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Ephesians 6:10-12 ESV
Satan is a liar and a deceiver. So, one of his biggest schemes he uses against us is to lie to us, and he does this in so many different ways. For, he wants us to doubt God, to question his sovereignty, and to believe that Satan and our circumstances have power over us. But, they don’t. And, he wants us to believe him, instead of God, so he will twist the truth to convince us that the truth is a lie, and that the lie is the truth.
Satan will use any means possible, at his disposal, to try to get us discouraged and doubting, so that we will give up, and so we will be convinced that he still has power over us. And, this is why it is so critical that daily we put on that armor of God and we fight off his lies with the truth. And, I think that when we are tired or we are weak, or when we are not feeling well, is when we are the most vulnerable, too.
But, we don’t do this in our own strength, for our strength will fail us. We do this in the strength of the Lord and in his mighty power at work within us. We surrender our circumstances to the Lord, we yield to his sovereignty, and we believe he is going to work out all things for the good of us who love him, who have been called of Him according to his purposes. And, we do this regardless of how we “feel” at any given moment, too. For, feelings can’t be trusted. I know that all too well.
Ephesians 6:13-17 ESV
So, if we want to be able to withstand Satan’s onslaughts against us, we have to daily take up that whole armor of God and use it against the devil’s schemes. And, we can’t give the devil a foothold in our lives, either, by compromising with the world or by taking liberties with God’s grace. For, God’s grace, which brings salvation, instructs us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions (fleshly lusts) and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives while we wait for Christ’s return (Tit. 2:11-14).
In other words, if we are people who practice lies, we are not going to be able to fight off Satan’s lies. If we are people who regularly consume what is immoral and of the filth of this world, we are not going to be able to fight off temptation to idolatry, lust, and immorality. And, if we are people who compromise scripture in order to justify sinful practices, then we will not be able extinguish the flaming darts of the evil one. So, we have to forsake sinful practices and daily walk in the power and strength of the Lord.
We have to be walking by faith and not by sight. We have to daily, by the Spirit, be putting to death the deeds of the flesh. And, we have to be walking by the Spirit and no longer be living to gratify the sinful cravings of our flesh. For, we can’t put on the armor of God if we have not first taken off the mind and the deeds of our sinful flesh, for they are counterproductive.
Yet, even if we are living by the Spirit and no longer by the flesh, that does not mean that we may not be vulnerable to Satan’s evil schemes against us. For, we can be walking righteously before our God, and doing what he commands us to do, and then, out of nowhere, Satan will come against us, and he will attack us in one way or another to bring us down, to get us to doubt God, and to get us to give up, and to give way to fear.
So, we can’t let our guard down, for we are in a daily battle against the enemy of our souls. But, we can be encouraged, because Jesus already won this battle for us on the cross. So, daily we just have to apply to our lives what Jesus already accomplished for us, and we have to fight Satan like we believe Jesus already won this battle, too, with confidence that we are the victors through Christ, who loves us, and that Satan is a defeated foe.
But, this can’t be just a defensive battle or we will not survive the onslaught of the enemy. We have to use offensive tactics, as well. In other words, if we are going to fight off temptation to sin, we have to be proactive in putting up safeguards to prevent us from giving way to temptation. And, if we are going to put on the Sword of the Spirit, i.e. the Word of God, then we have to daily be feeding our minds and hearts with God’s word, and walking in obedience to what it teaches us.
And, then we need to be sharing the truth of God’s Word with others so that they can come to know Christ as Savior and Lord, and/or so that they can grow in their walks of faith with Jesus Christ. We need to be in the practice of sharing our faith with others and of encouraging our fellow Christians with the truths of God’s Word, speaking to one another in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs.
And, these songs don’t have to sound professional, by human standards, either. We don’t even have to have great voices. The whole purpose of them is for our encouragement, not for our entertainment.
Ephesians 6:18-20 ESV
And, not only do we need to make it our practice to be sharing the Word of God with others, for their salvation, and for their encouragement in Christ, but we need to be praying for one another, too, in the Spirit, not in our flesh. And, while we are in prayer, we need to be alert for Satan’s attacks against us, for he hates it when we pray. But, part of this alertness, too, is we need to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s voice convicting us of sin, leading us in a particular direction, or teaching us something we need to learn.
