"I beg you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to stop arguing
among yourselves. Let there be real harmony so that there won’t
be splits in the church. I plead with you to be of one mind, united
in thought and purpose." (1 Corinthians 1:10 LB)
Stop trying to win arguments. Instead, make it your goal to love those who disagree with you. Go for the love, not the win. Jesus tells us love will always win; he guaranteed that when he walked out of the tomb. When you find yourself in an argument with other believers, use these biblical guidelines for getting along: Let mercy guide your response (Proverbs 3:3–6). In a conflict, most of us say we only want what’s fair, but God’s approach isn’t about being fair. It’s about grace and mercy (Romans 5:8). Let God determine the truth (2 Corinthians 13:8). The truth is not determined by your thoughts or feelings (1 John 4:1) or the opinions of others. Truth is what God says it is; he is the sole authority for interpreting any situation (2 Corinthians 10:5). The Bible says we shouldn’trely on our own understanding (Proverbs 3:5), that what appears to be right to us may very well be wrong (Proverbs 14:12). Look for God’s presence (Matthew 28:20). Satan wants us to believe we’re in the battle alone. Follow the example of the young shepherd boy, David, who believed God was in the fight and that the battle belonged to the Lord (1 Samuel 17:47). Look for the conflict’s true source (Ephesians 6:12). According to God’s Word, we’re really not fighting other people; our real enemy is Satan and his “unseen spiritual forces of wickedness.” Lay down human weapons (2 Corinthians 10:4–5). When we try to meet our own needs, working independently of God, we tend to use what the Apostle Paul called weapons of the flesh. These include: manipulation, gossip, slander, ridicule, threats, blame, nagging, deception, and silence. When we use them, we end up in an “evil for evil” cycle, and that’s like trying to fight a skunk with “stink” — everybody loses! prayer is a powerful spiritual weapon. After we put on the whole armor of God, we’re to “pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests” (Ephesians 6:18 NIV). |
Showing posts with label SPIRITUAL WARFARE. Show all posts
Showing posts with label SPIRITUAL WARFARE. Show all posts
Monday, June 25, 2012
Saturday, October 29, 2011
SPIRITUAL SOLDIERS
By Jothany Blackwood
One of the realities we all come to is that sometimes we are in the right fight but with the wrong people. We believe we are really at odds with a co-worker, another church member, or even the person we are in a relationship with. But when we come to the realization that it's not the individual we struggle against, but the spirit that is controlling them we can shift our approach.
When we focus on it being the person, then we fight them in the flesh where we can never have victory. Because the enemy is masterful at things of the flesh it's an uneven match. You can't bring a knife to a gunfight and that's what you do when you think you'll give that person back what they are giving to you.
But when you understand that you are dealing with the rulers of darkness that are strategic in their assignments to destroy and kill you, then we have to know what weapons to fight with and protect ourselves. The fact that they rule in darkness indicates that they cannot handle the light. And the light is the Word of God, which is why Psalm 119:105 says "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path."
When the Scripture acknowledges that there is wickedness in high places that tells you that the enemy does have power. So it would be unwise to believe you can face such a formidable foe on your own strength. Your strength will come from the Word of God and He prepares us strategically for being spiritual soldiers.
God clearly directs us on how to protect ourselves, yet rather than put on the belt of truth, many of us are spiritually sagging. You can't be prepared to defend yourself from the world when everything about you reflects the world. And as we guard our chest, we are really being protective of what is placed in our hearts for there we find the seat of our conduct and character. And character is simply what you will do when you believe no one is watching.
Then He tells us that our feet should be fitted in Christian cleats so we can hold our ground, despite the elements that seek to make us lose our footing. And that shield of defense against the advances of others is surely made from the promises of God.
The enemy is relentless and if he can defeat us on the battlefield of our minds, our flesh will easily follow. But we must be clear that the fight is not physical, it's not against the person in front of us; it's one of spirit and in that we have the confidence that we have already been given victory. But we can delay or forfeit the promised end when we do not rely on God's strength.
We have all been prepared for these ceaseless battles and as spiritual soldiers, we should be tireless in working towards hearing "'Well done, good and faithful servant!"
Scripture Of The Day: "Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes..." - Ephesians 6:11 (NIV)
One of the realities we all come to is that sometimes we are in the right fight but with the wrong people. We believe we are really at odds with a co-worker, another church member, or even the person we are in a relationship with. But when we come to the realization that it's not the individual we struggle against, but the spirit that is controlling them we can shift our approach.
When we focus on it being the person, then we fight them in the flesh where we can never have victory. Because the enemy is masterful at things of the flesh it's an uneven match. You can't bring a knife to a gunfight and that's what you do when you think you'll give that person back what they are giving to you.
But when you understand that you are dealing with the rulers of darkness that are strategic in their assignments to destroy and kill you, then we have to know what weapons to fight with and protect ourselves. The fact that they rule in darkness indicates that they cannot handle the light. And the light is the Word of God, which is why Psalm 119:105 says "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path."
When the Scripture acknowledges that there is wickedness in high places that tells you that the enemy does have power. So it would be unwise to believe you can face such a formidable foe on your own strength. Your strength will come from the Word of God and He prepares us strategically for being spiritual soldiers.
God clearly directs us on how to protect ourselves, yet rather than put on the belt of truth, many of us are spiritually sagging. You can't be prepared to defend yourself from the world when everything about you reflects the world. And as we guard our chest, we are really being protective of what is placed in our hearts for there we find the seat of our conduct and character. And character is simply what you will do when you believe no one is watching.
Then He tells us that our feet should be fitted in Christian cleats so we can hold our ground, despite the elements that seek to make us lose our footing. And that shield of defense against the advances of others is surely made from the promises of God.
The enemy is relentless and if he can defeat us on the battlefield of our minds, our flesh will easily follow. But we must be clear that the fight is not physical, it's not against the person in front of us; it's one of spirit and in that we have the confidence that we have already been given victory. But we can delay or forfeit the promised end when we do not rely on God's strength.
We have all been prepared for these ceaseless battles and as spiritual soldiers, we should be tireless in working towards hearing "'Well done, good and faithful servant!"
Scripture Of The Day: "Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes..." - Ephesians 6:11 (NIV)
Monday, December 27, 2010
ILLUSION?
by Leonard Davidson
Recently, my wife, Tammi, and I were with a small group of friends. Brock Gill, an amazing Christian illusionist, was a part of the group. Someone asked him to do a couple of “tricks” for us. He had been traveling all day with his wife, and was obviously very tired, but graciously agreed to entertain us (for free … which was really cool).
He had us gather in a half-circle and Tammi sat on the floor in front of me and directly in front of Brock. Of course Tammi’s first question was if he could make me disappear (there is a comedian in every group). He laughed and took out a deck of cards.
All the cards had blue backs. At his request, someone picked a card and showed it to all of us (four of clubs), without Brock seeing it. The card was placed back in the deck. As he fanned out the deck of blue cards, one of them had a red back. The card was revealed and it was the four of clubs. Pretty neat.
Then he knelt down in front of Tammi and said it was her turn. He laid the red four of clubs face down on the floor beside him. He fanned out the remaining cards (all still blue) and had Tammi pick one. She chose the queen of hearts, again showing all of us, but not Brock. The card was placed back in the deck. Just as he did before, Brock fanned out the cards. But this time they all remained blue. There was no red card. He shuffled them together again, fanned them out, and still no red card. Shuffled again, fanned them out and still no red card.
Looking rather perplexed, Brock reached beside him and turned over the red card on the floor, which had been the four of clubs when he laid it down a few seconds before. Amazingly, as he turned it over, it was the queen of hearts! Tammi was (and still is) flabbergasted. She exclaimed: “That is impossible. I watched that card the whole time. It never moved!”
The next day I told Brock that Tammi just could not get over the fact that she somehow missed the illusion. Brock smiled and told me something profound. He said, “There is a dual reality. What your eyes and mind focus on is not what is really happening.” Wow!
We all live in a dual reality and because of that Paul commanded, “Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth” (Col. 3:2). This world we live in and the things in it, are in many ways, an illusion. While we live life here on earth, there is another reality. There’s a spiritual battle going on all around us, a struggle that is against rulers, against authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places (Eph. 6:12).
But what do we do? We get so consumed with the temporal things on earth—jobs, houses, cars, salaries, sports, clothes—the illusions of what is important, that we miss what is really going on–the spiritual warfare and the intense battle. Forces of evil are desperately and diligently seeking to destroy our homes, our children, our marriages even our lives, and sadly, too often, with great success. Because we are focused on a fleeting illusion, we are missing the reality. Our affections in this dual reality have been fixed on all the things that simply do not matter.
Jesus said, “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Luke 12:34). Where is your treasure? What do you read? What do you watch? Where do you spend your time? That is a very good gauge as to which of the dual realities you focus upon.
This week in your Christ walk journey and as you move toward the New Year, take inventory of where you have fixed your affections. Which reality do you live in? Are you focused on stuff that makes no difference to eternity? Set your mind, your affections and your heart on the things above. Set them on God things. Your life will change as you realize what is real and worth your focus and what is but a fleeting illusion.
PRAYER POWER WEEK OF 12/27/2010
This week ask God to help you take inventory of where you have fixed your emotions. Take what He shows you and pray for His help to set your mind and affections on what matters for eternity. Ask Him to show you what’s important to Him and pray what’s on His heart. Pray for a new vision and determination to do your part in winning the lost and expanding His kingdom. Pray that He show you what He wants you to accomplish each day so that yours days would be full, but not overwhelming. Pray that revival would spread across our nation and around the world. Continue to remember Israel, our military and our leaders. Luke 12:34; Col 3:2; Eph. 6:12
Recently, my wife, Tammi, and I were with a small group of friends. Brock Gill, an amazing Christian illusionist, was a part of the group. Someone asked him to do a couple of “tricks” for us. He had been traveling all day with his wife, and was obviously very tired, but graciously agreed to entertain us (for free … which was really cool).
He had us gather in a half-circle and Tammi sat on the floor in front of me and directly in front of Brock. Of course Tammi’s first question was if he could make me disappear (there is a comedian in every group). He laughed and took out a deck of cards.
All the cards had blue backs. At his request, someone picked a card and showed it to all of us (four of clubs), without Brock seeing it. The card was placed back in the deck. As he fanned out the deck of blue cards, one of them had a red back. The card was revealed and it was the four of clubs. Pretty neat.
Then he knelt down in front of Tammi and said it was her turn. He laid the red four of clubs face down on the floor beside him. He fanned out the remaining cards (all still blue) and had Tammi pick one. She chose the queen of hearts, again showing all of us, but not Brock. The card was placed back in the deck. Just as he did before, Brock fanned out the cards. But this time they all remained blue. There was no red card. He shuffled them together again, fanned them out, and still no red card. Shuffled again, fanned them out and still no red card.
Looking rather perplexed, Brock reached beside him and turned over the red card on the floor, which had been the four of clubs when he laid it down a few seconds before. Amazingly, as he turned it over, it was the queen of hearts! Tammi was (and still is) flabbergasted. She exclaimed: “That is impossible. I watched that card the whole time. It never moved!”
The next day I told Brock that Tammi just could not get over the fact that she somehow missed the illusion. Brock smiled and told me something profound. He said, “There is a dual reality. What your eyes and mind focus on is not what is really happening.” Wow!
We all live in a dual reality and because of that Paul commanded, “Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth” (Col. 3:2). This world we live in and the things in it, are in many ways, an illusion. While we live life here on earth, there is another reality. There’s a spiritual battle going on all around us, a struggle that is against rulers, against authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places (Eph. 6:12).
But what do we do? We get so consumed with the temporal things on earth—jobs, houses, cars, salaries, sports, clothes—the illusions of what is important, that we miss what is really going on–the spiritual warfare and the intense battle. Forces of evil are desperately and diligently seeking to destroy our homes, our children, our marriages even our lives, and sadly, too often, with great success. Because we are focused on a fleeting illusion, we are missing the reality. Our affections in this dual reality have been fixed on all the things that simply do not matter.
Jesus said, “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Luke 12:34). Where is your treasure? What do you read? What do you watch? Where do you spend your time? That is a very good gauge as to which of the dual realities you focus upon.
This week in your Christ walk journey and as you move toward the New Year, take inventory of where you have fixed your affections. Which reality do you live in? Are you focused on stuff that makes no difference to eternity? Set your mind, your affections and your heart on the things above. Set them on God things. Your life will change as you realize what is real and worth your focus and what is but a fleeting illusion.
