Truth is pouring forth from every page as I prepare to lead the discussion for the next few weeks. I am encouraged, enlightened, and enthusiastic about the truths we are being reminded of and the plan of action for putting those truths to work.
If God has already won the victory, and Christ is sitting at His right hand and we are in His presence, why should we even have to worry about the enemy? The truth of the matter is Satan knows God has won, but he wants nothing more than to have us cowering in a corner because of all the misery he has thrown our way. We become ineffective witnesses when we allow him a toe hold in our lives as we spend time and energy on the negative emotions he creates. The spirit of fear, the misery of depression, the reminder of our faults, flaws, and failures and countless other crafty schemes are constantly being thrown our way. We become so shell shocked by his constant deluge of lies, that we are frozen in the moment and unable to focus on what is true, what is right, and Who God is.
What is to be done about this? Have we been lulled into the belief there is no Satan? Do we not acknowledge the presence of evil in this world? Do we not remember he is roaming about seeking to kill, steal and destroy? Read the headlines, turn on the news, talk to your neighbors, families, and friends--misery has made its mark.
God has provided all we need to combat this darkness. God has given us spiritual armor with which to clothe ourselves as we walk forth and battle the evil one. And the beginning--the most important thing --He has given us is prayer. We have been given all we need, God has promised us to provide---it is all within our grasp to lead a full and productive lives for His glory and good purpose. All we need is within our grasp. Here is His promise and His reminder of Who wins the war-
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
- 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. 19 Pray
- Ephesians 6:10-19
In His infinite love for us God gave us the freedom to choose whether to love Him back or not. Some angels decided to rebel. Some humans too decided the same and still do so today. God allows this to happen. The alternative is to interfere ... and take away the gift of choice given to us.
ReplyDeleteGod would want us to willingly choose to come back to Him and join Him in Heaven. The devil's task is simple. To deflect us from that objectives with temptations and tricks. His best trick is to lead us to believe that he does not exist.
The state of the world today suggests he is succeeding.
God bless.
Yes, it certainly does appear we have forgotten our old enemy, Victor.
ReplyDeleteBlessings, My Friend
Yes, Lulu, all I have to do is turn on the news to know the devil is hard at work in this world. We need the full armor of God more than ever so we can shine His holy light into a darkened and blasphemous world.
ReplyDeleteBlessings, my friend!
So thankful we know the truth of the ultimate Victor!
DeleteBlessings, My Friend!