We need to pray for one another, because we are in a spiritual battle, and Satan does want to defeat us. And, so he does attack us in many different ways. So, we must guard against giving way to fear, and we must remain steadfast in our faith. And, we need to pray for one another to resist Satan, to flee temptation, and to draw near to God in full assurance of faith.
For, we are all going to have trials and tribulations to test our faith, but our Lord is our strength and our fortress during these times. We just have to rest in him, and call on him in our suffering, and he will bring healing to our hearts. For, he is completely faithful to all his promises.
When Pretty Things Get Broken
By Joni Eareckson Tada
I have a piece of China, a pretty porcelain vase –
It holds such lovely flowers; captures everybody’s gaze.
But fragile things do slip and fall, as everybody knows.
And when my vase came crashing down, those tears began to flow.
But don’t we all cry when pretty things get broken?
Don’t we all sigh at such an awful loss?
Jesus will dry your tears, as He has spoken;
‘Cause He was the one broken on the cross.
My life was just like China, a lovely thing to me;
Full of porcelain promises of all that I might be.
But fragile things do slip and fall, as everybody knows.
And when my life came crashing down, those tears began to flow.
‘Cause don’t we all cry when pretty things get broken?
Don’t we all sigh at such an awful loss?
Jesus will dry your tears, as He has spoken;
‘Cause He was the one broken on the cross.
Now Jesus is no porcelain Prince. His promises won’t break.
His holy word holds fast and sure. His love, no one can shake.
So, if your life is shattered by sorrow, pain, or sin –
His healing love will reach right down and make you whole again.
‘Cause don’t we all cry when pretty things get broken?
Don’t we all sigh at such an awful loss?
Jesus will dry your tears, as He has spoken;
‘Cause He was the one broken on the cross.
Now don’t we all cry when pretty things get broken?
Don’t we all sigh at such an awful loss?
But Jesus will dry your tears, as He has spoken;
‘Cause He was the one broken on the cross.
Lyrics free download, compliments of Joni and friends:
https://ww.joniandfriends.org/media/premiumoffers/When_Pretty_Things_Get_Broken.pdf
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”
Satan is a liar and a deceiver. So, one of his biggest schemes he uses against us is to lie to us, and he does this in so many different ways. For, he wants us to doubt God, to question his sovereignty, and to believe that Satan and our circumstances have power over us. But, they don’t. And, he wants us to believe him, instead of God, so he will twist the truth to convince us that the truth is a lie, and that the lie is the truth.
Satan will use any means possible, at his disposal, to try to get us discouraged and doubting, so that we will give up, and so we will be convinced that he still has power over us. And, this is why it is so critical that daily we put on that armor of God and we fight off his lies with the truth. And, I think that when we are tired or we are weak, or when we are not feeling well, is when we are the most vulnerable, too.
But, we don’t do this in our own strength, for our strength will fail us. We do this in the strength of the Lord and in his mighty power at work within us. We surrender our circumstances to the Lord, we yield to his sovereignty, and we believe he is going to work out all things for the good of us who love him, who have been called of Him according to his purposes. And, we do this regardless of how we “feel” at any given moment, too. For, feelings can’t be trusted. I know that all too well.
Ephesians 6:13-17 ESV
“Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God…”
So, if we want to be able to withstand Satan’s onslaughts against us, we have to daily take up that whole armor of God and use it against the devil’s schemes. And, we can’t give the devil a foothold in our lives, either, by compromising with the world or by taking liberties with God’s grace. For, God’s grace, which brings salvation, instructs us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions (fleshly lusts) and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives while we wait for Christ’s return (Tit. 2:11-14).
In other words, if we are people who practice lies, we are not going to be able to fight off Satan’s lies. If we are people who regularly consume what is immoral and of the filth of this world, we are not going to be able to fight off temptation to idolatry, lust, and immorality. And, if we are people who compromise scripture in order to justify sinful practices, then we will not be able extinguish the flaming darts of the evil one. So, we have to forsake sinful practices and daily walk in the power and strength of the Lord.
We have to be walking by faith and not by sight. We have to daily, by the Spirit, be putting to death the deeds of the flesh. And, we have to be walking by the Spirit and no longer be living to gratify the sinful cravings of our flesh. For, we can’t put on the armor of God if we have not first taken off the mind and the deeds of our sinful flesh, for they are counterproductive.
Yet, even if we are living by the Spirit and no longer by the flesh, that does not mean that we may not be vulnerable to Satan’s evil schemes against us. For, we can be walking righteously before our God, and doing what he commands us to do, and then, out of nowhere, Satan will come against us, and he will attack us in one way or another to bring us down, to get us to doubt God, and to get us to give up, and to give way to fear.
So, we can’t let our guard down, for we are in a daily battle against the enemy of our souls. But, we can be encouraged, because Jesus already won this battle for us on the cross. So, daily we just have to apply to our lives what Jesus already accomplished for us, and we have to fight Satan like we believe Jesus already won this battle, too, with confidence that we are the victors through Christ, who loves us, and that Satan is a defeated foe.
But, this can’t be just a defensive battle or we will not survive the onslaught of the enemy. We have to use offensive tactics, as well. In other words, if we are going to fight off temptation to sin, we have to be proactive in putting up safeguards to prevent us from giving way to temptation. And, if we are going to put on the Sword of the Spirit, i.e. the Word of God, then we have to daily be feeding our minds and hearts with God’s word, and walking in obedience to what it teaches us.
And, then we need to be sharing the truth of God’s Word with others so that they can come to know Christ as Savior and Lord, and/or so that they can grow in their walks of faith with Jesus Christ. We need to be in the practice of sharing our faith with others and of encouraging our fellow Christians with the truths of God’s Word, speaking to one another in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs.
And, these songs don’t have to sound professional, by human standards, either. We don’t even have to have great voices. The whole purpose of them is for our encouragement, not for our entertainment.
Ephesians 6:18-20 ESV
“…praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.”
And, not only do we need to make it our practice to be sharing the Word of God with others, for their salvation, and for their encouragement in Christ, but we need to be praying for one another, too, in the Spirit, not in our flesh. And, while we are in prayer, we need to be alert for Satan’s attacks against us, for he hates it when we pray. But, part of this alertness, too, is we need to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s voice convicting us of sin, leading us in a particular direction, or teaching us something we need to learn.
We need to pray for one another, because we are in a spiritual battle, and Satan does want to defeat us. And, so he does attack us in many different ways. So, we must guard against giving way to fear, and we must remain steadfast in our faith. And, we need to pray for one another to resist Satan, to flee temptation, and to draw near to God in full assurance of faith.
For, we are all going to have trials and tribulations to test our faith, but our Lord is our strength and our fortress during these times. We just have to rest in him, and call on him in our suffering, and he will bring healing to our hearts. For, he is completely faithful to all his promises.
When Pretty Things Get Broken
By Joni Eareckson Tada
I have a piece of China, a pretty porcelain vase –
It holds such lovely flowers; captures everybody’s gaze.
But fragile things do slip and fall, as everybody knows.
And when my vase came crashing down, those tears began to flow.
But don’t we all cry when pretty things get broken?
Don’t we all sigh at such an awful loss?
Jesus will dry your tears, as He has spoken;
‘Cause He was the one broken on the cross.
My life was just like China, a lovely thing to me;
Full of porcelain promises of all that I might be.
But fragile things do slip and fall, as everybody knows.
And when my life came crashing down, those tears began to flow.
‘Cause don’t we all cry when pretty things get broken?
Don’t we all sigh at such an awful loss?
Jesus will dry your tears, as He has spoken;
‘Cause He was the one broken on the cross.
Now Jesus is no porcelain Prince. His promises won’t break.
His holy word holds fast and sure. His love, no one can shake.
So, if your life is shattered by sorrow, pain, or sin –
His healing love will reach right down and make you whole again.
‘Cause don’t we all cry when pretty things get broken?
Don’t we all sigh at such an awful loss?
Jesus will dry your tears, as He has spoken;
‘Cause He was the one broken on the cross.
Now don’t we all cry when pretty things get broken?
Don’t we all sigh at such an awful loss?
But Jesus will dry your tears, as He has spoken;
‘Cause He was the one broken on the cross.
Lyrics free download, compliments of Joni and friends:
https://ww.joniandfriends.org/media/premiumoffers/When_Pretty_Things_Get_Broken.pdf
