV

3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: 4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) 5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;


Promise #291: I will give you My power to destroy spiritual strongholds.

In yesterday’s promise from Exodus 14:14, I talked about the importance of us learning to be still and watch the Lord fight on our behalf. In today’s promise from 2 Corinthians 10:3-5, we are seeing a different facet to the same diamond. In this passage of Scripture, the Apostle Paul is exhorting us to learn how to partner with the Omniscient, Omnipresent and Omnipotent power that resides in us in order for us to demolish every spiritual stronghold in our lives.

Paul clearly reminds us that we do not wage warfare like the world does, but we have the power of the living God in us that is mighty to save and will bring into captivity every thought that opposes the knowledge of God. Just like I said yesterday, we need to understand that we cannot do this in our own strength for the battle is the Lord’s.

However, we are called in Romans 12:2 to not be conformed to this world, but rather transformed by the renewing of the mind. Our unredeemed thought life will never be in agreement with the mind of Christ. The only way to deal with an unredeemed thought is to take it captive to the obedience of Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit that lives within us.

So the next time that a negative, condemning, self-centered, unredeemed thought comes into your mind, be encouraged to know that God has given you power by His Spirit to take and apprehend that thought and make it come into submission to the Lordship of Christ. It is Christ in you that is the hope of glory (Colossians 1:27) and it is His plan that we all be transformed into His image with ever increasing glory as we behold His face one day at a time. (2 Corinthians 3:18)
Photo by Jeff Epp

Daily Promise – October 17 – You only need to be at peace and watch what happens

Exodus 14:14 KJV

The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.


Promise #290: If you remain still, I will do your fighting for you.

In today’s promise, we have an amazing assurance that the God who spoke the entire universe into existence will fight for us if we will only remain still. The NIV Bible says this verse this way…The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.” NIV

I believe there is something in the heart of God that fights on our behalf when we do not try and fight for ourself. Waiting on the Lord is not passive, it is active. When we wait on God to fight for us, we are putting ourselves in a very vulnerable position and by doing so we are demonstrating in a very practical way that we know that our heavenly Dad is the source of our help.

Does this mean that we never wage warfare on a spiritual level? After all, the Bible says that we are to ‘resist the devil and he will flee’, ‘take on the full armor of God’, etc. I believe what Exodus 14:14 is talking about is fighting in our own strength. There is a huge difference from fighting our battles in our own best efforts and fighting battles in the power of the Lord’s might.

When we learn that the battle really is the Lord’s, we can rest in His ability to save us and draw from His strength and not our own. Whatever battle you are facing today, be comforted in knowing that you have a  Father (God) and a big brother (Jesus) fighting on your behalf. You only need to be at peace and watch what happens.
Photo by Barry Adams

Verse of the Day – Christ died for sins ONCE for ALL

VERSE:
For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the
unrighteous, to bring you to God.
— 1 Peter 3:18
http://www.SearchGodsWord.org/desk/?query=1+Peter+3:18

THOUGHT:
It sounds so simple and straightforward, doesn’t it? Kinda like
the newspaper headline about someone dying we don’t know. Just
cold, hard facts! But we know differently. Underneath this
statement of grace lies the broken heart of God, the sacrifice of
heaven, the brutality of supposedly religious men, and the
searching love of our God who would not abandon us to the cruel
“Deathmaster.” For those who knew animal sacrifice, with its high
personal cost and animal sacrifices, this verse is more than a
headline: it is a “graceline.” Once for all — no more sacrifices
needed. Bring you to God — no more distance, no intermediaries
between God and us. Jesus is heaven’s open door and God’s open
heart saying, “Come home; we’ve been waiting for you.”

PRAYER:
What words, O gracious Father, can I use to express my
appreciation for your sacrifice and grace? I have none sufficient
to say what I feel. But even in this realization, I know the gift
of your Spirit ensures that you hear my words and my heart. Every
good and lasting thing I have comes from your grace. Please receive
my undying love and my heartfelt praise for all you are, for all
you have done, and for all that you will be. In Jesus’ precious
name I pray. Amen.

http://www.heartlight.org/cgi-shl/todaysverse.cgi?day=20110928

Daily Promise – September 28 – We are more than conquerors through Him

Romans 16:20 KJV

And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.

