sword

October 1, 2020

“The Sword of the Spirit”

17 Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God..—Ephesians 6:17 NLT

Dressed for Battle 

Since we don’t actually see the angels and the demons surrounding us, it is hard for us to stay aware of the continuous battle going on around us everyday.  But there are several examples of this in the Scriptures. The example in Daniel 10 involves at least two demonic princes and two angelic princes.

20 So he said, “Do you know why I have come to you? Soon I will return to fight against the prince of Persia, and when I go, the prince of Greece will come; 21 but first I will tell you what is written in the Book of Truth. (No one supports me against them except Michael, your prince.–Daniel 10:20-21 NIV​

Just as Daniel was not physically involved in the battle, neither are we.  Our battlefield is our mind. That is why our armor is not physical armor, it is invisible things that protect our thought patterns from being overwhelmed by evil. These weapons are truth, righteousness, readiness that comes from the gospel of peace, faith, salvation and the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. For us to be fully dressed in the armor God has provided for us takes time. It is not a piece of clothing that you can just throw in the corner and then grab when bad times come. It takes hours and hours of prayer, Bible study and meditation to get fully dressed.  satan knows where the holes in our armor are.  We must pray daily for the Holy Spirit to show us the holes and then spend whatever time it takes in prayer and Scripture study to mend those holes. While we reside in this old piece of decaying flesh, we will never be able to fill all the holes. That is why God has His angels encamped around us.

7 The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them.—Psalm 34:7 NIV

“The Gospel has come to you because it’s on its way to someone else.” – Anonymous

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September 17, 2019

“Put On All of God’s Armor”

11 Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil.  — Eph. 6:11 NLT

Ephesians 6;10-18 NLT

Every day we are involved in spiritual warfare. This warfare will not be won by flesh and blood because our enemy is not flesh and blood. The enemy may very well come to us dressed in human form and looking beautiful enough to entice us into fighting the battle on his terms and his territory. We cannot and must not allow him to do that. The battle is not ours, it is the Lord’s and we must allow Him to fight the battle through us and for us. Evil rulers, spirits, and authorities in the unseen world are stronger than we are. But they are no match for the One who lives in us. Do not fear the enemy unless you are not prepared to meet the enemy. Be prepared at all times.
God has prepared the armor for us to wear when we are in battle and the battle rages 24/7. There is never a second when we are not engaged in spiritual warfare. The devil never rests, so we must always be on alert. Our belt is the truth of the Gospel and our breastplate is the righteousness of God. Our feet are shod with the peace of God, faith is our shield, salvation is our helmet, and the sword of the Spirit is the Word of God. Immerse all this armor in prayer without ceasing and we will be well able to resist the enemy and able to stand firm in any battle.

“The Gospel has come to you because it’s on its way to someone else.” – Anonymous

Post 09-17-2019

March 7, 2018

“The Helmet of Salvation”

even-smaller-bug-light1

17 Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God..—Ephesians 6:17 NLT

 
Since we don’t actually see the angels and the demons surrounding us, it is hard for us to stay aware of the continuous battle going on around us everyday.  But there are several examples of this in the Scriptures.  The example in Daniel 10 involves at least two demonic princes and two angelic princes.20 So he said, “Do you know why I have come to you? Soon I will return to fight against the prince of Persia, and when I go, the prince of Greece will come; 21 but first I will tell you what is written in the Book of Truth. (No one supports me against them except Michael, your prince.–Daniel 10:20, 21 NIV

​Just as Daniel was not physically involved in the battle, neither are we.  Our battlefield is our mind.  That is why our armor is not physical armor, it is invisible things that protect our thought patterns from being overwhelmed by evil. These weapons are truth, righteousness, readiness that comes from the gospel of peace, faith, salvation and the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. For us to be fully dressed in the armor God has provided for us takes time. It is not a piece of clothing that you can just throw in the corner and then grab when bad times come. It takes hours and hours of prayer, Bible study and meditation to get fully dressed.  satan knows where the holes in our armor are.  We must pray daily for the Holy Spirit to show us the holes and then spend whatever time it takes in prayer and Scripture study to mend those holes. While we reside in this old piece of decaying flesh, we will never be able to fill all the holes. That is why God has His angels encamped around us.

