My youngest brother is an avid fan of war movies. And books. He doesn’t get tired of watching and reading the same movies and stories over and over. It’s probably due to his frustration of joining the army, or maybe it’s just because of his love for history.
Well, he isn’t carrying any weapon now, but my bro wages war day in and day out. And so should we.
I hate confrontations. I don’t like getting into arguments. Except with my husband when we’re trying to out-talk each other. Hehehe. But as a Christian, I need to get my war face on.
Now, before you go out and start picking fights… lemme explain the rules of engagement:
1. Know the real enemy. – “For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.” Ephesians 6:12
So no, it’s not that girl who is gossiping about you. Or your boyfriend who’s stopping you from going to church. Or your neighbor belting out “My Way” till kingdom come causing you to lose precious hours of sleep.
I’m not encouraging you to just come up to your co-worker and go on spiritual warfare mode by rebuking whatever spirit out of her. That’s not how we roll and we haven’t even reached the “assault” part yet.
2. Gear up – “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.” – Ephesians 12:13
You can’t go into battle without the proper gear for offense and defense.
Here’s a list of what should be in your WAR-drobe:
belt of truth
breastplate of righteousness
shield of faith
sandal of peace
helmet of salvation
sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God
3. The assault - “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” James 4:7
The enemy is always on the lookout, seizing every opportunity to devour us. And our best offense is submission. Not under the enemy’s power but under God’s power. Then we’ll have the strength to resist the devil and send him scurrying off back to his hole.
Now a lot of us make a grave mistake in the whole “resisting” thing. Especially when it comes to the devil’s enticements, a.k.a. temptations. Nowhere in the Bible can we find God telling us to “resist temptation”. Because *whatever we resist, persists. We can’t win this kind of war by trying to hold off the thought of giving in to temptation. The quickest way out is diversion. Focus your thought and energy on something else. Like reading the Bible. Or praying. You can’t win by arguing with the enemy that you won’t fall to his trap. *Whatever gets your attention will get you.
4. Protect the battlefield – The war starts in our minds because everything begins with a thought. If we don’t protect our minds by filling it with Jesus stuff, then somebody else will be more than willing to corrupt it with the bad stuff.
“Keep me from paying attention to what is worthless.” (Psalm 119:37a GNT)
*From Rick Warren’s Daily Devotional
Well, he isn’t carrying any weapon now, but my bro wages war day in and day out. And so should we.
I hate confrontations. I don’t like getting into arguments. Except with my husband when we’re trying to out-talk each other. Hehehe. But as a Christian, I need to get my war face on.
Now, before you go out and start picking fights… lemme explain the rules of engagement:
1. Know the real enemy. – “For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.” Ephesians 6:12
So no, it’s not that girl who is gossiping about you. Or your boyfriend who’s stopping you from going to church. Or your neighbor belting out “My Way” till kingdom come causing you to lose precious hours of sleep.
I’m not encouraging you to just come up to your co-worker and go on spiritual warfare mode by rebuking whatever spirit out of her. That’s not how we roll and we haven’t even reached the “assault” part yet.
2. Gear up – “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.” – Ephesians 12:13
You can’t go into battle without the proper gear for offense and defense.
Here’s a list of what should be in your WAR-drobe:
belt of truth
breastplate of righteousness
shield of faith
sandal of peace
helmet of salvation
sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God
The enemy is always on the lookout, seizing every opportunity to devour us. And our best offense is submission. Not under the enemy’s power but under God’s power. Then we’ll have the strength to resist the devil and send him scurrying off back to his hole.
Now a lot of us make a grave mistake in the whole “resisting” thing. Especially when it comes to the devil’s enticements, a.k.a. temptations. Nowhere in the Bible can we find God telling us to “resist temptation”. Because *whatever we resist, persists. We can’t win this kind of war by trying to hold off the thought of giving in to temptation. The quickest way out is diversion. Focus your thought and energy on something else. Like reading the Bible. Or praying. You can’t win by arguing with the enemy that you won’t fall to his trap. *Whatever gets your attention will get you.
4. Protect the battlefield – The war starts in our minds because everything begins with a thought. If we don’t protect our minds by filling it with Jesus stuff, then somebody else will be more than willing to corrupt it with the bad stuff.
“Keep me from paying attention to what is worthless.” (Psalm 119:37a GNT)
*From Rick Warren’s Daily Devotional
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