How do you fight against something you cannot see, cannot smell, cannot touch? We parents, we Christians, we human beings, are in a battle. You don't have to wonder why chaos is going on in the world, in our country, in our city and in our homes. Today is a reminder. Today is Sept 11th. A day in the history of our country, where we are reminded of the evil in this world.
We are in the fight of our lives, for our own souls, as well as, the souls of our children. Unfortunately, we can't buy a gun or a knife or a sword, a rocket launcher, a chemical weapon, a nuclear bomb or a "fill in the blank" your weapon of choice to defeat our attacker.Who is our attacker? It's not your neighbor down the street. It's not a gang member or an ex convict or even the Muslim extremists.
In John 10:10 it tells you who our attacker is: 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy;
And who is the thief? Satan is the the thief. Is Satan a human being, walking around on this earth, waiting in the bushes or behind your house, underneath your car, waiting at your children's school or day care center? No. Satan is a spirit. He is not human. You cannot touch him, see him or smell him and I thank God that I cannot do any of those things. So, how do we fight Satan, who is a spirit.
Ephesians 6:10-18 we get the full picture of how to handle a spiritual battle that is going on constantly and will be as long as we live or until Jesus comes back. What do we learn from this passage in Ephesians?
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. What are we supposed to do? "be strong in the Lord. In whose power? HIS power, not our own.
11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. What are we supposed to do? "Put on the full armor of God. Why? so you can take your stand against the devil. Why? Because the devil is scheming to "steal, kill and destroy" you and your family.
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.
Who is our struggle against? Not against flesh and blood....this is a SPIRITUAL BATTLE, "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.
Paul explains in verses 13-17 above exactly how to be prepared for a spiritual battle, then the ultimate weapon he shares with us in verse 18.
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.
We are in a spiritual battle. When? Paul says in verse 18 "on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests and with this in mind, to BE ALERT and ALWAYS keep on praying for ALL the Lord's people." "ALL the Lord's people" includes yourself, includes your children if you are believers in Christ. "BE ALERT and ALWAYS keep on praying" are action words.
We are in a spiritual battle every day. Let's not lose sight of that as we try to love our spouses and lead our children to love and serve the Lord. Only through "His mighty power" can we win that battle.
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