PRAYER POWER WEEK OF 12/27/2010
This week ask God to help you take inventory of where you have fixed your emotions. Take what He shows you and pray for His help to set your mind and affections on what matters for eternity. Ask Him to show you what’s important to Him and pray what’s on His heart. Pray for a new vision and determination to do your part in winning the lost and expanding His kingdom. Pray that He show you what He wants you to accomplish each day so that yours days would be full, but not overwhelming. Pray that revival would spread across our nation and around the world. Continue to remember Israel, our military and our leaders. Luke 12:34; Col 3:2; Eph. 6:12
Friday, November 5, 2010
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
ONE TICKET PLEASE
2 Corinthians 10:3-4 is so powerful and filled with nuggets to help us as we face this thing called spiritual warfare. See I have learned that when God is moving in your life, that’s an indication to get ready for the warfare. When things seem to be going great, that’s a representation to get ready for the warfare. Just ask Job. When you’re doing what God said, get ready for the warfare.
I don’t know about you but it seems like since the start of this year the warfare in the believers’ life has intensified. To intensify means to make something greater or stronger, or to increase in strength.
When you break the word warfare down it becomes two words. The first word is “WAR,” which means conflict, struggle and battle. The next word is “FARE,” which means charge, price, cost and ticket. Basically the amount charged for a journey. When you put the word back together it is the battle price, the struggle ticket. No matter how you say it or what you’re going through, you're a paying passenger.
This spiritual warfare is the amount you charged for your journey; your conflict is the amount you charged for a journey; your struggle is the amount you charged for a journey; your battle is the amount you charged for your journey.
You want to know why spiritual warfare is necessary. You pay a fare to ride a bus, plane or train with a destination in mind. After you have your ticket anything can happen. There could be a delay, a crash, or just a smooth ride, but at the end you still get to where you wanted to be.
I just want you to know that even though you are going through this spiritual warfare, trust God, and know that you are on your way to your destiny.
Spiritual warfare – the amount charged for a journey.
Scripture Of The Day: “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds.” - 2 Corinthians 10:3-4 (NKJV)
Thursday, October 28, 2010
SPIRITUAL SOLDIERS
One of the realities we all come to is that sometimes we are in the right fight but with the wrong people. We believe we are really at odds with a co-worker, another church member, or even the person we are in a relationship with. But when we come to the realization that it’s not the individual we struggle against, but the spirit that is controlling them we can shift our approach.
When we focus on it being the person, then we fight them in the flesh where we can never have victory. Because the enemy is masterful at things of the flesh it’s an uneven match. You can’t bring a knife to a gunfight and that’s what you do when you think you’ll give that person back what they are giving to you.
But when you understand that you are dealing with the rulers of darkness that are strategic in their assignments to destroy and kill you, then we have to know what weapons to fight with and protect ourselves. The fact that they rule in darkness indicates that they cannot handle the light. And the light is the Word of God, which is why Psalm 119:105 says “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.”
When the Scripture acknowledges that there is wickedness in high places that tells you that the enemy does have power. So it would be unwise to believe you can face such a formidable foe on your own strength. Your strength will come from the Word of God and He prepares us strategically for being spiritual soldiers.
God clearly directs us on how to protect ourselves, yet rather than put on the belt of truth, many of us are spiritually sagging. You can’t be prepared to defend yourself from the world when everything about you reflects the world. And as we guard our chest, we are really being protective of what is placed in our hearts for there we find the seat of our conduct and character. And character is simply what you will do when you believe no one is watching.
Then He tells us that our feet should be fitted in Christian cleats so we can hold our ground, despite the elements that seek to make us lose our footing. And that shield of defense against the advances of others is surely made from the promises of God.
The enemy is relentless and if he can defeat us on the battlefield of our minds, our flesh will easily follow. But we must be clear that the fight is not physical, it’s not against the person in front of us; it’s one of spirit and in that we have the confidence that we have already been given victory. But we can delay or forfeit the promised end when we do not rely on God’s strength. We have all been prepared for these ceaseless battles and as spiritual soldiers, we should be tireless in working towards hearing “'Well done, good and faithful servant!”
Scripture Of The Day: "Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes…" - Ephesians 6:11-17
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)