Ephesians 6:10-17 (NIV) ...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. 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. Therefore put on the full armour 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. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled round your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
In previous blogs, I discussed betrayal and forgiveness, as well as boundaries and trust. I also mentioned our need for the armour (armor) of God. It is clear from the scripture above that spiritual warfare is very real. That's why we are instructed to put on the armor. We need to stand against the devil's schemes; the powers of this dark world; the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. We can rest assured the day of evil has definitely come and has been here since day one in the Garden.
Let's look at one piece of armor at a time. Why do you believe the belt of truth is to be buckled around your waist? Do you ever use the term "gut feeling"? Is it possible that our gut feelings are sometimes wrong? Absolutely, if we are discerning in and of our own wisdom and conviction. We should be convicted by the Holy Spirit about what is true and trustworthy.
Our gut feelings need to be based in spiritual discernment as directed by the Lord God Almighty. We need to study God's truth daily. That means our truth is to be based on studying and knowing the written Word of God. Allowing Him to guide us daily while praying and meditating on His Word is how we are meant to walk His truth in each situation and relationship we encounter.
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Devotional
Let's revisit the existence of evil in our world. There are religions that flat out deny that evil exists. They believe that God is good and created all things; He is omnipresent and omniscient; and, therefore, evil cannot exist. I believe that God is good and created all things, however, He is more than just good. The Bible tells us He is also Love, the Almighty, Salvation, Creator of all there is (including all beings given the gift of choice), Counselor, Wonderful, Prince of Peace, God with us, Lord of Lords, God who sees us, King of Kings, the beginning and the end, etc.
I also believe that the King of Kings and Lord of Lords is omnipresent and omniscient. However, I do not believe for a second that satan or his minions can read our minds or be anywhere and everywhere and all knowing. Their power exists within the will of the Lord God Almighty to allow it, as He did in Job and many other Bible stories referred to below. In other words, our Heavenly Father (not satan who is the earthly father, the father of lies), has within His all-knowing power the ability to remove the ability for any creation to go about the earth seeking to kill, steal and destroy.
However, God's Word tells us in story after story about God-created humans who behaved in a most evil way, such as Cain, Pharaoh, Jacob, Herod, Saul of Tarsus and Judas, to name a few. Just the characters in these stories alone give a birds-eye view of murder, deception, mass murder, enslavement, deception, thievery, cheating, ungodly order in the home, confusion, mass murder, fear, hatred, greed, hardening of the heart, imprisonment of innocents, greed, betrayal and, of course, major deception and greed again and loads of pride. Also, notice the absolute destruction of families in all of these examples! What better way to destroy mankind than to attack the basic structure for which he was created - propagation, submission to God, and relationship.
Although there has been lots of discussion about whether the serpent was Satan or a cherub or ruler of this earth or Lucifer, it is clear that men have been given the freedom by our Heavenly Father to make choices. Those choices have been very wicked and sinful against God and our fellow humans. He has also allowed what satan meant for bad to be used for good, so that we know that all things work for good for those who love the Lord and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28).
I also believe that the King of Kings and Lord of Lords is omnipresent and omniscient. However, I do not believe for a second that satan or his minions can read our minds or be anywhere and everywhere and all knowing. Their power exists within the will of the Lord God Almighty to allow it, as He did in Job and many other Bible stories referred to below. In other words, our Heavenly Father (not satan who is the earthly father, the father of lies), has within His all-knowing power the ability to remove the ability for any creation to go about the earth seeking to kill, steal and destroy.
However, God's Word tells us in story after story about God-created humans who behaved in a most evil way, such as Cain, Pharaoh, Jacob, Herod, Saul of Tarsus and Judas, to name a few. Just the characters in these stories alone give a birds-eye view of murder, deception, mass murder, enslavement, deception, thievery, cheating, ungodly order in the home, confusion, mass murder, fear, hatred, greed, hardening of the heart, imprisonment of innocents, greed, betrayal and, of course, major deception and greed again and loads of pride. Also, notice the absolute destruction of families in all of these examples! What better way to destroy mankind than to attack the basic structure for which he was created - propagation, submission to God, and relationship.
Although there has been lots of discussion about whether the serpent was Satan or a cherub or ruler of this earth or Lucifer, it is clear that men have been given the freedom by our Heavenly Father to make choices. Those choices have been very wicked and sinful against God and our fellow humans. He has also allowed what satan meant for bad to be used for good, so that we know that all things work for good for those who love the Lord and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28).
Recommended Reading
Have you wanted to understand the Bible better by learning more about Hebrew?
Go to www.Heart2Heart Ministries.com and download the first issue of Christian Roots Magazine, by editor Joan M. Brown. The online issue is free, however, you can choose home delivery via the mail by purchasing a subscription, as referred to on the web site.
Joan was impressive in an interview that I watched recently on a Christian television network. Watching to see what she has to share with us in the future will be exciting. I found the first issue to be very informative. For a first effort, I believe it is very good, although I can see areas where improvement are needed.
Let's watch together to learn what we can from this new information source and grow in our understanding of God's word. God's word is filled with much to learn and understand in relation to concepts and contexts, and this may be just one way to get us closer to the truth. What do you scholars out there think?