7 The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them.—Psalm 34:7 NIV

“The Gospel has come to you because it’s on its way to someone else.” – Anonymous

Post 03-07-2018

August 30, 2016

Good Answer!

even-smaller-bug-light1

9 But even Michael, one of the mightiest of the angels, did not dare accuse the devil of blasphemy, but simply said, “The Lord rebuke you!” — Jude 1:9a NLT
Jude 1:8-13 NLT

When satan comes around to tempt us or to harass us in any way, we must be very careful of the words we use in resisting his efforts.  We have the authority to “resist the devil” James 4:7 NKJV but only the Lord can rebuke the devil Zechariah 3:1,2 NKJV . If we say to satan that we:rebuke: him, he knows we don’t have that authority, so it doesn’t bother him.  Just ask the sons of Sceva Acts19:16 =NKJV . So, how do we resist without rebuking? We do what Paul told us to do in Ephesians 6, we put on the whole armor of God and we take up the only weapon that can defeat satan “the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God”.  That is what Jesus did when He was tempted by satan in the wilderness.  Is there a better example to follow than Jesus our Savior and Lord?  We know there isn’t.

Post 08-30-2016

February 24, 2015

Words of Life

God is waiting to show you the Way.

God is waiting to show you the Way.

4 Jesus fully realized all that was going to happen to him, so he stepped forward to meet them. “Who are you looking for?” he asked. 5 “Jesus the Nazarene,” they replied. “I am he,” Jesus said. (Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them.) 6 As Jesus said “I am he,” they all drew back and fell to the ground! 7 Once more he asked them, “Who are you looking for?” And again they replied, “Jesus the Nazarene.” 8 “I told you that I am he,” Jesus said. “And since I am the one you want, let these others go.” 9 He did this to fulfill his own statement: “I did not lose a single one of those you have given me.”​ 10 Then Simon Peter drew a sword and slashed off the right ear of Malchus, the high priest’s slave. 11 But Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword back into its sheath. Shall I not drink from the cup of suffering the Father has given me?”—John 18:4-11​ (NLT)
​When Judas had led the Roman soldiers and the Temple guard to Jesus​, Jesus asked them who they were looking for. When they replied that they were looking for Jesus the Nazarene, Jesus said “I AM HE”. His words were so powerful that all the soldiers and guards fell to the ground, After all, this was the same voice that spoke the world and everything in it into existence.
1​ In the beginning the Word already existed.​ The Word was with God,​ and the Word was God.​ 2 He existed in the beginning with God.​ 3 God created everything through him,​ and nothing was created except through him.​ 4 The Word gave life to everything that was created. –John 1: 1-4a (NLT)
​Jesus​ could just as easily have spoken words of death to them, but because of His love for man, He did not do that. Instead, He spoke words that gave His disciples life and liberty. This fulfilled His earlier words that He would not lose any of the ones that God the Father had given Him. Even when Peter took out his sword, Jesus admonished him to put his sword away. There are times to fight, there are times to stand and then there are those times when we must drink from the cup of suffering if we are to be counted as a child of God. We each have a cross to bear.
Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow me.–Luke 9:23 (NLT)
Post 02-24-2015

October 23, 2014

What is Our Testimony?

God is waiting to show you the Way.

God is waiting to show you the Way.

19 This was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders sent priests and Temple assistants​ ​from Jerusalem to ask John, “Who are you?” 20 He came right out and said, “I am not the Messiah.”​ ​2​1 “Well then, who are you?” they asked. “Are you Elijah?”​ “No,” he replied.​ “Are you the Prophet we are expecting?”​ “No.” 22 “Then who are you? We need an answer for those who sent us. What do you have to say about yourself?”​ 23 John replied in the words of the prophet Isaiah:
“I am a voice shouting in the wilderness,
​”​Clear the way for the Lord’s coming!’”​—John 1:19-23 (NLT)​
​John​ the Baptist stayed faithful to His calling. He was sent to prepare the people to receive the Messiah. Because of the message he was preaching, people would ask, “Who are you?”, his answer was “I am a voice shouting in the wilderness, clear the way for the Lord’s coming.” John’s boldness in standing for the truth eventually got him beheaded. The same thing is happening, on a daily basis, to our Christian brothers and sisters around the world. If we were confronted with the choice: “Deny or die!”, what would our answer be? Would it be: “I am a follower of Christ, I have come to tell you about the Lord’s return”? Or would we hang our head in shame?
32 “Everyone who acknowledges me publicly here on earth, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. 33 But everyone who denies me here on earth, I will also deny before my Father in heaven. 34 “Don’t imagine that I came to bring peace to the earth! I came not to bring peace, but a sword.—Matt.10:32-34 (NLT)
Post 10-23-14

