Demolish those strongolds

TODAY'S SPECIAL: 2 Corinthians 9-10; Psalm 3

TO CHEW ON: "For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ." 2 Corinthians 10:4,5


Joyce Meyer, in her book Battlefield of the Mind says: "The mind is the leader or forerunner of all actions .... Our actions are a direct result of our thoughts" - Joyce Meyer, Battlefield of the Mind, p. 3.

What  a key scripture 2 Corinthians 10:4,5 has become in my life as I seek to think rightly.

'Strongholds' seemed like an old-fashioned word, though, and I wondered how different Bible translations rendered it. Surprise! in four that I consulted (Amplifed, NLT, NIV, and ESV)  the word strongholds was used. So I looked up stronghold.

[The dictionary says it is "a place that has been fortified so as to protect it against attack, also a place where a particular cause or belief is strongly defended or upheld."]

My Bible has a wonderful article which gives an anatomy of the mental strongholds Paul talks about here:

"Strongholds are first established in the mind; that is why we are to take every thought captive.

Behind a stronghold is also a lie—a place of personal bondage where God's Word has been subjugated to any unscriptural idea or personally confusing belief that is held to be true.

Behind every lie is a fear and behind every fear is an idol.

Idols are established wherever there exists a failure to trust in the provisions of God that are ours through Jesus Christ.

Some of the weapons that pull down these strongholds are:

• God's Word (Hebrews 4:12-13).

• The blood of the Cross (Revelation 12:11).

• The name of Jesus (Mark 16:7).

Strongholds are pulled down and confronted bondage is broken as these spiritual weapons of our warfare are employed (see Ephesians 6:13-18)" - Christopher Hayward, "Pulling Down Strongholds," New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 1621,2 (formatting added).

You will recall that Ephesians 6:13-18 is the Armour of God passage where the weapons named are truth, righteousness, the gospel of peace, faith, salvation, the Word of God, and prayer.

PRAYER: Dear God, please help me to recognize the strongholds in my life and to identify the lies, fears, and idols behind them. Help me to use Your weapons to tear these strongholds down. Amen. 

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 3

MORE: We need to know the Word

"Second Corinthians 10:4,5 clearly indicates that we must know the Word of God well enough to be able to compare what is in our mind with what is in the mind of God; any thought that attempts to exalt itself above the Word of God we are to cast down and bring into captivity to Jesus Christ" - Joyce Meyer, Battlefield of the Mind, p. 4.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

The fight between sleep and prayer

The Sleep of the Disciples - Alexandre Bida

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Mark 13-14; Psalm 101

TO CHEW ON: "And He came and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, 'Simon, are you sleeping? Could you not watch one hour? Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation' … And when He returned, He found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy; and they did not know what to answer Him." Mark 14: 37,38,40

No doubt the disciples' sleep was a legitimate physical response to physical fatigue. Yet one gets the sense that there is also a spiritual component to their napping here, while a few feet away, Jesus agonizes in prayer.

Several thoughts...

On prayer:
1. Jesus, the very Son of God, who had unprecedented access to the Father, still desired the disciples' prayer company and support. " 'Could you not watch one hour?' "  Mark reports Jesus saying (Mark 14:37). Matthew adds " 'Could you not watch with me one hour?' " (Matthew 26:40).

2. Jesus' desire for them to be praying was also for their benefit: " 'Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing but the flesh is weak' " Mark 14:38.

On sleep:
1. The persistence of the disciples' sleep, even after Jesus' warning, alerts us to the fact this may have been more than mere fatigue. They were seemingly embarrassed and perhaps even puzzled by their inability to stay awake: " … they did not know what to answer Him" - Mark 14:39.

2. Luke's account says: "He found them sleeping from sorrow" - Luke 22:45. This suggests their sleep may also have been a form of escapism.

Some insights for our lives as modern disciples from this part of the passion story:
- Prayer: 

• It aids us even as it supports others.

- Sleep:

• We do need a healthy amount to function. But could an inordinate sleepiness at times when we set out to pray be an aspect of spiritual warfare?

• When we're overwhelmed by life situations, maybe we should more often escape into prayer than sleep!

• Could our inability to stay awake during prayer be a symptom of a dull spiritual state? Perhaps spiritual things just don't seem real enough; prayer doesn't seem important enough to keep us alert and awake. The Bible uses sleep as a metaphor to illustrate spiritual dullness and oblivion:

"… now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed" - Romans 13:11.

"Therefore let us not sleep as others do, but let us watch and be sober" - 1 Thessalonians 5:6.

See also Mark 13:35,36  |  Romans 11:8  |  Ephesians 5:14.

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, I confess I have often slept when I should be praying. Please help me to understand what's at stake in maintaining times of prayer. Amen. 

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 101

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Prayer—fighting the darkness

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Daniel 10-12; Psalm 58

TO CHEW ON: "Then he said to me, 'Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard; and I have come because of your words. But the prince of the Kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days.'" Daniel 10:12,13


Daniel 10 tells the interesting story of Daniel spending a considerable time in mourning-prayer and fasting as he seeks to understand a message he has received.  After three full weeks he gets a heavenly visitor, a "man"—obviously an angel (Daniel 10:5-6)—who appears to him and says, "...from the first day that you set your heart to understand, your words were heard..."

So why does this angel wait three weeks before coming?

Because he himself was  tied up, fighting spiritual forces (Daniel 10:13).

The writer of my Bible's notes on Daniel explains this section:

"This is one of the clearest OT examples that demonic armies oppose God's purposes and that earthly struggles often reflect what is happening in the heavenlies, and that prayer with fasting may affect the outcome" - Coleman Cox Phillips, New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 1136 (emphasis added).

