Lately I've noticed that a lot of things that are beyond my control have been going wrong. I don't think I'll list them since my mom tends to read this and I'd rather not give her a heart attack. I've been wondering why, since I know my heart is right with God and I've been growing quite a bit lately. I tend to be a shy sort of person and lately I've been pushing out of my comfort zone, getting more involved in several different ministries.
Well...that's most likely my answer. We have an enemy, and he doesn't like us reaching others for Christ.
He'd much rather I keep my faith to myself.
Too bad!
Our God is stronger, and He is faithful to His children. Through His power, not our own, we can get through any trial the enemy throws at us. He has lots of sly strategies that he uses against us, but for each God has given us a weapon. We've been warned: Be self controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.-1 Peter 5:8-9 So when it feels like we are having fiery darts hurled at us, we most likely are! But we have weapons that our enemy cannot stand against.
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor 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 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.-Ephesians 6:10-13
I wrote the following from Ephesians 6:10-20. Anything not italicized is my interpretation based verses 14-20.
Weapon: The sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. The sword is what we fight with, cutting the enemy off. When Jesus was in the wilderness for forty days and nights and the devil began to tempt him Jesus responded with scripture. The devil cannot stand against the word of God.
We usually come under attack in several ways. Guilt: "God could never forgive me this time..." But we can fight this with God's Word:
Romans 3:23- for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
Take that! The opposite of guilt is forgiveness.
What about fear? I have struggled with that. And what is the opposite of fear? Faith. Here's a promise: Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.- Duet. 31:6
So we say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?"-Hebrews 13:6
Weapon: The shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.-Romans 5:1
When guilt, doubt, discouragement, fear, etc. are thrown at us we can throw up our shield of faith, knowing that our God loves us and though our circumstances may be overwhelming at times, we live in a temporary world with temporary trials. Even in our trials we can have peace knowing that God is with us. We aren't alone in this life. He is always there.
Weapon: The helmet of salvation...Have you ever taken a bad blow to the head? It can knock you senseless. But when you have a helmet on, it protects you from what could be a devastating injury. The worst attack is to cause us to question our salvation, isn't it? But keep your helmet on- we have this promise:
for, 'Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.'- Romans 10:13 There are so many verses that assure us of our salvation! The most quoted must be John 3:16:
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life."
Take that! We can be sure of our salvation.
Weapon: The belt of truth, buckled around your waist... You know what part of our bodies is very vulnerable? Our ribs protect our heart and lungs, our skull protects our brain, but our belly has virtually no protection. So in our battle, we protect one of our most vulnerable parts with truth.
This goes back to knowing the word of God, because that's where we find the truth of all things spiritual.
Take that! When we know the truth we can't be deceived.
Weapon: The breastplate of righteousness... The breastplate puts a protective layer of steel over the heart. Christ's sacrifice cleanses our hearts and makes them righteous. In order to keep this protective covering when we see we're going wrong we should take it to our Father and confess it right away, so that we can remain pure.
Weapon : Feet fitted with readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. Sometimes it's better to have feet that are ready to run! Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.-Romans 9:25
Paul ends this chapter by saying, "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 saints. Pray for me also, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should."- Ephesians 6:19-20
So let's put on our armor, keep fighting the good fight, and keep drawing closer to the Father who loves us!.
As my Pastor said this morning, it is in the trials that we grow, and in the trials that we find Him.
Wishing you blessings in our Lord and Savior.
No other name by which we are saved but the Name of the Lord
Oh that the world will know Your Name...
That the nations will call on the Name of the Lord
The Name of Yeshua (Jesus)
Well...that's most likely my answer. We have an enemy, and he doesn't like us reaching others for Christ.
He'd much rather I keep my faith to myself.
Too bad!
Our God is stronger, and He is faithful to His children. Through His power, not our own, we can get through any trial the enemy throws at us. He has lots of sly strategies that he uses against us, but for each God has given us a weapon. We've been warned: Be self controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.-1 Peter 5:8-9 So when it feels like we are having fiery darts hurled at us, we most likely are! But we have weapons that our enemy cannot stand against.
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor 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 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.-Ephesians 6:10-13
I wrote the following from Ephesians 6:10-20. Anything not italicized is my interpretation based verses 14-20.
Weapon: The sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. The sword is what we fight with, cutting the enemy off. When Jesus was in the wilderness for forty days and nights and the devil began to tempt him Jesus responded with scripture. The devil cannot stand against the word of God.
We usually come under attack in several ways. Guilt: "God could never forgive me this time..." But we can fight this with God's Word:
Romans 3:23- for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
Take that! The opposite of guilt is forgiveness.
What about fear? I have struggled with that. And what is the opposite of fear? Faith. Here's a promise: Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.- Duet. 31:6
So we say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?"-Hebrews 13:6
Weapon: The shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.-Romans 5:1
When guilt, doubt, discouragement, fear, etc. are thrown at us we can throw up our shield of faith, knowing that our God loves us and though our circumstances may be overwhelming at times, we live in a temporary world with temporary trials. Even in our trials we can have peace knowing that God is with us. We aren't alone in this life. He is always there.
Weapon: The helmet of salvation...Have you ever taken a bad blow to the head? It can knock you senseless. But when you have a helmet on, it protects you from what could be a devastating injury. The worst attack is to cause us to question our salvation, isn't it? But keep your helmet on- we have this promise:
for, 'Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.'- Romans 10:13 There are so many verses that assure us of our salvation! The most quoted must be John 3:16:
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life."
Take that! We can be sure of our salvation.
Weapon: The belt of truth, buckled around your waist... You know what part of our bodies is very vulnerable? Our ribs protect our heart and lungs, our skull protects our brain, but our belly has virtually no protection. So in our battle, we protect one of our most vulnerable parts with truth.
This goes back to knowing the word of God, because that's where we find the truth of all things spiritual.
Take that! When we know the truth we can't be deceived.
Weapon: The breastplate of righteousness... The breastplate puts a protective layer of steel over the heart. Christ's sacrifice cleanses our hearts and makes them righteous. In order to keep this protective covering when we see we're going wrong we should take it to our Father and confess it right away, so that we can remain pure.
Weapon : Feet fitted with readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. Sometimes it's better to have feet that are ready to run! Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.-Romans 9:25
Paul ends this chapter by saying, "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 saints. Pray for me also, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should."- Ephesians 6:19-20
So let's put on our armor, keep fighting the good fight, and keep drawing closer to the Father who loves us!.
As my Pastor said this morning, it is in the trials that we grow, and in the trials that we find Him.
Wishing you blessings in our Lord and Savior.
Oh that the world will know Your Name...
That the nations will call on the Name of the Lord
The Name of Yeshua (Jesus)