Promise #271: I will soon crush the evil one under your feet.

In the Lord’s prayer, Jesus taught us to ask our Father to ‘deliver us from evil’. Jesus wouldn’t have told us to pray this way unless He was certain that His Father would answer our prayer to be saved from evil.

We know that in this world, we will have trouble in life because we live in a fallen world. Hurting people hurt other people and the cause and effect of a fallen humanity causes many evil things to happen. However, that does not mean that we are in subjection to the prince of the power of air. In James 4:7, the Bible says, resist the devil and he will flee from you.

In Romans 8:37, Paul says that we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. As Paul continues to write the book of Romans, he goes on to say in today’s promise found in Romans 16:20, that the God of peace will soon crush the evil one beneath our feet. No matter what circumstances you are facing today, be encouraged that our God and Father will soon give us an eternal victory and crush the evil one beneath our feet! …So rest in this amazing promise and may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.
Photo by Barry Adams

Jesus and a Palestinian State

Israel Today Magazine

September 25, 2011

The Palestinian statehood bid provided a platform for many views and positions regarding the Middle East, including those of Evangelical Christians who no longer believe in the validity of the promises contained in the Bible.

In the run-up to Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas officially requesting UN membership for the “State of Palestine,” Carl Medearis, a recognized expert on Middle East Christians, suggested on CNN’s Belief Blog that Jesus would support the Palestinian statehood motion.

“So how would Jesus vote this week if he had a seat at the UN?” Medearis asked. “Surely love, compassion, justice and peace-making would top his lists of concerns for all involved. Maybe he would give a new parable – the Parable of the Good Palestinian – offending all who would hear.”

Medearis continued by deriding the Christian Zionist movement and its insistence on a literal reading of the Bible:

“In their minds, the modern Israeli state is not only a fulfillment of biblical prophecy. In a bizarre twist that leaves most outsiders dumbfounded, Christian Zionists say the Bible predicts that Jews and Palestinians will forever be at war until Jesus returns.”

Medearis’ remarks were hotly debated in various publications, but it is not his personal view of the situation that is troubling. Medearis was merely the mouthpiece of a post-modern, humanist-infected strand of Christianity that no longer believes the Bible carries any literal meaning beyond the commandments regarding basic gestures of goodwill and proper moral behavior.

In other words, while it is still important to love one’s neighbor and not to steal, passages like Jeremiah 31:36-38 or Ezekiel 36:24-28 that confirm the eternal nature of Israel’s divine right to the land are, in Medearis’ words, “obscure Old Testament promises.”

In order to cement their position as the “sane Christians,” Medearis and others like him will highlight the often-unsympathetic positions of those perceived “lunatics” who do hold fast to the Bible’s every promise.

It is true that in their zealousness a good many Christian Zionists often spout rhetoric that is hateful toward the Palestinian Arabs. It is also true, as Medearis pointed out, that Yeshua told us to love our enemies, even those seeking Israel’s demise. But this point of supporting Israel (uncritically, Medearis wrongly claims) and opposing Palestinian statehood is not what Christian Zionism is really about, not at its core.

Christian Zionism is the recognition that long-awaited biblical promises and prophecies are being fulfilled in our time. It is about getting behind that fulfillment, and opposing efforts to reverse it. And though God may not actually need our help in preventing that attempted reversal, one day we will be held accountable for the stand we took (or didn’t take). Ultimately it is a question of whether or not God keeps His word and has the sovereignty in our lives to do so.

“Christian Zionists believe the scriptures are true, active and alive today. They believe that by acknowledging the truth that God has given the Land of Israel to the Jewish People as an everlasting inheritance we are acknowledging God’s sovereignty,” wrote local Messianic leader Eliyahu Ben-Chaim in his book Setting the Record Straight.

If God can renege on a promise to Israel that He repeatedly labeled as “everlasting,” surely we should all be concerned that other promises can be annulled or rewritten, like that promise of eternal life for the members of an equally sinful Church.