July 16, 2014

No Body or No Thing Can Hide From God

God is waiting to show you the way.

God is waiting to show you the way.

12 God’s word is living and active. It is sharper than any two-edged sword and cuts as deep as the place where soul and spirit meet, the place where joints and marrow meet. God’s word judges a person’s thoughts and intentions. 13 No creature can hide from God. Everything is uncovered and exposed for him to see. We must answer to him.​ ​–Hebrews 4: 12​, 13​ (GW)
We are told in the first chapter of John that “the Word became human and dwelt among us”. That Word was and is Jesus Christ. He is still alive and active. He stands at the right hand of the Father and intercedes for us. His Holy Spirit searches our hearts and minds and knows our very thoughts. We can all “talk the talk” but only each of us and God know whether or not we are “walking the walk”.
27 All of our thoughts are known to God. He can understand what is in the mind of the Spirit, as the Spirit prays for God’s people.–Romans 8:27 (CEV)
​He knows our thoughts and judges our intentions. We cannot fool Him, we cannot hide our thoughts from Him and we cannot physically hide from Him. He sees all, hears all, and knows all about us. And one day, “every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess” that He is Lord. We can do it now and spend an eternity with Him or we can wait until judgment day and spend an eternity in hell. Jesus wants everyone to go to heaven, but He knows that not every one will choose to go. The choice is ours.
Post 07-16-14

April 25, 2014

Preparing for the Battle

God is waiting to show you the way.

God is waiting to show you the way.

13 Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. 14 Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. 15 For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. 16 In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. 17 Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.–Eph. 5:13-17 (NLT)
​God has prepared the armor for us to wear when we are in battle and the battle rages 24/7. There is never a second when we are not engaged in spiritual warfare. The devil never rests, so we must always be on alert. Our belt is the truth of the Gospel and our breastplate is the righteousness of God. Our feet are shod with the peace of God, faith is our shield, salvation is our helmet, and the sword of the Spirit is the Word of God. Immerse all this armor in prayer without ceasing and we will be well able to resist the enemy and able to stand firm in any battle.
Post 04-25-14

April 19, 2014

“And A Sword Will Pierce Your Very Soul”–Luke 2:35

God is waiting to show you the way.

God is waiting to show you the way.

25 Standing near the cross were Jesus’ mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary (the wife of Clopas), and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus saw his mother standing there beside the disciple he loved, he said to her, “Dear woman, here is your son.” 27 And he said to this disciple, “Here is your mother.” And from then on this disciple took her into his home. 28 Jesus knew that his mission was now finished, and to fulfill Scripture he said, “I am thirsty.” 29 A jar of sour wine was sitting there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put it on a hyssop branch, and held it up to his lips. 30 When Jesus had tasted it, he said, “It is finished!” Then he bowed his head and released his spirit.–John 19:25-30 (NLT)
​We cannot even begin to imagine the roller coaster of thoughts and emotions that Mary went through as she stood and watched her Son being ridiculed and mocked. He was physically and verbally abused beyond belief. If Mary knew the book of Isaiah then she knew that this death and this type of death was inevitable for her Son. Knowing something, in the human sense, does not necessarily prepare us to see it in actuality. I believe that at this very moment, Mary’s knowledge turned to reality and she now understood Simeon’s prophecy. “And a sword will pierce your very soul”. From sometime Thursday night until 3 PM on Friday, Jesus suffered more than we will suffer in a lifetime. And just as surely as those Centurions drove the​ actual nails into His hands and feet, our sins drive nails straight into His heart.
Post 04-19-14