What does this glimpse into the spiritual realm mean for us? Dick Eastman in his book Love On Its Knees makes the following points about the Christian's mission, and fighting spiritual resistance with prayer:

1. "It is God's desire to see every person on earth provided access to the Gospel of Jesus Christ... (2 Peter 3:9; Mark 13:10; Matthew 24:14).

2. "It is Satan's plan to prevent every unbeliever from receiving access to the Gospel of Jesus Christ... (2 Timothy 2:25-26; Ephesians 2:1,2).

3. "It is the Church's duty to take the Gospel of Jesus Christ to every person on earth ... (Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15).

4. "It is the intercessor's responsibility to hold back the unseen forces of satanic darkness wherever the Gospel of Jesus Christ is shared ... (Ephesians 6:10-12; 2 Thessalonians 3:1,2).

"... intercessors who contend for lost souls do indeed help add names to the Lamb's Book of Life. They may not be aware that they are sweeping through the heavenlies on their knees, or that they are contending against the darkness for a soul who has just been confronted with the claims of Christ, but their prayers make the harvest possible." - Dick Eastman, excerpts from Love On Its Knees, pages 166-171).

We don't need to know the names or territories of the demonic forces we fight, but being aware that our prayers are Kingdom warfare, and that spiritual battles take time is crucial, I believe, to our preparedness and perseverance.

PRAYER: Dear God, please convict me of the importance and effectiveness of intercessory prayer for the advancement of Your Kingdom. Help me not to be discouraged when the answers take long time to come. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 58

MORE: Prayer is...

"Prayer is God's supreme gift to assist the Church in establishing His Kingdom throughout the earth" - Dick Eastman, Love On Its Knees, p. 161.

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New King James Version (NKJV) Used with permission. The Holy Bible, New King James Version Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Calamities and spiritual warfare

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Job 4-7; Psalm 136

TO CHEW ON: "'Oh that I might have my request,
That God would grant me the thing that I long for!
That it would please God to crush me,
that He would loose His hand and cut me off!'" Job 6:8,9

Does Job sound depressed or what?

You will recall the beginning of the story, how in one day Job's life falls apart when calamity strikes from all directions. And then he gets sick (Job 1-2:10). His friends come to comfort him. Here he responds to the speech of his friend Eliphaz.

Job sounds like he feels betrayed, double-crossed, and attacked by the God he has been trying to please: "'For the arrows of the Almighty are within me; My spirit drinks their poison; The terrors of God are arrayed against me'" - Job 6:4.

He feels physically unable to bear the agony: "'Is my strength the strength of stones? Or is my flesh bronze?'" - Job 6:12.

He begs to die: "'Oh that I would have my request … That it would please God to crush me, That He would loose HIs hand and cut me off.'" - Job 6:8,9.

Is there a reply to what Job has said that isn't shallow and trite? Job's friends certainly don't have it for they keep insisting Job is responsible for the horrible scenario. We, however, have information that Job and his friends didn't have about what was happening behind the scenes. Charles E. Blair, my Bible's commenter on Job says:

"Job's criticisms of God that appear in chapters 6 and 7 as well as in his other responses to his friends can best be understood as a man's feeble attempts to make sense of a scenario for which he is missing an essential piece of information, namely that there is something happening between God and Satan—that there are spiritual purposes overriding earthly circumstances. Because he is unaware of this dimension of the spiritual realm, his understanding is severely impaired" - New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 652.

Could unseen spiritual battles also be a part of the troubles, illnesses, calamities, and disasters that come to us? I believe they could. When we feel puzzled, let down, even betrayed by God, let's remember this aspect of Job's story. Let's pray over and into the activities in the spiritual realm, of which we're unaware, and let's keep despair and bitterness toward God from creeping into our hearts.

PRAYER: Dear God, please help me to see troubles that come to me and those around me with insight into spiritual warfare. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 136

The Bible Project - VIDEO: Job (Wisdom Series)




 

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Prayer insights from Daniel

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Daniel 10:4-11:2
 
TO CHEW ON: “‘Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard; and I have come because of your words’” Daniel 10:12 NIV.

In today’s reading in Daniel 10, I see four things from Daniel's experience that teach us about God, us, and prayer.

1. God knew Daniel by name. He had a reputation in heaven.
When the vision described in Daniel 10 began, Daniel was petrified. The angel visitor began his reassurance with these beautiful words:
“‘Daniel, you who are highly esteemed….’”

Don’t you love how the angel called him by name (Daniel 10:11,12) and told him his heavenly reputation.  A note in the NIV Study Bible explains “highly esteemed”:

“A relatively rare Hebrew word … sometimes translated ‘coveted.’ Daniel is a highly desired, precious man whom God covets” (NIV Study Bible, Kindle Location 202,318).

The expression “highly esteemed” reminds me of a story told by one of the pastors at my church. In a series about hearing God, Pastor Mike told us of a day when he read a Bible story of God changing someone’s name. That morning in prayer he asked God, “Do you have another name for me?” He sensed God telling him to wait for an answer later in the day.

That night before bed he was wrestling with his young sons. At one point one of them straddled his head with his little legs, held Mike’s face in his hands, looked him straight in the eye and said, ‘Daddy, you’re expensive.’

Highly esteemed, highly desired, precious, coveted, expensive. What a reputation to have! Maybe the angels God sends aren’t always terrifying.

2. Daniel’s prayer set things in motion:
“Since the first day … your words were heard” Daniel 10:12.
On another occasion the angel Gabriel came to him with the message: “‘As soon as you began to pray a word went out’” - Daniel 9:23.

3. Daniel’s attitude in prayer moved God.
The angel said: “…the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard…” Daniel 10:12.

How had he set his heart to understand and humble himself? We can read his prayer of repentance and humility in Daniel 9:4-19.

4. The answer to Daniel’s prayer was delayed by spiritual warfare.
The angel’s words give us a glimpse of the spiritual warfare that was being fought in heaven ((Daniel 10:12,13,20) and which is also being waged around us (2 Corinthians 10:4-6).

God knows our names too. We too have a reputation in heaven (Psalm 139:1-18). Let’s keep praying with realism—the awareness of who we are in relation to God—and with faith, confident that our prayers also move God’s hand and that we too can be part of God’s kingdom strategy.

PRAYER: Dear Father, thank You for this glimpse into the connections between our prayers and Your answers. Help me to pray with realism,  perseverance, and faith that my prayers do make a difference. Amen.
 
MORE: Feast of St. Michael and all Angels

Today the church celebrates the Feast of St. Michael and All Angels.

The day’s liturgy begins with this collect prayer:

Everlasting God, you have ordained and constituted in a wonderful order the ministries of angels and mortals: Mercifully grant that, as your holy angels always serve and worship you in heaven, so by your appointment they may help and defend us here on earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

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Unless noted otherwise, all Scriptures quoted in this meditation are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Spiritual weapons for spiritual battles

Image: Pixabay

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Exodus 12:1-14

TO CHEW ON: “‘For I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD.’” Exodus 12:12

What I find interesting in this passage is that this night was to be a night of judgment “against all the gods of Egypt.” God’s pronouncement here reminds us of the war between God and Satan declared in Genesis 3:15 when God told Satan:

"'And I will put enmity
Between you and the woman,
And between your seed and her seed;
He shall bruise your head
And you shall bruise His heel.'”

I believe that spiritual battling continues to be present in the conflicts around us in greater measure than we realize or like to admit. From petty arguments between individuals to national riots and international wars, there is a “gods of Egypt” (read ‘spirit of whatever country and age we’re in with its accompanying deities’) element involved.

God judged these spiritual “gods of Egypt” with spiritual weapons—a slaughtered animal, blood, food prepared in a prescribed way, eaten within a time frame, and then the leftovers burned. Who would predict victory from this? It makes no logical sense.

Are there spiritual weapons we can use to oppose the “Gods of Canada” (or whatever place you live)?

Yes there are. Here are some of the verses that speak of the weapons we use to confront the spiritual foes in our lives and the world system around us, collected from the “Victory” section of my recipe card verse collection:

"For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ”- 2 Corinthians 10:4,5

"For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?" - 1 John 5:4,5.

"But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts" - Romans 13:14

"Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.  Ephesians 6:10,11,13-18.

"Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.  James 4:7,8

And finally, here’s one that takes us right back to today’s passage:

"And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death" - Revelation 12:11

PRAYER: Dear Father, please open my eyes to the spiritual battle behind the conflicts in my life and world. Help me to habitually pick up spiritual weapons to fight these battles. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Exposing darkness

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Ephesians 5:5-21

TO CHEW ON: "And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them." Ephesians 5:11

Mike Leehan in his book Ascent from Darkness, does exactly that (exposes the "works of darkness"). Mad at God after his divorce, he decided to give himself to the dark side. For the next about 20 years he lived as a servant and worshiper of Satan. In his book he tells about that life:

• He describes how he repeatedly cut himself as part of his ritual and fasted to gain spiritual power.

• He discloses his mission: to sow confusion and mayhem within churches. Some of the things he did were carry copies of the Satanic Bible so he could plant them on church premises, seduce women, attend small group Bible studies to introduce unbelief and doctrinal error.

• He tells of numerous incidents when he had spiritual insight into people, sensing their spiritual protection or vulnerability.

• He describes how he felt and acted around Christians. For example, he found it impossible to sit in a worship service and often blacked out when in conversation as he channeled spirits.

• He shows us the terrifying side of spirit possession—the spooky nights filled with demonic phenomena and his ever-present depression and obsession with death. He was preparing to compose a suicide note to one of his kids the day he called out to God at a men's retreat and was miraculously delivered.

Why read such a book? Perhaps it's not for everyone, but it certainly opened my eyes.

• It showed me the fearful price that Satan exacts in loyalty, obedience and servitude.

• It showed how Satan's promises are lies.

• It illustrated, by contrast, the light, life, freedom, and joy we have in Christ—things it's easy for us to take for granted, until we've experienced (vicariously, through reading about it was experience enough for me) what life on the dark side is like.

• It provided an insight into what may be behind many of our society's bizarre and self-destructive behaviours (like rampant suicide, the prevalence of cutting, the spirit of lust that has taken down not only lay-Christians but many pastors too) and gave clues as to how to minister to demonically oppressed people.

• Mike's spiritual zeal for and commitment to the dark side put me to shame as I compared it to my zeal and commitment to Jesus.

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for the freedom, peace, joy, cleanness and wholesomeness  available to me because of Jesus. Help me to live with a greater awareness of darkness, and to guard myself against it. Amen.

MORE: Why share such a story?

Here, in Mike's own words, is why he told his story:

"I have learned the only thing that evil can take over is darkness. Darkness invades our lives when we shut out the light of God's love. But where there is light, there cannot be darkness. Light pierces darkness and illuminates the truth.

We must realize that we are in a world that is spiritually intertwined. There is more to our existence than the obvious. We must open our eyes to see the spiritual realm, which is very real and very powerful. And we must learn the weapons of our adversary, not only to avoid becoming ensnared by darkness but to be able to reach into that darkness to rescue others, like me, with the light. We are instruments of change. We are powerful vessels carrying an eternal cargo of either life or death.

The reason for sharing my story in this book is to demonstrate the power of God over Satan and to show how merciful a God we have in heaven. To give Him the glory and praise, and to demonstrate the power of love over fear, to show the love our Father has for us, to let God's light expose the darkness—but mainly to facilitate the hope that by reading this story, people might turn to the King of Kings!" - Mike Leehan, Ascent from Darkness, Kindle Location 3462 (emphasis added).

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Prayer—the battle on another level

Public Domain image from The Story of the Bible by Charles Foster, 

Illustrations by F. B. Schell and others

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Exodus 17:1-16

TO CHEW ON: “But Moses’ hands became heavy; so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. And Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.” Exodus 17:12

We might consider the battle strategy that God gave Moses to defeat Amalek a little strange. There was an army and a captain (Joshua) naturally enough, but there were also onlookers. The main one was their leader, Moses, observing the battle from a hilltop. He had his arms raised to heaven. As long as he kept them up, the Israelite army prevailed. But when his arms got tired and he lowered them, Amalek prevailed.

So Aaron and Hur stood on either side of him and helped him keep his arms raised. By the end of the day, using these tactics, Joshua and the army below defeated Amalek.

I see this as a picture of how we need to fight our day-to-day battles.

• They are also waged on two levels—the actual battleground of our life or church, or school, or community and in the spiritual realm.

• Moses with his hands raised is a picture of our dependence on God. Moses is the personification, here, of prayer which should accompany each earthly battle of ours as well, from the war against our own sinful nature to the battle against the forces of evil and darkness in our families, churches, communities, countries, and the world.

• Aaron and Hur are the intercessors—the pray-ers who help us to pray without ceasing, who keep our hands of prayer raised when we become too tired to keep them up on our own.

• Israel’s battle went on for the whole day. It wasn’t until sunset that Israel left the battlefield victorious. Joshua and Hur stayed with Moses and kept his arms raised for the duration. We’d like our battles and those of our friends’ to be won and over in an instant. But that’s not how it works most of the time. Do we stick it out till the final victory in our own battles and in our intercession for others?

PRAYER: Dear Father, thank You for this picture of prayer. Help me to be faithful and persevering in prayer for the battles I face and in holding up the arms of others in intercession. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Our word weapon

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Matthew 4:1-11

TO CHEW ON: “But He answered and said, ‘It is written, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.”’” Matthew 4:4

Here in overcoming temptation, Jesus gave us an example to follow and copy. He used scripture.

The Greek word for word used here: "... by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God" is rhema.

Another Greek word the Bible uses for word is logos.

Logos is the expression of a thought, a message, a discourse. In addition to referring to written scripture, it is the word John used to describe Jesus Himself, God’s communication to us, in John 1:1,14.

Rhema is that which is said or spoken, an utterance, the communication of the message.

While logos is the Bible message in its entirety, rhema is a verse or passage from the Bible that has communicated to the hearer.

In countering temptation with scripture, Jesus used the word (rhema) in an Ephesians Christian armor way against Satan: “And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit which is the word (rhema) of God” - Ephesians 6:17.

One of my favorite verses about dealing with temptation is 1 Corinthians 10:13:

"No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it."

Keeping in mind our word of God (rhema) weapon, doesn’t it make sense that one “way of escape” would be words of scripture, brought to mind by the Holy Spirit even as we’re in the thick of a battle with temptation? They are the sword thrusts we can use against Satan’s attempt to trap us in sin.

Of course we need to have  some familiarity with God’s word for that to be possible. Memorization—and Google—to the rescue. Having a verse memorized and at our fingertips is the best. But often memory is faulty.

I don’t know how many times a few words from a verse come to mind, but I’m not sure exactly what it says or where it’s found. However, when I type what I do remember into a Google search, I have the whole verse and its reference in seconds. With modern technology we have no reason to be without our “it is written” rhema word weapon.

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, thank You for You, the Word, and the logos of scripture which comes alive to me as rhema and is vital in overcoming temptation. Amen. 

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Spiritual activewear

Runner - by Phillip Martin

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Jeremiah 1:11-19

TO CHEW ON: " ' Therefore, prepare yourself and arise …'" Jeremiah 1:17


Yesterday we read how God came to young Jeremiah, called him to be a prophet, answered his objections, and promised His presence. In today's reading God comes to Jeremiah again and begins to show him visions—symbolic scenes of Israel's demise such that when Jeremiah speaks of them, he won't be popular. In light of how his hearers will take him, God tells Jeremiah, " 'Therefore prepare yourself and arise…' "

"'Prepare yourself' means literally to 'gird your loins,' that is, arrange your clothing for activity" - R. E. Hayden, study notes on Jeremiah, New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 960.

As we read on, we see God uses war words to describe the prepared Jeremiah: "' I have made you … a fortified city … iron pillar … bronze walls" - Jeremiah 1:18.  Jeremiah is to prepare for battle.

We read of a similar action ("girding the loins") on the night the Israelites were to eat the Passover before leaving Egypt: "This is how you are to eat it; with your cloak tucked into your belt, your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand" - Exodus 12:11. The Israelites were to get ready for flight.

We see Elijah do the same thing after the Priest of Baal showdown on Mount Carmel and the coming of the rain: "The power of the Lord came on Elijah and, tucking his cloak into his belt, he ran ahead of Ahab all the way to Jezreel" - 1 Kings 18:46.  It appears he was preparing to celebrate victory.

All this getting prepared for spiritual action reminds us of the classic NT spiritual preparation metaphor, the Armour of God, that Paul tells Christians to put on:  Because our enemy is spiritual, dark, and wicked…"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" - Ephesians 6:13. We need spiritual armor to stand against spiritual attack (Ephesians 6:10-18).

Finally, we read of the life-race readiness pictured in Hebrews 12:1 "… let us lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us." We need to be prepared to run our everyday race of faith.

I think we could say that whatever spiritual activity confronts us—whether it's battle, flight from the devil's clutches, a victory celebration, standing firm, or running the daily race of faith, we need to be sure we're wearing our spiritual activewear—have on  those bullet proof vests, are wearing our spiritual spandex, have the laces of our cross trainers tied tight i.e. live alert and always be dressed and prepared for spiritual action.


PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for this warning to Jeremiah to be prepared. Help me to be live prepared for whatever You allow to cross my path today. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

What are you wearing?

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Isaiah 61:1-11

TO CHEW ON: "He has sent Me …
To give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning,
The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness …
For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation
He has covered me with the robe of righteousness."

What are you wearing? Chances are good you are wearing clothes of one kind or another. About clothes we can say:

• They are not something we're born with; we must put them on ourselves or have someone put them on for us.

• We choose them for some reason or reasons like comfort, style, colour, occasion, status, work, protection, the weather…

• They reflect who we are (or think we are) in some way.

The Bible often uses clothes as a spiritual metaphor. The description of the beautiful garments of praise, salvation, and righteousness in Isaiah 61 had me searching for more references to spiritual clothes. I discovered that like natural clothing, spiritual clothing comes in different styles and for different purposes:

1. Garments of Salvation
Zechariah 3:1-5 paints a vivid picture of the spiritual clothing exchange of salvation. In a vision Zechariah sees Joshua the High priest stand before the Angel of the Lord with Satan the accuser beside him. Joshua is wearing "filthy garments." The Angel commands the dirty clothes be taken away because, "I have removed your iniquity from you" and that Joshua be clothed instead with "rich robes…" and "a clean turban." That's us too when we put our faith in Jesus and His death on the cross to deal with our sin.

More references to garments of salvation:

• Priests wear them - 2 Chronicles 6:41; Psalm 132:16.

• They are beautiful - Psalm 45:13; Isaiah 61:3,10 (our focus verses).

• They are for those new to the faith as well as backsliders - Luke 15:22; Revelation 3:18.

2. Apparel of Wise Living

• We put these clothes on when we follow our parents' instruction - Proverbs 1:9

• We get them from Wisdom - Proverbs 4:9.

• They adorn us with beauty that is more than skin deep - 1 Peter 3:4.

3. Battle Clothes
Paul wasn't the first one to use armor as a picture of the believer preparing for spiritual battle against evil and Satan.

• Isaiah's armor: Isaiah 59:17.

• Paul's armor echoes and expands on Isaiah's:  Ephesians 6:14-17.

4. Preparation Garments
Often the Bible speaks of needing to prepare to meet God and enter His celebration by having on the right clothes: Matthew 22:11; Revelation 3:5; Revelation 19:8. (Perhaps this preparation garment is another appearance of the garment of salvation?)

5. Heaven's Robes
Finally we see the wardrobe of heaven. It is beautiful, shining, white, and pure - Revelation 4:4; Revelation 7:9,14.

Just as we must put on our physical clothes, so we must put on the right spiritual clothes.

• Have we chosen to put on the garment of salvation?  

• Are we daily putting on the clothes of wisdom and right living? 

•  Are we prepared for the conditions around us in that we know how to put on our armor and use it? 

•  Are we aware of the wonderful way our God-made wardrobe defines us (for like natural clothing, our spiritual clothes say a lot about us)?

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for the metaphor of clothes woven through the Bible. Help me to daily choose spiritual garments of praise, righteousness, defense and offense. Amen. 

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Pay attention to what happens between your ears

Brain image from Pixabay.com

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Hebrews 8:7-9:10

TO CHEW ON: "… I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts ..." Hebrews 8:10


Here in our reading in Hebrews, the writer explains about the new covenant that resulted from Jesus' death and resurrection. He recalls the prophecy Jeremiah made about a time when obedience to God would no longer be a matter of just outward observance but of deep inner change and compliance as well.

"I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their heart" - Hebrews 8:10 quoting Jeremiah 31:33.

How beautiful and desirable! And this is the new mind and heart covenant under which we live. This thought got me searching for other passages that speak of the spiritual mind (that is "spiritual" as in aligned with the principles of the Bible):

One of the first questions we might ask is, How do we get this mind?

• Paul answers that in 1 Corinthians where he tells us how the Holy Spirit knows and reveals the mind of Christ, we have received that Spirit (at salvation), and can now claim "We have the mind of Christ" - 1 Corinthians 2:19,12,16. See also Philippians 2:5.

Possessing the "mind of Christ" has great benefits:

• It is the basis for deep-rooted peace because we live life in the posture of trust - Isaiah 26:3; Philippians 4:6,7.

• Its end is life (not death) - Romans 8:6.

However, having and maintaining the mind of Christ also involves effort on our part. We don't get saved and find ourselves in the next moment with a mind transplant.

• Peter tells us to "gird up the loins of your mind." In our day we'd say, buckle your belt, or roll up your sleeves. In other words, get your mind dressed and ready for action - 1 Peter 1:13.

• "Set your mind on things above, not on the earth," Paul tells the Colossians - Colossians 3:2.

• "Let us be of the same mind," he encourages the Christians in Philippi in a plea for church unity - Philippians 3:16.

• We need to resign our minds to the fact that suffering is inevitable—and good, in that it purifies, says Peter in 1 Peter 4:1.

• Paul alerts us to the reality that there will be times our minds are downright busy as we "...cast down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God and bring every thought captive to the obedience of Christ' - 2 Corinthians 10:5.

The battle for our thoughts and the minds that generate them hasn't changed in the 2000+ years since Bible writers penned these words. We still need to give what happens between our two ears our first attention because, as Bible teacher Joyce Meyer reminds us, the rest of our lives proceed from what we think:

"The mind is the leader or forerunner of all actions … Our actions are a direct result of our thoughts" - Joyce Meyer, Battlefield of the Mind, p. 3.