The truth is that God does not go back on or alter His promises. He made abundantly clear that the most important factor is the glory of His name. The biblical record has shown, even up to the present day with the rebirth of Israel, that when God makes a promise, He keeps it, not for our sake, but for the sake of His good name. To suggest otherwise is to attack not only God’s credibility, but, more detrimentally, the glory of His name.

Verse of the Day – We will see God face to face

VERSE:
Restore us to yourself, O LORD, that we may return; renew our
days as of old.
— Lamentations 5:21
http://www.SearchGodsWord.org/desk/?query=Lamentations+5:21

THOUGHT:
When these words were first spoken, they focused on God’s
restoration of Israel back to its place, its prominence, its life,
and its Temple. Yet from our vantage point, this prayer can be ours
as well. Restoration can mean Christ’s return which brings us home
to God. On that day, every barrier standing between God and us will
fall. Our mortality will be swallowed up in victory. We will see
God face to face and get to walk with him in the cool of the day as
his perfect children. May that day come soon!

PRAYER:
Holy and awesome God, I know a huge gulf stands between your
perfection and my limitations. Yet, dear Father, I believe you have
spanned that gulf with your grace. While I wait for that perfection
to dawn in all its fullness, please empower me for my battles with
the Evil One and deliver me from all spiritual harm and attack.
Until the day I see you face to face, please accept my
all-too-limited and human praise for all you have done to save me.
In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

http://www.heartlight.org/cgi-shl/todaysverse.cgi?day=20110921

Daily Promises – September 14 – God stoops down to make us great

Psalm 18:34-35 KJV

34 He teacheth my hands to war, so that a bow of steel is broken by mine arms. 35 Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salvation: and thy right hand hath holden me up, and thy gentleness hath made me great.


Promise #257: I will train you for battle with My shield of salvation.

The Bible says that we are to fight the good fight of faith and to put on the full armor of God so that we can stand against the enemy. It also says that the kingdom of God suffers violence and the violent take it by force. There is no question that there is a battle going on in the spiritual realm and we are called to take our stand and resist the enemy.

In today’s promise, King David paints an intimate picture of how God Himself trains him for battle. I really like the NIV Bible translation of Psalm 18:34-35…34 He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze.35 You give me your shield of victory, and your right hand sustains me; you stoop down to make me great. NIV

What a picture of intimacy! Even in the midst of preparations for battle, David speaks of God that gently trains him and sustains him and even stoops down from heaven to make him great. No matter what battle you are facing today, be comforted in knowing that it is God Himself that will equip you to fight the good fight, for the battle belongs to the Lord.  He will stoop down beside you, give you His shield of victory and His gentleness will make you great!

~ Barry Adams

Rainy Day People: Counseling Others in the Storm | BROKEN BELIEVERS

Rainy Day People: Counseling Others in the Storm | BROKEN BELIEVERS.

Thank you, Bryan. I really appreciated this message. You’re right. Those who do not suffer from depression or a mental disorder, don’t understand. No offense to them. It’s just not possible. They can sympathize, but can’t empathize. My husband and I are both bipolar, borderline personality, and PTSD, to name a few of our disorders. Even though we empathize with each other, so many times we have to pray, hold each other, and let the crisis pass. Lately, I’ve been extremely depressed, and for no apparent reasons. It’s rough. It is a little corner of hell, or maybe a big corner sometimes. I know it’s horrible, and I wouldn’t wish it on anybody. It’s especially hard when you know that you have absolutely everything in the world, and with God, that a person could ever hope for, and yet, the depression is there, eating your guts out. Thanks for sharing your heart and encouraging others to express and share from theirs.

Verse of the Day – Do not turn to mediums or seek out spiritists

(Note: The Bible is very clear in different passages warning us not to seek out mediums or spiritists. Even Astrology, Ouija boards, palm readers, ghost hunters are considered to be in those categories. So we should be aware of anything that would be in defiance of God’s Word.

Defile means:
1. to make foul, dirty, or unclean; pollute; taint; debase.
2.  to violate the chastity of.)

