Posted on 09/01/2015 3:19:07 AM PDT by metmom
"Be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places" (Eph. 6:10-12).
Victory in battle comes when you identify the enemy, resist his attacks, and then take the initiative against him.
Our nation has known many wars, but Vietnam was an especially frustrating campaign. Thick jungle terrain made the enemy hard to find and guerrilla warfare made him hard to fight. Many Vietnamese who peacefully worked the rice paddies by day donned the black garb of the Viet Cong soldier by night and invaded unsuspecting U.S. forces camped nearby. American public opinion was strongly anti-war and morale among our troops was often low.
Spiritual warfare has similar parallels. Subtly and deceitfully, Satan disguises himself as an angel of light and "prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour" (1 Pet. 5:8). His emissaries disguise themselves as apostles of Christ and servants of righteousness (2 Cor. 11:13-15). It takes wisdom and discernment to identify them and defend yourself against their attacks.
Most people are defenseless, however, because they scoff at the supernatural and deny the reality of spiritual warfare. They think Satan may be fine for movie plots and book sales, but assume only the superstitious and credulous take him seriously. Unfortunately, many Christians have succumbed to their ridicule and forsaken the battle.
Ephesians 6:10-24 reminds us that spiritual warfare is real and that God has given us all the resources we need— not only to defend ourselves, but also to take the initiative and win the victory over the forces of darkness.
I pray that our studies this month will encourage you in the battle and challenge you to always have on "the full armor of God, that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil" (Eph. 6:11).
Suggestions for Prayer
Seek discernment and grace to identify the enemy and stand against him courageously.
For Further Study
Read Ephesians 6:10-24. What armor has God supplied to protect you in spiritual warfare?
Anyone who has worked to legitimately spread the Gospel (and not churchianity or preaching specific denominationalism) has run into real spiritual warfare. It is absolutely real.
Most scoff because they aren’t a threat to the Enemy.
ping
Considering the times we seem to be entering, this is a very appropriate devotional series.
It seems that this is going to be the topic for the month.
We’re on the edge of something. You can feel it.
Of course, TPTB are injecting crazy stuff into American society all the time. Some days, you just shake your head. Maybe that explains the feeling I have.
I looked out East tonight while driving back from Lowe’s for scrap lumber and metal brackets. Must be a harvest moon as it was big, almost full, and low on the horizon, so the dust must have made it look pretty orange-red. I know the “big” is often an optical illusion, unless it’s a supermoon.
Anyways, it caught my attention last night. OK, rant off.
The Supermoon is next month, which happens to coincide with the 4th blood moon of this set and will be seen in Jerusalem this time.
And, yes, you can feel it.
Back in July I was planning a trip and God warned me to not go and then confirmed it twice within two days and then a third time shortly after that.
I’m stocking up on basic necessities.
I don’t expect to need to survive the zombie apocalypse, nor do I want to, but I do want to be able to eat for a good while if things fall apart for a while.
Yes, the economy alone is good enough reason to prepare, if nothing else.
Other than that, the food and stuff will always be useful, to someone I figure, even if there’s the harpazo event.
Jesus will come for the Church before it gets too bad. There may be hard times, but we will not have to endure the Tribulation.
I absolutely believe that.
But I also think that God is warning His people so that they can be ready and weather the hard times better.
Some people I know think that God is somehow miraculously make His people prosper during the time the rest of the world is collapsing, but perhaps that is coming in the form warning them so that they are ready.
Different than we expected, actually. Not actually prospering but not having to endure the privation because we listened to Him.
FWIW....
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.