Devotional
Ephesians 6:10-18
New International Version (NIV)
The Armor of God
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.The discussion of betrayal and forgiveness and truth and trust occurred in my last two blogs. Referring to the scripture above, we can see that we need to be strong in God's power, not our own. No where in the scripture does it say that we are to resort to our own power, wisdom and truth. Nor does it say that we are to cloak the full armor of God in such pride. That is one good reason for paying close attention to this passage.
We also see that spiritual warfare is a very real occurrence that the Lord is instructing and warning us to stand against. It is described, specifically, as the devil's schemes; the rulers, authorities and powers of this dark world; and the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. If we think that the devil takes a day of sick leave or goes on vacation, we are sadly mistaken. The day of evil has been with us since the serpent came on the scene in the Garden, and we need to armor up each day to stand our ground. We will discuss this scripture more in additional blogs. We will look more closely at each of the individual elements of the armor God provided for us.
Father, God: We thank you for the gift of your word, salvation and instruction about your armor. Dear Lord, please help us not to take lightly that evil is very real everyday in our world. Please also help us not to give the devil more than he is due. Help us to remember that you are greater in us than the devil is in this world. Help us to take seriously your warning to be ready to stand against him. Thank you for giving us the tools to do just that and do it well. We love you, Lord, and want to serve you and follow your will in all things. In the precious, holy name of Jesus, we pray, and by the power of His Holy Spirit. Amen.
Friday, February 10, 2012
Devotional
James 3:17 describes godly wisdom as follows: "But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy. (NASB)"
1 John 4:1 tells us how to know if we are sensing, seeing or hearing a counterfeit, false prophet or ungodly spirit in someone who is interacting with us. "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world."
In a previous devotional, I spoke about the importance of boundaries and trust. Understanding and applying these scriptures can help us to rest assured about recognizing wisdom and its counterfeit. We know, the father of lies twists the truth anyway he can to establish confusion and doubt within us. He is hoping to throw us off the path of knowing what is true and right and real and of the one and only God. He is hoping to deliver a wounding word before we can even recognize the spirit with which someone approaches and speaks to us.
Therefore, it is good to develop the gift of discerning the truth. For those of us raised in unhealthy environments where the truth was frequently "bent," it may be difficult to learn and listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit within us. However, that is the only way we will begin to know what we know beyond a shadow of a doubt, because the Holy Spirit is speaking within us. That is how we can verify that someone approaches us in an ungodly manner and with ungodly wisdom.
It is so easy to be caught off guard, if we have not put on our Godly armor for the day. We will talk more about that in a following devotional. For now, let us be so very thankful that we have a loving God. El Roi, God who sees us, knows what we need to learn and sometimes allows the devil to be our teacher. If that happens, it is important to remember that God uses for good what satan meant to be for evil in our lives. These may be hard lessons, but it will be more difficult in the future for such an ungodly and unwise spirit to approach us without our knowing it.
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Devotional
Betrayal. Judgment. Abandonment. Slander. Holier-than-thou. Have you ever experienced these attitudes and behaviors from others? When it is from someone you did not feel close to or befriended by, it is easy to blow it off and think nothing of it. But what about when a friend, someone you enjoyed fellowship with, someone you trusted does this? It is truly devastating. David, Job and Jesus Christ all experienced this very thing. See Psalm 55:12-14; Job 19:5, 19; Luke 22:48.
Members of their inner circle hurt them. It might have been easier to accept from an enemy, but to be blind-sided by someone you thought was a friend? We read in Psalm 55:12-14: For it is not an enemy who reproaches me,Then I could bear it; Nor is it one who hates me who has exalted himself against me, Then I could hide myself from him. But it is you, a man my equal, My companion and my familiar friend. We who had sweet fellowship together, Walked in the house of God in the throng. (NASB)
Were there signs that should have warned me of this person's heart? What did our relationship really consist of? Was it a give-give or give-take type of friendship? Were we on equal ground? How often did you hear the other person's side of things and not share much at all about yourself, but just enough to be deeply hurt? There may have been red flags that this was an unhealthy relationship, whether with a Christian or non-Christian.
Some other good questions to ask are: Did I view them as some kind of authority about something important to me? Did I view them as a father, mother, brother or sister figure because of some weakness in me? Did I pretend not to notice when I heard the cruel words, attitudes and tone of voice they used when talking to close members of their own family? Why did I pretend it did not really hurt when they were unreasonable with me? Why did I think anything I heard out of line was rare, not something that would affect me at some point? Why did I listen to all of that gossip about people I don't even know?
Unhealthy relationships are as seductive as Satan himself and we must have healthy boundaries while still being transparent to a close circle of Christian friends for accountability purposes. How do we do this? With God's grace and using the gray matter he gave us. We can ask God to make it clear to us when entering into relationships of any type if they are healthy for us. We can ask Him to reveal to us just how trustworthy someone might be.
When teaching a class on boundaries to women in crises, I tell them it is okay to initially keep our boundaries farther away from us. They are not immovable walls. Boundaries can be moved closer in toward us as we take one opportunity at a time to know if someone is trustworthy. We do not have to automatically trust someone with our whole life story, because others do, or because they attend our church. It is best to see if someone is trustworthy about something small, before affording them more trust. It is okay to take it slow and easy. This is also wise, when dealing with problematic issues about trust and feeling safe and confident around others.
The bottom line? Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety upon Him, because He cares for you. 1 Peter 5:6-7 (NASB)
Members of their inner circle hurt them. It might have been easier to accept from an enemy, but to be blind-sided by someone you thought was a friend? We read in Psalm 55:12-14: For it is not an enemy who reproaches me,Then I could bear it; Nor is it one who hates me who has exalted himself against me, Then I could hide myself from him. But it is you, a man my equal, My companion and my familiar friend. We who had sweet fellowship together, Walked in the house of God in the throng. (NASB)
Were there signs that should have warned me of this person's heart? What did our relationship really consist of? Was it a give-give or give-take type of friendship? Were we on equal ground? How often did you hear the other person's side of things and not share much at all about yourself, but just enough to be deeply hurt? There may have been red flags that this was an unhealthy relationship, whether with a Christian or non-Christian.
Some other good questions to ask are: Did I view them as some kind of authority about something important to me? Did I view them as a father, mother, brother or sister figure because of some weakness in me? Did I pretend not to notice when I heard the cruel words, attitudes and tone of voice they used when talking to close members of their own family? Why did I pretend it did not really hurt when they were unreasonable with me? Why did I think anything I heard out of line was rare, not something that would affect me at some point? Why did I listen to all of that gossip about people I don't even know?
Unhealthy relationships are as seductive as Satan himself and we must have healthy boundaries while still being transparent to a close circle of Christian friends for accountability purposes. How do we do this? With God's grace and using the gray matter he gave us. We can ask God to make it clear to us when entering into relationships of any type if they are healthy for us. We can ask Him to reveal to us just how trustworthy someone might be.
When teaching a class on boundaries to women in crises, I tell them it is okay to initially keep our boundaries farther away from us. They are not immovable walls. Boundaries can be moved closer in toward us as we take one opportunity at a time to know if someone is trustworthy. We do not have to automatically trust someone with our whole life story, because others do, or because they attend our church. It is best to see if someone is trustworthy about something small, before affording them more trust. It is okay to take it slow and easy. This is also wise, when dealing with problematic issues about trust and feeling safe and confident around others.
The bottom line? Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety upon Him, because He cares for you. 1 Peter 5:6-7 (NASB)
Friday, February 3, 2012
Devotional
Forgiveness
We often want someone to blame for things that occur in our lives. For some there are too many people who can correctly be blamed for being irresponsible and downright mean. For others, they blame indiscriminately and fail to look in the mirror and point the finger where it is appropriate. This applies to Christians as well as non-Christians.
Whether we are victims of our own or others' sins, our Lord addressed the need to forgive in Matthew 18:21-22. "Then Peter came and said to Him, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?" Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven."
No matter the origins or deliverers of our pain, when considering the awesome responsibility we have to forgive, it seems too much to wrap our brains, arms or hearts around. And yet, we are called upon to do this very thing. We cannot possibly do it by ourselves.
In 1 Corinthians 10:13 we read "No temptation has overtaken you, but such as is common to man; and God is faithful who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, that you may be able to endure it."
When we cannot do it by ourselves, we must do it through Him. Our Savior died for this very reason -- to forgive us all. Can you imagine Him forgiving every human through all of time seventy times seven? And we struggle to forgive fewer people in our lives and sometimes those in generations past. Jesus is our answer. He is the way through, the escape for us. And yet, I cannot help but wonder when I hear people analyzing and intellectualizing Jesus' death on the cross, how could he have died from any deeper pain than a heart broken over and over again on our behalf. That is why He came to earth and that is why we must forgive, no matter how difficult it may seem
We often want someone to blame for things that occur in our lives. For some there are too many people who can correctly be blamed for being irresponsible and downright mean. For others, they blame indiscriminately and fail to look in the mirror and point the finger where it is appropriate. This applies to Christians as well as non-Christians.
Whether we are victims of our own or others' sins, our Lord addressed the need to forgive in Matthew 18:21-22. "Then Peter came and said to Him, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?" Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven."
No matter the origins or deliverers of our pain, when considering the awesome responsibility we have to forgive, it seems too much to wrap our brains, arms or hearts around. And yet, we are called upon to do this very thing. We cannot possibly do it by ourselves.
In 1 Corinthians 10:13 we read "No temptation has overtaken you, but such as is common to man; and God is faithful who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, that you may be able to endure it."
When we cannot do it by ourselves, we must do it through Him. Our Savior died for this very reason -- to forgive us all. Can you imagine Him forgiving every human through all of time seventy times seven? And we struggle to forgive fewer people in our lives and sometimes those in generations past. Jesus is our answer. He is the way through, the escape for us. And yet, I cannot help but wonder when I hear people analyzing and intellectualizing Jesus' death on the cross, how could he have died from any deeper pain than a heart broken over and over again on our behalf. That is why He came to earth and that is why we must forgive, no matter how difficult it may seem
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