VERSE:
Do not turn to mediums or seek out spiritists, for you will be
defiled by them. I am the LORD your God.
— Leviticus 19:31
http://www.SearchGodsWord.org/desk/?query=Leviticus+19:31

THOUGHT:
Our world has a re-emerging fascination with the occult and the
world of demons and witchcraft. It’s easy for us to react in one of
two dangerous ways: to downplay the reality of these things or to
dabble in them as matters of entertainment or amusement. God wants
us to know that these fascinations are dangerous because the evil
entities behind them are real and when we involve ourselves in
them, they defile us. God alone is God and is to be worshiped
without rival by his people.

PRAYER:
Holy and magnificent God, thank you for breaking the power and
hold of evil powers through Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection.
Please deliver those whom I know and love that are entrapped in one
way or another with a fascination with false gods and deceiving and
destructive spirits. Empower your Church with your Spirit; please
cleanse us and make us a holy people, undefiled and ready for your
service. In the name of the Lord Jesus I pray. Amen.

Daily Promises – August 25 – God will keep us safe from the evil one

1 John 5:18 KJV

18 We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not;
but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not.


Promise #237: I will keep you safe from the evil one.I really like the second part of the NIV Bible translation for this verse – the one who was born of God keeps him safe, and the evil one cannot harm him. The NLT translation says it this way – for God’s Son holds them securely, and the evil one cannot touch them.

When we are born of God, we are safe. We have no reason to fear because Jesus Himself is our protector. This Bible verse says that the evil one cannot touch us. What a promise! In the world we live in, there is much to be afraid of, so much uncertainty that can keep people living in a state of fear. But we are not of this world, we are born of God. In John 3:9, the Apostle John says that God’s seed remains in us, His very DNA.

So be of good courage today because you have nothing to fear. For God has promised to keep you safe and secure in His loving embrace.

~ Barry Adams

Think you’re an exception?

Those who trust in God are no longer guilty

 

For all have sinned; all fall short of God’s glorious ideal.

Romans 3:23 NLT

Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it.

James 4:17 NLT

Details, please?

(1.) Remember what St. John says: “If our heart condemn us, God is stronger than our heart.” The feeling of being, or not being, forgiven and loved is not what matters. One must come down to brass tacks. If there is a particular sin on your conscience, repent and confess it. If there isn’t, tell the despondent devil not to be silly. You can’t help hearing his voice (the odious inner radio), but you must treat it merely like a buzzing in your ears or any other irrational nuisance. (2.) Remember the story in the Imitation, how the Christ on the crucifix suddenly spoke to the monk who was so anxious about his salvation and said, “If you knew that all was well, what would you, today, do or stop doing?” When you have found the answer, do it or stop doing it. You see, one must always get back to the practical and definite. What the devil loves is that vague cloud of unspecified guilt feeling or unspecified virtue by which he lures us into despair or presumption. “Details, please?” is the answer. (3.) The sense of dereliction cannot be a bad symptom, for Our Lord Himself experienced it in its depth — “Why has thou forsaken me?”

C. S. Lewis in Letters to an American Lady
Quoted in The Quotable Lewis edited by Wayne Martindale and Jerry Root (Tyndale House), p 278

Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing House

God’s love will cause even the worst situation to turn out for good

1 Chronicles 16:34 KJV
34 O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good;
for his mercy endureth for ever.

Promise #216: I am good and My mercy is everlasting.

In the Garden of Eden, when Satan tempted Adam and Eve, he was primarily questioning the goodness of God. “Did God really say…” He tried to portray a view of God that was skewed and distorted.  That God was insecure and didn’t want the best for Adam and Eve. That God wasn’t good.

The enemy’s tactics have remained the same up until today. He continues to question the goodness of God at every turn. My encouragement to you today is to believe the truth about God and make a declaration to the heavens that He is really good and His love endures forever!

The love that God has for us will not change today, tomorrow or in eternity. It will endure forever! The very foundation of our God and Father’s heart is goodness and love. No matter what happens in life, I would encourage you to not side with the accuser and question your Father’s goodness. Our God is good and He is loving beyond comprehension.

