What We Say Matters

In spiritual warfare, it is important to know that what we say matters. Perhaps the greatest spiritual warfare occurs the moment we choose to move from the darkness into the light when we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior.

How do we do that?

Paul tells us in Romans 10:8-10 in quoting Moses that we believe in our heart and confess with our mouth, we will be saved. This is the key to spiritual warfare. We believe in God and that He is on our side. Then we say with our mouth what we believe, and that changes things. What we say has to line up with the scriptures, of course, but God is on our side and wants good things for us. That is what we are in the process of doing when we speak. Therefore, take heart, speak what you hear God saying, and it will be done.

Prayer
Father, You are the Master and Creator of everything. We ask that You help us to speak those things which are good. We need Your help, for You alone are Holy. Thank You. In Jesus name. Amen.

Battles Can Be Won

God sets us up to win. He definitely does not set us up to lose. What we experience in life is many times up to us. We can set ourselves up for failure by what we say success is. We can set ourselves up for failure by not taking the time to assure ourselves what God is saying to us (not the other guy – not your job). When we know that we know that we know, then we have to ride that horse to the end of the rodeo. All we control is us. If we refuse to quit, even unto death, we win. Period.

Let’s fight!

Prayer
Father, we love You. You are the King. Help us to always remember the battle was won long ago, You are on our side, and we are winners. In Jesus name. Amen.

Recognizing The Enemy

When we are beset with troubles seemingly from those around us, it can be easy to see these people as either temporary or permanent enemies. While it is true that God will defend us from these people and situations, these are not the real enemies. It is the power behind these people that are our enemies. The good news is, even these powers are already defeated.

In Ephesians 6:12-18 we see that our fight is not against flesh and blood, but against the spiritual darkness behind the flesh and blood. When we defeat that dark spiritual force, the flesh and blood have no power or standing and lose by default. Paul goes on to make reference to the armor of God that we must use in this battle. While there are many interesting references to this armor in the writings of the prophets in the Old Testament that reveal much about what this armor is and how to use it, we will not address that here. What is important to know is where the defeat of these dark spiritual forces originates. Interestingly enough, the ground work was laid in the time of Moses. The first defeat originates at the first Passover.

In Exodus we see the story of Moses and the children of Israel in Egypt. The Israelites were being treated badly. They God called Moses to go to Egypt to get the Pharaoh to let the Israelites go into the desert to keep a feast. What feast did they eventually keep? Passover was the first. The signs and wonders done by Moses in the first nine plagues lead up to the tenth plague – death of the firstborn. God gave Moses the directions for the Israelites to keep the first passover. Here is where it gets interesting. In Exodus 12:12 it says

For I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the Lord.

It is Passover, and the keeping of it, that regularly empowers us to defeat the dark spiritual forces because it celebrates the sacrifice of the Lamb of God, Jesus.

Prayer
Father, we praise and thank You as the One True Living God, the Most High. We ask that You remember the sacrifice of Your Son, and defeat the dar spiritual forces that rise up against us. In Jesus name. Amen.

Big Battles

For me some of the biggest battles are within me. There are times when I am uncertain of what is happening with a friend, for example, that I will create what may be happening in my mind. If that turns out to not be the way I want it to be, I get upset. That is when things really get going, all in my mind. It can end up being these imaginary arguments, with both being upset, and it is still all in my mind. I guess that is the point – it is imaginary and just in my mind.

Scriptures tell us in many places not to judge our fellow believers but to be at peace with them. This is what Paul was saying in Philippians 4:1-7. He begins by saying stay as you were when first saved. I can remember how peaceful that was. Then he encourages people to be of one mind, to get along, and to help one another. In verse 8 is the verse many of us have heard and know about what to meditate on. This is a good verse for me to remember when I am having one of these big battles in my mind.

Prayer
Father, thank You so much for the scriptures. They are a source of light to our feet, and light to the way we should go. Help us stay on the path. Help us not to get into imaginary arguments with people in our heads. We praise and thank You. In Jesus name. Amen.

Different Jobs

This week in our prayer group someone mentioned and prayed for the emergence of the five fold ministry. As I read Ephesians 4 this morning, I realized that it was as much about warfare as it was about edification. Many are aware of the five ministry positions listed in Ephesians 4:11 of apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, and teacher. (I know what your thinking – where is the listing for “Senior Pastor” or “Head Pastor” or “Associate Pastor”, right? Crazy, right?) Many people get into disagreements over these titles, whether they are for today, whether Paul really meant that these were really all one person as some profess from the pulpit today, etc. What I found interesting was a part I had read many times but not considered as much until now.

In verses 7-10 Paul talks about Jesus death and resurrection. The One who ascended first descended. There are some interesting teachings on this as well. Let me be clear about my position. It was the blood on the cross of Jesus that sets men free, not some battle afterwords. The captivity that Jesus took captive was sin and death. That is the essence of why we ALWAYS win against the devil. He is already defeated because a sinless man died and rose again. The warfare that we wage is based on the gifts given to raise up the body. What are they? That is what is in Ephesians 4:11. Jesus took away sin and death, and gave something back to fight the fight. But, you may be thinking, “We don’t have all those types of gifts at our church. How are we supposed to be built up until we all come in to the fullness of Christ?” Hmmm. Now that is worth praying for!

Prayer
Father, we praise You for the Kingdom that You set up. We acknowledge that You alone are the Most High God. We want to thank You for the gifts You give men of some apostles, some prophets, some pastors, and some teachers. Father, please bring these gifts, these people, into the open, into our assemblies of believers today, that we may come into the fullness of Jesus. In Jesus name. Amen.

Choosing Wisely

Growing up my dad raised me to be an idealist. As I grew older the result was to see many challenges around me. When I asked my dad about this he told me sometimes we have to pick our battles. At the time it seemed a little like a cop out. Today I can see better what he meant, that one person has only so much time and resource and must choose wisely. As I listened to the message at church this weekend, I thought of another application.

Often we end up battling the enemy because we choose to do so. That may seem like an odd thing to say. Granted, we will have plenty of times when we have to battle the enemy when we did nothing to bring it on. In fact, hopefully those are the only types of battles we have with the enemy. Unfortunately, we will also have battles that we bring on. What do I mean? Well, how are we doing with temptations in our life? When we give in to these temptations, no matter how small, we actually choose that battle. In fact, we choose a losing position until we fail, fall on our knees, and ask God for forgiveness. We cannot win long term by fighting the enemy by his rules. We have to fight him by God’s rules. This means we have to serve God and call to Him because the devil is already defeated. That is, unless we surrender to our enemy, which is what giving in to temptation and sinning really is – surrender to the enemy.

I choose not to surrender to the enemy but rather to serve God.

Prayer
Father, we praise and exalt you as the Most High God. Thank You for winning the battle for us before it is fought. Please help us not to surrender to the enemy. Please help us to overcome temptation, and to life our lives committed to You. In Jesus name. Amen.

Run To The Roar

In 1 Peter 5:8 we are warned to be watchful because our enemy the devil walks about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. If you are like me, when you first read this, you go, “Huh?” In the context of the verse Peter is talking about those not in the position of leadership (he had just addressed the leaders) should remain humble. God will resist the proud (doesn’t sound good, right?) but will exalt the humble. An interesting point hear is that the word devil is used, meaning false accuser. The passage also says the same things are happening to people around us that are not believers. It is as if they are supposed to see an example in us of how to get through these struggles, which is what God promises will happen. We will be delivered. So what shall we do to resist?

Well, I am pretty sure we don’t run away. Peter here says resist him, steadfast in the belief and trust (faith) in God. James said in James 4:7 to resist the devil and he will flee. Sounds like if we believe in and trust in God, we win. So what shall we do?

I say we run to the roar…

Prayer
Father, we praise and exalt You as the Most High King of the universe. We thank You that You work in us and through us in the midst of tough times. We thank You that You make our enemies flee from us. Please help us to have the courage to run to the roar and resist the devil in the name of Your Son, Jesus. In Jesus name. Amen.

How To Start

For those of my readers that come here every day, my apologies for posting so late. When I awoke this morning I had an opportunity to pray, but was quickly drawn into the battle of the day. As the dust began to settle this afternoon, I realized that the task I try to early, this post, had been left unattended. That caused me to think about how we start spiritual warfare. How should we begin the battle?

In Lamentations 3:22-24 we see that the writer comes to the conclusion that God’s mercies are new every morning. In reading the entire text we see a sad picture of someone cast out by his people, and even mocked by them. As he laments, he realizes that he is yet alive because God is on his side holding him up. That is when he decides to hope in the Lord because every day God’s mercy is new. How do we get it? WE ask.

In Psalm 63 the psalmist says, “…early will I rise to seek You.” Isaiah said in Isaiah 26:9 to God that his spirit would seek God early. In Psalm 119:62 the psalmist states that he will rise at midnight(early in the Jewish day) to seek God. Hmmm. There seems to be a recurring theme. To start each day, to start the battle, we need to do first things first. Spiritual things are the first things.

Prayer
Father, thank You for Your mercies being new every day. I thank You that You hear us always. Help us to be able to do Your things first. Help us to see what You are doing, and do that, to hear what you are saying and say that, that many might experience the fullness of the kingdom. In Jesus name. Amen.

The Many Builders – Part 2

Yesterday in The Many Builders – Part 1 we looked at the need and the value for us to build ourselves up through daily spending time with God. We focused on scripture reading as a means to do that. We also looked at the importance of having other build us up by regularly being around other believers, and our build them up as well. For me, there were times in the past that I forgot the latter point. No man (or woman) is an island. We are to be with other believers in this daily battle and blessing we call life. There is recorded in the bible a very practical example of this.

Nehemiah is the story of one man that had the attention of the king; and he used it to rebuild Jerusalem. As you read through the book you will hear how the Israelites made the journey to Jerusalem to find it had suffered destructive forces. The gates were burned and not working. The protective wall around the city was destroyed and knocked down in many places. And the enemies of the city were free to come and go, plundering the inhabitants at will. Then Nehemiah shows up with people to rebuild. As they begin to do this God revealed to them that the enemy wanted to attack them. What were the builders do, for they were just common folks? First some took up arms, and this caused the enemy to retreat. But from that time forward, every person working on the wall did so with their tools in one hand and a sword in the other (or strapped to their side). They were not just their for themselves, nor were they only going to protect themselves. They were together in one purpose as one community. We are to become the New Jerusalem. We have been plundered by the enemy, some more some less. We need each other to be able to rebuild us. Strap on your sword…

Prayer
Father, we thank You that You always help us fight the enemy. WE thank You that You have provided a way for us to win through the blood of Your Son, Jesus. We thank You for the scriptures that You have provided to help us build ourselves. We thank You that You have provided a community where we can help rebuild each other. Darkness fails. You win. We are with You, and we fight side by side. In Jesus name. Amen.

What To Do Daily To Win

Does it ever seem like life keeps moving forward with new challenges, day after day? And sometimes, some of the old challenges come back around just to say hello? I guess I do expect new challenges, although it would be nice for them to be somewhat limited. But somehow I thought that old challenges would disappear never to be seen again. In reality, most of them do, and they probably all do eventually. So what is the point? Well, if this daily challenge is around us, then there must be a reason. I think that is the point. We are here learning to battle and learning to be the servants of our Lord. The good news is, He is our Lord and gives us the ability to win every day.

In 1 Thessalonians 5 Paul encourages us not to be partakers of the darkness, to slip away from the light. I do not think he refers to some major transgression, although that would certainly be true as well. I think he is giving us a daily list of what to do to overcome the enemy in spiritual battle. In verses 13b-22 we get a good idea of what we are to be doing. Be at peace, warn the unruly, comfort those that struggle, take care of the weak, be patient with everyone and do good to all, rejoice always, and pray without ceasing. If we do these things we will not quench the Spirit by despising prophecies, we will test all things and hold to only what is good by abstaining from evil. that last point is worth repeating.

Perhaps the best warfare, the best way to do only what is good, is to resist and abstain from evil.

Prayer
Father, You alone are the King of the universe. We rejoice today and every day in the works You are doing in and through us in the earth. Please help us to refrain and abstain from evil. Please give us the power through Your Spirit to cast down every evil thing that rises up against You and Your will for us and this earth. And come quickly, Lord Jesus. In Jesus name. Amen.