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, help me have the mind of Christ today. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

What's the devil doing in heavenly places?

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Ephesians 6:10-24

TO CHEW ON: "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places." Ephesians 6:12

"Heavenly places"—the phrase brings to mind heaven, paradise, a place beyond the petty conflicts of earth. But according to Paul, conflict abounds there too—conflict of the most intense variety.

Paul talks about "heavenly places" several times in Ephesians (as pointed out by Jack Hayford,  the writer of my Bible's notes on Ephesians):

• The spiritual blessings available to the church through Christ are located in heavenly places - Ephesians 1:3.

• Christ's post-resurrection power and authority issues from heavenly places - Ephesians 1:19-22.

• After we have accepted God's good news and have come alive in Christ, we are spiritually seated with Christ in heavenly places - Ephesians 2:4-6.

• The church's destiny is to make known the will of God to the principalities and power in heavenly places - Ephesians 3:10.

Hayford concludes: "On these grounds this passage announces the church's corporate assignment to prayer warfare in order that evil can be driven back and the will of God advanced" - notes on Ephesians, New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 1654.

I like that: prayer warfare. But what exactly does it mean?

Daniel Henderson in his book Transforming Prayer dispels some of the mystique around prayer that does spiritual warfare:

"Many who write about spiritual warfare seem to think that we must be astute in a variety of extra-biblical tactics and special insights about the names and addresses of demons. Some people promote grandiose sketches of the evil hierarchy and fascinating geographical exposes of their organizational battle plan....

I may be naive compared to the warfare experts but I have discovered that a life of passionate worship—one that delights in biblical truth about God's character, seeks the empowerment of the Spirit for application and articulation, then surrenders in every way as prompted by this intimate encounter, is equipped to 'fight the good fight' every day. Jesus, on the heels of forty days of prayer and fasting, wielded the truth of God's Word in facing down the devil in the wilderness (Matthew 4:4-11). We, too, are equipped by His sufficiency to brandish the 'sword of the Spirit,' which is the spoken word of God - Ephesians 6:17" - Daniel Henderson, Transforming Prayer, pp. 143, 144 (emphasis added).

PRAYER: Dear God, thank you that You have won the battle over evil. Help me to face the onslaughts of the devil and his demonic cohorts with the truth of Your word in my mind, and praise and worship for that victory on my tongue. Amen.

MORE: Prayer: a wartime walkie-talkie

"The number one reason why prayer malfunctions in the hands of believers is that they try to turn a wartime walkie-talkie into a domestic intercom. Until you believe that life is war, you cannot know what prayer is for. Prayer is for the accomplishment of a wartime mission" - John Piper, (quoted in Transforming Prayer, p. 143) from the sermon "Prayer: the Work of Missions."

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Weapons of choice

"Armor of God" Illustrator 
of Henry Davenport Northrop's 
'Treasures of the Bible', 1894

Armor of God

TODAY'S SPECIAL: 1 Samuel 17:41-58

TO CHEW ON: "Then David said to the Philistine, 'You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.'" 1 Samuel 17:45

I don't think it was the sling that was David's most powerful weapon. Rather, it was the spiritual armor he wore and used. The "name of the Lord of Hosts" was both motivation, defense and offense to David. Defending God's honor against Goliath's blasphemy was reason enough to volunteer his life. God's strong name served as protection and tested weapon. The sling was just the physical weapon God chose to use in this case to win a physical and spiritual battle.

Spiritual weapons take various forms in the Bible.

• Jesus, when Satan tempted Him, talked about living by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4).

• Paul described the armor of God in detail in Ephesians 6:10-20. The sword—that part of the armor that not only defends but also takes new territory—is the word of God (Ephesians 6:7).

• Hebrews 4:12 tells us about that Word-sword in more detail. The writer calls it living, powerful, sharp, piercing, dividing and laying bare soul and spirit, thoughts and intentions.

• In Paul's view of battle, the fight begins in our own minds. He tells the Corinthian Christians to use spiritual weapons, especially that Word-sword, to pull down strongholds and arguments, and to bring every thought captive to Christ (2 Corinthians 10:4,5).

What battles are we facing today? Is God's honor at stake in them? If we are known as His, His children, on His side, eager for Him to have a good reputation, then it is.

Have we subjected our own selves—our thoughts and motives—to the sword of God's word?

Then, sure of our cause and motives, we can use those spiritual weapons to fight our battles too, trusting God to take our ineffectual physical weapons, our pathetic slings whatever they are, and transform them into effective and dangerous stones, bullets, bombs, missiles. 

PRAYER: Dear God, please help me to see the spiritual aspect of the battles in my life, and to learn how to use spiritual weapons. May they be my "tested" weapons of choice. Amen.

MORE: The attitude of the warrior

One aspect of spiritual warfare I didn't mention above is prayer. It is the attitude of alertness, persistence and constant connection with our Commander with which all weapons (spiritual and physical) should be wielded:

"Pray in the Spirit at all times  and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere." - Ephesians 6:18

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Missing information

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Job 7:1-8

TO CHEW ON: "When I lie down, I say, 'When shall I arise,
And the night be ended?'
For I have had my fill of tossing till dawn." Job 7:4

Why is night always the worst time when we're sick? Maybe it's because we expect to sleep and are disappointed. Maybe because in the still and dark there is nothing to distract from the pain, discomfort, and worry? May it's merely that the prone position causes gravity to augment the pull on our sore cells. Whatever it is, it's interesting to note that it was the same for the ancients.

There's not much encouraging or uplifting here. In this section of his first speech to his friends, Job is entirely negative, speaking of the futility of his life and work, complaining that he can't sleep, describing his loathsome disease, and referring to the fact that his life will soon be over.

My Bible's commenter makes this observation:

"Job's criticisms of God that appear in Job 6 and 7 as well as his other responses to his friends, can best be understood as man's feeble attempts to make sense of a scenario for which he is missing an essential piece of information, namely that there is something happening between God and Satan—that there are spiritual purposes overriding earthly circumstances. Because he is unaware of this dimension of the spiritual realm, his understanding is severely impaired" - Charles E. Blair, commentary on Job, New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 652 (emphasis added).

Could that be the case in our lives as well—that our trials, whatever they are, are connected to spiritual skirmishes unseen and unknown to us? Imaginative writers have riffed on that thought in books like The Screwtape Letters (C. S. Lewis), This Present Darkness (Frank Peretti), and The Ishbane Conspiracy (Angela, Karina and Randy Alcorn).

The Bible certainly supports such a thing:

"For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places" - Ephesians 6:12

"Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses" - 1 Timothy 6:12.

PRAYER: Dear God, when troubles, sickness, and death impact me, help me remember that I am in a battle You have won. Please give me courage and hope through bad days and nights. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

The battle of 2015

Happy New Year! 

Spiritual Warfare - Artist unknown

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Colossians 1:1-20

TO CHEW ON: "He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love." - Colossians 1:13


Kristine McGuire grew up in a Christian home and gave her heart to Jesus at an early age. However, a combination of things including an interest in horror movies and scary books, a series of life events that frustrated and angered her, and the performance-based legalism of the church she attended, fueled an attraction to the occult.

And so for eight years as an adult she gave herself to ghost hunting and activities as a psychic, medium, and witch, rationalizing that she could be involved in these things as a Christian, even calling herself a Christian ghost hunter.

Her story, told in An Insider's Guide to Spiritual Warfare, shines a light on one area where many in our society and even some professing Christians are living under the power of darkness, that is, through involvement in the occult. McGuire writes:

"People are hungry for a spiritual connection with God …. Satan counterfeits the power and good gifts of God, twisting them into what we see being done by mediums, psychics, diviners, energy healers, and those who practice forms of magick and spellcraft" - p. 160.

But we don't have to stay in this dark place of fear, deception, and confusion. For as our focus verse reminds us:

He has delivered [rescued, drawn to Himself] us to Himself from the power [authority, right to act, ability, privilege] of darkness [darkened eyesight or blindness, ignorance respecting divine things and the accompanying ungodliness and immorality] and conveyed [transferred, removed and relocated, "… refers to the deportation or transference of captured armies or populations from one country to another" - New Spirit-Filled Life Bible p. 1671] us into the kingdom [royal power, dominion rule] of the Son of His love [agape love].

Recognizing and getting free from the power of the occult is only one aspect of spiritual warfare. As we enter this year, let's prepare to fight in all areas as captives-who-have-become-warriors of the kingdom of light. McGuire ends her book with this challenge:

"Spiritual warfare:
It is in the prayers we say or forget to say.
It is in the choice to be kind or hurtful.
It is in our work ethic or lack thereof.
It is in the people and relationships in whom we choose to invest or not to invest.
It is in the experiences, mundane or supernatural, we accept or deny.
It is in the causes we take up or reject.
Every day the battle wages.
You are a spiritual warrior.
The time has come. Take up spiritual arms.
And with God's help, make your stand" - Kristine McGuire, An Insider's Guide to Spiritual Warfare, p. 226.

PRAYER: Dear God, please alert me to areas where I am playing with and living in darkness. Help me to live completely in the Your kingdom of love and light. Amen.

MORE: Feast of the Holy Name

Today the church celebrates the Feast of the Holy Name. The liturgy for today begins with this Collect:

Eternal Father, you gave to your incarnate Son the holy name of Jesus to be the sign of our salvation: Plant in every heart, we pray, the love of him who is the Savior of the world, our Lord Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Night wrestling

"Jacob and the Angel at Peniel" 
by William Brassey Hole

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Genesis 32:13-32


TO CHEW ON: "And He said, 'Let Me go, for the day breaks.' But he said, 'I will not let You go unless You bless me.'" Genesis 32:26

The mysterious story of Jacob wrestling with a Man (God) needs a little context.

Jacob and his family had finally broken free of Laban. Jacob's entourage of flocks, servants, wives, and children were making their way back to the home of Jacob's youth. Their trek took them into Esau's territory. Why Jacob dreaded meeting the brother he had cheated, and because of whose death threats he had left home, is obvious.

As he neared the land of Seir, he sent messengers ahead to tell Esau of his approach. The messengers returned with the news that Esau was coming to meet them — with four hundred men! (Fighting men?!)

Jacob in a desperate attempt to placate his brother sent ahead a lavish gift (Genesis 32:13-15). In today's reading we see how he separated his troupe, putting his family on the safe side of a body of water, and then went out alone to face his fears.

I wonder what was going on in Jacob's mind. No doubt he was reliving his treatment of Esau and their last interactions. Was he feeling undeserving of the blessings God had showered on him, knowing that deception had characterized his life? Did he fear that the day of reckoning was here and Esau would get his revenge?

Sometime during the night a mysterious Man appeared. He and Jacob wrestled and Jacob, sinewy creature that he was, managed to hold his own. As dawn paled the horizon, the Man asked to be released but Jacob wouldn't let Him go until He gave him His blessing.

The Man asked Jacob his name, made him say it: "Jacob" = supplanter, deceiver. Then He gave Jacob a new name/identity: Israel = prince with God, "...for you have struggled with God and with man and have prevailed." But the altercation left Jacob with a limp.

Some things this story says to me:

1. Unresolved issues from the past have a way of reappearing.

2. The best way to deal with any troubling issue is to wrestle it out before God in prayer. When we do this, we show that we're at the end of our own devices. We don't know what effect Jacob's night of prayer had. Maybe Esau was coming with bad intentions. Maybe Jacob's night of contending changed more than just him.

3. Whatever flaws he had, Jacob was a fighter. The Man commended him for his determination. This story of Jacob wrestling with God became part of Israel's legacy. Hosea refers to it as an example of how his contemporaries should prevail with God: "...he struggled with the Angel...He wept and sought favor... So you by the help of your God return / Observe mercy and justice / and wait on your God continually" Hosea 12:2-6.


4. The incident left Jacob permanently changed. He received a new identity, along with a new humiliation. I love how my Bible's footnote explains "He limped: This symbolizes that character transformation costs God's people in terms of ego death" -R. Russell Bixler, commentary on Genesis,  New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 49.

Let's let Jacob's example mentor us in how to handle our issues from the past, how we need to  bring them to God, wrestle with them before Him, and accept the changes that He instigates - especially within us - in the process.

PRAYER: Dear God help me to deal with unresolved issues by working them out with You in prayer. Please help me to be teachable and learn the lessons You have for me. Amen.

MORE: Battles of the Secret Place

"The battle is lost or won in the secret places of the will before God, never first in the external world. The Spirit of God apprehends me and I am obliged to get alone with God and fight the battle out before Him. Until this is done, I lose every time. The battle may take one minute or a year, that will depend on me, not on God; but it must be wrestled out alone before God, and I must resolutely go through the hell of a renunciation before God. Nothing has any power over the man who has fought out the battle before God and won there" - Oswald Chambers - My Utmost For His Highest, December 27th reading.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Powerful weapon of forgiveness

TODAY'S SPECIAL: 1 Peter 3:8-22

TO CHEW ON: "Finally, all of you be of one mind having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous; not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing." 1 Peter 3:8,9


Peter's idealistic instructions (especially "… not returning evil for evil, or reviling for reviling…") become all the more weighty as we recall that he wrote them to people who were suffering. And their suffering was because of their faith in Christ.

Do we even consider following his advice (that was also Jesus's) when we are wronged, stolen from, slandered, taken advantage of? What if someone took a dearest possession—say a child?

That's what happened to Cliff and Wilma Derksen in 1984. On November 30th of that year their 13-year-old daughter Candace didn't come home. About six weeks later police found her frozen body in a shed near their Winnipeg home, bound hand and feet. At the news conference following the discovery of Candace's body, when asked how they felt about the killer, Cliff said: "We would like to know who the person or persons are so we could show, hopefully, a love that seems to be missing in these peoples lives."

Wilma said, "I can't say at this point I forgive this person. But we have all done something dreadful in our lives or felt the urge to."

Writer and speaker Malcolm Gladwell contacted the Derksens while writing his book David and Goliath. He describes his visit with Wilma in an article in Relevant Magazine. She had, in the intervening years, not only forgiven the perpetrator, but also dealt with her feelings of wanting retribution over the police's suspicions that Cliff was suspect. She explained how she and Cliff got the courage from their Mennonite tradition, refined by years of persecution in Russia,  to forgive and move on.

Gladwell attributes people like the Derksens with his return to faith: "…something happened to me when I sat in Wilma Derksen's garden. It is one thing to read in a history book about people empowered by their faith. But it is quite another to meet an otherwise very ordinary person in the back yard of a very ordinary house who has managed to do something utterly extraordinary" - Malcolm Gladwell, "How I Re-discovered Faith" - Relevant Magazine, January/February 2014.

I ask myself, have I taken up weapon of forgiveness against the (by contrast, small) evils and revilings that come against me? Have you? It is another powerful weapon of the Spirit that God uses to accomplish His purposes on earth through us.

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, You who know the cost of forgiveness, please help me to forgive people who have wronged me in both small and big ways. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.


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Meanwhile the battle rages on

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Daniel 7:15-28

TO CHEW ON: "He shall speak pompous words against the Most High,
Shall persecute the saints of the Most High,
And shall intend to change times and law.
Then the saints shall be given into his hand
For a time and times and half a time." Daniel 7:25

Recently a local talk show host, responding to someone's suggestion that all references to God be removed from "O Canada," invited listeners to call in and say whether they believed in God or not.

Though the results seemed to slightly favour those who believed (I didn't count), the opinions expressed showed the polarization of the two sides at war in our reading today. Some of the anti-God diatribes could well have been labeled "pompous words against the Most High."

No matter how much we would like to get along with everyone, beliefs about God's existence and what He is like will continue to divide us. Jack Hayford, in an explanation about Daniel 7, says that Daniel's prophecy and the warfare it describes "…spans the spiritual struggle covering the ages through Messiah's First and Second Coming."

The concluding words  of his commentary help us see where we fit in this 'fight to the finish':

"… an age-long struggle between 'the saints' and the power of evil in the world calls each believer to a commitment to steadfast battle, a mixture of victories with setbacks, and a consummate triumph anticipated at Christ's coming.

In the meantime we 'receive' the kingdom and pursue victories for our King, by His power making intermittent gains—all of which are based on 'the judgment' achieved through the Cross. See Revelation 12:10-11" - Jack Hayford, Old Testament, Possessing the Kingdom, New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 1132 (emphasis added).

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, when people come against me with scorn and mocking for my belief in You, help me to remember the big picture,  to renew my faith in the victory of Your death and resurrection, and to keep pressing on with hope as I wait for Your "everlasting kingdom." Amen.

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The Holy Bible, New King James Version Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. - Used with permission.