In the midst of any storm that you are going through, His love will cause even the worst situation to turn for good (Romans 8:28). May faith rise up in our hearts to know this on a level that is deeper than we have ever known it before.
Photo by Carl Dyck

Daily Promises – July 19

 

Ephesians 6:11 KJV
11 Put on the whole armour of God,
that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

Promise: My armor will help you stand against the plans of the enemy.

In Ephesians 6, Paul the Apostle exhorts the church at Ephesus to put on the full armor of God in order to be able to stand against the tricks of the enemy. It is interesting to note that the armor does not belong to us, but it belongs to God. It is His armor.

He has given us His helmet of salvation to guard our mind and give us peace. He has given us His breastplate of righteousness to protect our heart. He has given us His belt of truth so that we would know the truth and the truth would set us free. He has prepared our feet with shoes of peace so we can proclaim the good news wherever we go. He has given us His shield of faith so that when we lift it up, we quench all of the fiery arrows from the enemy.

And last but not least, He has given us an offensive weapon, the sword of the Spirit, the very Word of God so we can advance the kingdom. Our God and Father has given us everything we need to live a godly life through Jesus Christ our Lord. We stand in His armor, His power, His protection… not our own. So having done all to stand in the power of God’s might, continue to stand today.
Photo by Barry Adams

Note: I was amazed at the new understanding that this author relates. It is much of a relief to know that God has us covered. We just choose to let Him handle everything. It’s our willingness to put on God’s armor that He is interested in.

Spiritual Warfare

(Scripture is from The New Living Translation)

For the purposes of discussion, let’s call this spiritual warfare Good vs. Evil.

Good influence is from God.

The source of evil influence is from Satan.

We can grow spiritually by involving ourselves in the fight against any form of evil.

Of course we know that this spiritual warfare is far-reaching and encompasses much more than the simplistic terms of good vs. evil, but at least this is a beginning to understand the opposed forces that are present around us.

Spiritual growth means deciding to do whatever is necessary to move closer to God. It is similar to our human relationships.

If we don’t exercise movement toward the other person, we become stagnant, and are in jeopardy of even moving in the other direction.

We have powerful resources from God to grow spiritually. They are

  • the Bible (His Word),
  • the power of love,
  • God’s grace,
  • the Holy Spirit,
  • spiritual leaders,
  • and our understanding of truth and reality.

Knowing the truth is what sets free.

The opposite forces that influence us are powerful forces too:

  • hate,
  • bigotry,
  • selfishness,
  • fear,
  • ignorance and
  • falsehood.

When we can at least recognize that we are in a spiritual battle and understand the forces that are influencing our lives, we can become victorious through God by using the powerful resources He has given us.

From the moment we are born, we have two forces pulling us.

One is God.

The other is Satan.

Since we are in the middle, we need to have scripture and knowledge to recognize the forces that each use to influence us. God tells us in Romans 1:19-20:

19
For the truth about God is known to them instinctively. God has put this knowledge in their hearts.

20
From the time the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky and all that God made. They can clearly see his invisible qualities–his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse whatsoever for not knowing God.

As the scripture states in these verses, there is no excuse for not knowing God. He put a natural inquiring nature in each of us to search for our Creator. We look around us and know there is someone who created all things.

God pulls us to know Him, to know Jesus his only begotten son.

John 3:16-21:

16
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

17
God did not send his Son into the world to condemn it, but to save it.

Satan is constantly doing everything he can to hold us back from seeking the Creator and doing good. God has given us scripture that clearly shows us that this is true:

John 3:18-21:

18
“There is no judgment awaiting those who trust him. But those who do not trust him have already been judged for not believing in the only Son of God.

19
Their judgment is based on this fact: The light from heaven came into the world, but they loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil.

20
They hate the light because they want to sin in the darkness. They stay away from the light for fear their sins will be exposed and they will be punished.

21
But those who do what is right come to the light gladly, so everyone can see that they are doing what God wants.

So, how do we determine good? It is expressed through knowing God and His terms. We can test the spirits–fear and confusion is not of God. 

It could be a simple analysis of whether one is

  • “doing unto others as he would have them do unto him.” 
  • we love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love others as we love ourselves.

A person would therefore show unselfishness, always putting others first, be always caring and considering what is best for others, what is best for their spiritual growth and well-being. These are God’s ways.

Conversely, Evil is expressed through extreme selfishness, seeking our own desires, and totally disregarding the well being of others.

That could be manifest through many forms such as

  • stealing,
  • lying,
  • murder,
  • rape,
  • gossip, and
  • misuse of the name of the Lord, our God,
  • and all other of the 10 commandments.

Evil is further shown through refusing to follow God.

Test what the Holy Spirit says within us.

Romans 1:21-32

21
Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. The result was that their minds became dark and confused.

22
Claiming to be wise, they became utter fools instead.

23
And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people, or birds and animals and snakes.

24
So God let them go ahead and do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other’s bodies.

25
Instead of believing what they knew was the truth about God, they deliberately chose to believe lies. So they worshiped the things God made but not the Creator himself, who is to be praised forever. Amen.

26
That is why God abandoned them to their shameful desires. Even the women turned against the natural way to have sex and instead indulged in sex with each other.

27
And the men, instead of having normal sexual relationships with women, burned with lust for each other. Men did shameful things with other men and, as a result, suffered within themselves the penalty they so richly deserved. 28When they refused to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their evil minds and let them do things that should never be done.

29
Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, fighting, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip.

30
They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They are forever inventing new ways of sinning and are disobedient to their parents.

31
They refuse to understand, break their promises, and are heartless and unforgiving.

32
They are fully aware of God’s death penalty for those who do these things, yet they go right ahead and do them anyway. And, worse yet, they encourage others to do them, too.

Before we ask Jesus to come into our hearts and have a personal relationship with us as our Lord and Master, our conscience lets us know what is right and wrong, good or evil.

After we are saved, the Holy Spirit resides in us to quicken our spirits to know the difference. If Satan can delude us into thinking he doesn’t exist, then we will not recognize that we need to fight. And without fighting, we will be automatically tripped up. Without going into the battle wearing the whole armor of God, we will also be tripped up. God shows us truth, and truth will set us free.

We don’t need to overemphasize Satan, but we do need to recognize that we are in the battle. Since Jesus already defeated Satan when He died on the cross, then winning the battle is in recognizing Satan yipping at our heels, trying to trip us up, and trusting God’s armor to shield us during the battle. 

Satan can only fight. 

He can’t win. 

He can fight in a myriad of ways, but we need to remember the battle has already been won.

God’s victory in us is won when we remain faithful to Him with constant determination to “NEVER GIVE UP”.

When we love unconditionally, as God does (agape love), no matter what, we give our trust to God.

Putting On the Whole Armor of God


Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. NKJV

Ephesians 6:13

To Read and Understand the Bible, as well as to walk with the Lord, you need, everyday to put on the “Whole Armor of God”.

Each part of the armor is very, very important!

  1.     The helmet covers your mind,
  2.     the breastplate covers your heart,
  3.     the shoes teach you how to walk,
  4.     the shield protects you
  5.     and the sword helps you to win the war.

Each part of the armor also shows us what God has done for us.

The whole armor is very important for Living the Christian Life and Studying the Word of God.

What do I do when Satan attacks?

God will guard us from the evil one. 

As we are aware of God’s Word, and choose to follow God’s Way to resist the devil, the devil has no choice but to flee from us.

Memorizing Scripture helps to bring to our minds the right thing to say to diffuse the attack. Our words hold no power over the enemy, but God’s words are as powerful as a two-edged sword.


Be careful! Watch out for attacks from the Devil, your great enemy. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for some victim to devour. Take a firm stand against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your Christian brothers and sisters all over the world are going through the same kind of suffering you are.

1 Peter 5:8-9 NLT

So humble yourselves before God. Resist the Devil, and he will flee from you. Draw close to God, and God will draw close to you.

James 4:7-8 NLT

Finding and Fulfilling Your Destiny

For a wide door of opportunity for effectual [service] has opened to me [there, a great and promising one], and [there are] many adversaries.
—1 Corinthians 16:9

God promotes us into the fullness of His will in degrees or stages. Satan opposes each new phase of our progress. If we do not understand this fact we will become confused and think we have made a mistake.

Satan seeks to wear us out. He wants to bring such opposition against us that we become so weary and discouraged we give up. With opportunity comes opposition.

We must beware of compromise. Satan doesn’t want us in the will of God, fulfilling our destiny. If he cannot keep us completely out of God’s will, his next tactic is to tempt us to do a little less than what God has said.

Satan tempts us to compromise. But he fails to tell us that in the end we will feel empty, regretful, lonely, discouraged, and unfulfilled.

Procrastination is another deceptive tool of the devil. Good intentions do not bring us into the blessings of God—only obedience does. Our willful choice to obey God promptly is the lifeline between heart’s desire and finished product.

Press on! Don’t look back! Satan may think he is destroying you, but often he is giving you valuable experience that will keep you out of trouble.


“No more deals. No more compromise and procrastination. Henceforth, I am walking in the will of God.”

How can I defend myself against Satan’s attacks?

Be strong with the Lord’s mighty power. Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be to stand firm against all the strategies and tricks of the Devil. For we are not fighting against people made of flesh and blood, but against the evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against those mighty powers of darkness who rule this world, and against wicked spirits in the heavenly realms.

Ephesians 6:10-12 NLT

Tricking Houdini

During his life, Harry Houdini had a standing challenge that he could escape from any jail cell within an hour. A small town in the British Isles had just constructed a new jail cell they thought was escape-proof, and they wanted to put it to the test. Houdini entered the cell and immediately went to work. After two grueling hours — an hour past his deadline — Houdini finally withdrew his file from the lock and leaned against the door in exhaustion. To his amazement, the cell door swung open.

The jailors had tricked the great magician by closing the jail door but never bolting the lock. He was free all along, he just didn’t know it.

Satan has the same strategy, doesn’t he? His greatest weapon is to make us think that we are trapped, when in reality the cell door is always open. Satan can’t bind us, so he tricks us into making us believe the cell door is locked.

Adapted from a devotional by Frank Martin in Embracing Eternity (Tyndale House) p 292

Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing House

Can evil overcome me?

Can evil overcome me?

I look up to the mountains—does my help come from there? My help comes from the Lord, who made the heavens and the earth!

He will not let you stumble and fall; the one who watches over you and will not sleep. Indeed, he who watches over Israel never tires and never sleeps. The Lord himself watches over you! The Lord stands beside you as your protective shade. The sun will not hurt you by day, nor the moon at night. The Lord keeps you from all evil and preserves your life. The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go, both now and forever.

Psalm 121 NLT

Protection for the soul

Psalm 121 is one of a collection of “songs of ascent” sung by Jewish pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem for one of Israel’s great feasts. Basically it is hymn of trust that God will watch over his people as they journey along potentially dangerous roads, up through the hills of Judea to the Holy City.

Does God say that his people will never encounter trouble? No. The awful truth is that even Christians get robbed and mugged, raped and murdered. Statistics indicate that more followers of Jesus were martyred for their faith in the twentieth century than in the previous nineteen centuries combined. You will not find any biblical evidence to suggest that believers are exempt from the ugly violence of a fallen world.

As Jesus said in Matthew 10:28: At worst, evil people “can only kill your body; they cannot touch your soul.”

Based on Praying God’s Promises in Tough Times by Len Woods (Tyndale) p 94

Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing House

What hope do I have to face evil?

God will guard you from the evil one


In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord. He was seated on a lofty throne, and the train of his robe filled the Temple. Hovering around him were mighty seraphim, each with six wings.…In a great chorus they sang, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty! The whole earth is filled with his glory!”

Isaiah 6:1-4 NLT

Lead on, O King eternal,
Till sin’s fierce war shall cease,
And holiness shall whisper
The sweet amen of peace.
For not with swords’ loud clashing,
Nor roll of stirring drums,
With deeds of love and mercy
The heavenly kingdom comes.

Ernest Warburton Shurtleff

The day of march has come

In 1887, Ernest Shurtleff was about to graduate from Andover Seminary. Ernest wrote a hymn for the entire graduating class to sing. He told his fellow seminarians, “We’ve been spending days of preparation here at seminary. Now the day of march has come, and we must go out to follow the leadership of the King of kings, to conquer the world under His banner.”

Thus, “Lead On, O King Eternal” was written for a seminary graduating class. Our commencements are not always so dramatic, but there is no reason our eternal King cannot open a new door for us today. We can step out and march under His banner, “not with fears, for gladness breaks like morning where’er thy face appears.”

From The One Year Book of Hymns (Tyndale House) entry for January 15

Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing House

Lead on, O King eternal,
The day of march has come
Henceforth in fields of conquest
They tents shall be our home.

Through days of preparation
Thy grace has made us strong,
And now, O King eternal,
We lift our battle song.

Lead on, O King eternal,
Till sin’s fierce war shall cease.
And holiness shall whisper
The sweet amen of peace.

For not with swords loud clashing,
Nor roll of stirring drums,
With deeds of love and mercy,
The heavenly kingdom comes.

Lead on, O King eternal,
We follow, not with fears.
For gladness breaks like morning
Where’er Thy face appears.

Thy cross is lifted o’er us;
We journey in it’s light.
The crown awaits the conquest,
Lead on, O God of might.


	

	
	



				
					


	
	

		
Do I need to fear the devil’s intrusion?
	


		

		
God will guard you from the evil one




“But if I am casting out demons by the power of God, then the Kingdom of God has arrived among you. For when Satan, who is completely armed, guards his palace, it is safe—until someone who is stronger attacks and overpowers him, strips him of his weapons, and carries off his belongings.”


Luke 11:20-22 NLT




The Stronger Man




Do not be misled: Satan is strong in power and cunning. He has laid low some of God’s choicest servants because they underestimated him and overestimated themselves. Even Samson with all his strength was no match for Satan. Nor was Solomon with all his wisdom.


So how can you keep the devil and his buddies out of your “house”? A man stronger than the one who controls you must deliver you. Only one qualifies as stronger than Satan: Jesus Christ.


I want to make it clear that genuine Christians need not fear being possessed or controlled by demons; Jesus is not into a time-sharing program with Satan. The Bible tells us, “He who has been born of God keeps himself, and the wicked one does not touch him.” (1 John 5:18)


Oh, Satan may knock on the doors and rattle the windows. He may threaten to “huff and puff and blow the house down.” But he cannot enter because someone stronger has taken up residence. “Greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world.” (1 John 4:4 KJV)


From Breakfast with Jesus by Greg Laurie (Tyndale House) pp 55-56






Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing House



	

	
	



				
					


	
	

		
Facing the spiritual battle
	


		

		
God will guard you from the evil one




Finally, dear brothers and sisters, I ask you to pray for us. Pray first that the Lord’s message will spread rapidly and be honored wherever it goes, just as when it came to you. Pray, too, that we will be saved from wicked and evil people, for not everyone believes in the Lord. But the Lord is faithful; he will make you strong and guard you from the evil one.… May the Lord bring you into an ever deeper understanding of the love of God and the endurance that comes from Christ.


2 Thessalonians 3:1-5 NLT




About this week’s promise




In order to be effective on the battlefield a soldier must be both well trained and properly equipped. The warrior must be alert for surprise attacks. So it is in our spiritual battle with Satan. Determined to destroy our faith by leading us into sin and discouragement, Satan attacks with blatant temptation and deceptive lies. The Bible teaches that the best weapons for this warfare are the Word of God and prayer.


The faith of the Thessalonian believers was being tried by persecution. Undoubtedly some of them were wavering, even failing, as the surrounding evil put them to the test. This was an important time for Paul to remind them that, no matter what happened, God’s faithfulness would prevail over evil and strengthen them so that they could endure.


From the TouchPoint Bible

(Tyndale House) pp1277,1059






Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing House