Spiritual Warfare

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Have you ever seen a movie containing a scene of a battlefield … for example, a scene depicting a civil war battle? You see the scene from a distance; both sides standing out in a huge field, in lines, armed with nothing but their rifles. Sometimes there are so many soldiers that they are in groups. Each side faces the other, and begins to walk towards their enemy at the command of their leaders, who generally are sitting atop a hill or mesa, viewing the same scene that you are watching. They shout their commands, which are passed on down through the ranks to the front lines.

The suspense rises as the two sides march towards each other. When they are within range, one side is commanded to take aim. They shoot, and the front line soldiers on the opposing side drop to the ground, dead. While the front line that shot first reloads their rifles, the second line on the receiving side of the first rally takes aim and fires at the front line that just shot at them. Then their front line soldiers drop to the ground, shot dead. The battle continues like that until ammunition runs low, at which point the two opposing sides join together in hand-to-hand combat. More often than not, the scene ends by showing a “scenic” view of the country-side littered with the dead bodies of many soldiers. Maybe the heroes on both sides are walking through the war-torn country side, commiserating with their second in command about one or another of the reasons for this massacre.

Now, I’m not a military person, but every time I watch a movie with old-timey battle strategies like that, I wonder. I don’t know if it really happened that way, but if it did it would surprise me. It just seems ludicrous to me … both sides standing out there in the wide open field, with no protection from the shots fired at them from across the meadow, no chance of survival unless the man standing face to face with you is a poor shot. No protection … while your enemy has the power to shoot directly at you!

I am very grateful that the battles … especially the spiritual battles … we face today are not like that. I’m glad that God gives us protection ... the armor of God (Ephesians 6: 13 - 17).

The first order of business in any warfare, is to know exactly who your enemy is. Our true enemy does not line up in a field or meadow with a neatly-pressed uniform, and take aim across space against you, a totally unprotected, brave, but extremely fearful, human being, who is just standing there waiting to die. Your enemy is one you cannot see with your eyes of flesh. He is the evil one who is still around after having deceived Eve in the Garden of Eden. He puts his boney fingers into the “pot” and stirs up all kinds of strife and trouble, even in this day and age. He knows exactly what circumstances to use to get us off track, exactly what button to push and when. Without God, we would have no defense. However, as a first line of defense, God tells us exactly who our enemy is, so that we can know exactly who we should be fighting against … and who we shouldn’t.

Has anybody ever asked you: "Did you put on your armor today?" I've had that question asked of me many times in my Christian walk. I’ve thought about and meditated upon the armor of God for many years. I used to picture myself putting on this armor … placing the helmet on my head, buckling the breastplate around my chest, and folding my pant legs in exactly the right manner so as to be able to tuck them into my boots. Grabbing up the shield and sword, I was on my way into battle. But God doesn’t leave us in our foolishness for very long. I came to realize that spiritual armor is not just what we envision (through prayer) ourselves putting on every morning when we wake up.  These are very real pieces of armor that we must hone and manage our very lives with!

The first piece of armor I felt God gave me, was the helmet of salvation. That’s extremely important. We must know that we know that we are saved. This is not a matter of pride because we think we’ve done something good, so we’re going to Heaven. It’s a matter of accepting what Jesus did for us, and taking Him at His word. About this one point (our salvation) we must be absolutely sure. If doubt comes in to this issue, if we are unsure about our salvation, we will never win any spiritual battles.

Next comes the breastplate of righteousness. Interesting concept, righteousness. In this day and age when so many believe that “what’s right for you may not necessarily be right for me," it’s hard to get back to the basics of right and wrong. There are basic “rights” and “wrongs,” you know. God’s Word says so. Yes, some things are good and/or right for one that would not be good or right for another. But what is written in the Bible by the Holy Spirit of God, there can be no question or doubt about. If God says it, it’s a done deal. Righteousness is holy and upright living. Decency and honesty. It is not a bullet-proof vest that we need for protection, it’s a true and sincere desire for upright living. We don’t don a literal vest, or breastplate, we cultivate and develop a desire for doing what’s right, and then we begin to conform our actions to that desire. That’s what the “breastplate of righteousness” is all about!

Having our feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace means that we “walk” (live) in peace with all, as far as we have the ability to do so. Once again, this is not an actual putting on of a pair of boots. It’s a style of living that will help keep us protected against harm. The shield of faith … that one’s pretty obvious. Developing and exercising faith, provides a shield that will protect us from the tricks and deceptions of our enemy. And the sword of the Spirit … come to learn and know God’s Word, because through it and by it we can have the weapon we need to win the face-off with our enemy. With it, we can avoid many pitfalls that could produce harm, or even death, in our lives.

So you see that the pieces of spiritual armor are not something you "put on" every morning when you wake up, and "take off" at night when you go to bed.  This armor is very real concepts that each of us need to be developing and living by.  It is this armor that will help us overcome the battles we face. With this kind of protection, we're sure to be the victor!

To Judge or Not to Judge

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How many times have you heard someone say we are not to judge others? How many take offense when they are told they are doing something wrong? How many times have you heard, "Even Jesus didn't come to judge us!" Yet, how can we stay away from what is wrong, if we don't "judge" it as being so? What do we do about this dilemma?

It's true that Jesus didn't come to this world to judge us. He came to preach the kingdom of God and to bear witness to the truth. But have no doubt ... Jesus will some day be our Judge. God is not only a God of grace and mercy, but He is a just God as well. He has committed all judgment unto Jesus Christ, and He has appointed a day for the judgment of the world to take place.

This task of judgment belongs to Jesus ... it does not belong to us. The Bible strongly warns us against indulging in judgment of others. