The Holy One calls me this morning. I am wide awake now. His voice is clear and His message even clearer. "Expect the backlash".
Each and every morning, we wake up to our world at war. Most do not understand this, so few are prepared to respond to what comes their way. It is not the usual kind of war where both sides are easily recognized and uniforms identify the allegiance of the people engaged. This war is a battle between kingdoms not necessarily nations, or families or individuals who disagree.
Ephesians 6:10-17, gives us a picture of the battle, through the commands it conveys. We, God's people, through the relational Body of Christ called the Church, have a high and Holy calling, ordained by the Trinity to represent God's Glory and purpose to the world of men.
Ephesians was written to convey in overview God's purpose, His plan, His power and His wisdom in design. In the world of chaos, amid never ending contention, the Church, under the Headship of Christ offers a peace and unity for all who would align themselves with God through Jesus Christ. A peace and unity the world does not and can not know. This peace and unity traverses all people, all nations, all cultures over all of time.
As Paul lays out the powerful message of God's purpose in calling His people to become a body of believers connected to one another by the Holy Spirit of Christ under one Head, he speaks to the backlash and opposition we can expect in Ephesians 6:10-12. Paul also leaves the reader with the Heavenly strategy we must follow as we contend for the faith.
"Finally be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armour of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes." Jesus told us that He came to destroy the works of the devil and Paul talks about the devil's schemes.
That we have an enemy here is fact beyond doubt. For those who deny that fact, the battle is already lost. We must first acknowledge we are at war before we can begin to battle effectively. We must first identify the enemy before we can defeat him.
Paul tells us what we are up against, "for our battle 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."
WOW, that paints a picture of a titanic battle not just the little day-to-day problems and issues we face and call inconvenience or fate. I am thankful that Paul begins this overview of the enemies we face with the exhortation to be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armour of God....
In essence Paul is telling us to prepare for battle, and put on our protective gear. Without God's armour we will become casualties in this war. We are to be fitted in our armour of God so that we will be able to stand our ground and after we have done everything, to stand firm.
God's armour boils down to truth, righteousness, peace and faith. When the day of evil comes, he will attack each one of these places of Godly integrity on our lives.
When we take a stand for truth, the enemy will attack it. He will do all he can to make truth seem weak and the lie seem stronger.
When we take a stand for righteousness, the enemy will attack it. He will do all he can to make righteousness seem weak and unrighteousness seem stronger.
When we take a stand for peace, the enemy will attack it. He will do all he can to make peace seem weak and chaos seem stronger.
And when we take a stand for faith, the enemy will attack it. He will make faith seem weak and faithlessness seem stronger.
In all the armour, the helmet of our "salvation" protects our mind. The reason this is so important is that the battlefield is the mind. As the Lord brings all these things into our life at salvation: truth, righteousness, peace, and faith, the evil one sets about to destroy them. But even the battle has a Divine purpose.
Every attack begins with a lie:
about who we are in Christ
about our relationship with God and each other
about our purpose set forth by God
about our power against the evil one delegated to us by God
about our eternal destination prepared for us by God
As we stand firm we get stronger.
The offensive weapon we have in this great titanic battle that we wake up to each and every day is the Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. God's Word is truth and the standard against every lie the enemy may offer.
Our knowledge of the truth and our ability to wield it as a weapon is vital in this titanic struggle against the dark forces we cannot see. The battle is spiritual, the enemy invisible and the strategy for victory Divine. Paul ties it all up with his exhortation to "pray in the spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers".
As the Holy One tells me to expect a backlash, I now know, it's time to run to the Word, pick up my Sword and pray.
The Spirit is calling. Can you hear Him?
Each and every morning, we wake up to our world at war. Most do not understand this, so few are prepared to respond to what comes their way. It is not the usual kind of war where both sides are easily recognized and uniforms identify the allegiance of the people engaged. This war is a battle between kingdoms not necessarily nations, or families or individuals who disagree.
Ephesians 6:10-17, gives us a picture of the battle, through the commands it conveys. We, God's people, through the relational Body of Christ called the Church, have a high and Holy calling, ordained by the Trinity to represent God's Glory and purpose to the world of men.
Ephesians was written to convey in overview God's purpose, His plan, His power and His wisdom in design. In the world of chaos, amid never ending contention, the Church, under the Headship of Christ offers a peace and unity for all who would align themselves with God through Jesus Christ. A peace and unity the world does not and can not know. This peace and unity traverses all people, all nations, all cultures over all of time.
As Paul lays out the powerful message of God's purpose in calling His people to become a body of believers connected to one another by the Holy Spirit of Christ under one Head, he speaks to the backlash and opposition we can expect in Ephesians 6:10-12. Paul also leaves the reader with the Heavenly strategy we must follow as we contend for the faith.
"Finally be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armour of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes." Jesus told us that He came to destroy the works of the devil and Paul talks about the devil's schemes.
That we have an enemy here is fact beyond doubt. For those who deny that fact, the battle is already lost. We must first acknowledge we are at war before we can begin to battle effectively. We must first identify the enemy before we can defeat him.
Paul tells us what we are up against, "for our battle 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."
WOW, that paints a picture of a titanic battle not just the little day-to-day problems and issues we face and call inconvenience or fate. I am thankful that Paul begins this overview of the enemies we face with the exhortation to be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armour of God....
In essence Paul is telling us to prepare for battle, and put on our protective gear. Without God's armour we will become casualties in this war. We are to be fitted in our armour of God so that we will be able to stand our ground and after we have done everything, to stand firm.
God's armour boils down to truth, righteousness, peace and faith. When the day of evil comes, he will attack each one of these places of Godly integrity on our lives.
When we take a stand for truth, the enemy will attack it. He will do all he can to make truth seem weak and the lie seem stronger.
When we take a stand for righteousness, the enemy will attack it. He will do all he can to make righteousness seem weak and unrighteousness seem stronger.
When we take a stand for peace, the enemy will attack it. He will do all he can to make peace seem weak and chaos seem stronger.
And when we take a stand for faith, the enemy will attack it. He will make faith seem weak and faithlessness seem stronger.
In all the armour, the helmet of our "salvation" protects our mind. The reason this is so important is that the battlefield is the mind. As the Lord brings all these things into our life at salvation: truth, righteousness, peace, and faith, the evil one sets about to destroy them. But even the battle has a Divine purpose.
Every attack begins with a lie:
about who we are in Christ
about our relationship with God and each other
about our purpose set forth by God
about our power against the evil one delegated to us by God
about our eternal destination prepared for us by God
As we stand firm we get stronger.
The offensive weapon we have in this great titanic battle that we wake up to each and every day is the Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. God's Word is truth and the standard against every lie the enemy may offer.
Our knowledge of the truth and our ability to wield it as a weapon is vital in this titanic struggle against the dark forces we cannot see. The battle is spiritual, the enemy invisible and the strategy for victory Divine. Paul ties it all up with his exhortation to "pray in the spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers".
As the Holy One tells me to expect a backlash, I now know, it's time to run to the Word, pick up my Sword and pray.
The Spirit is calling. Can you hear Him?
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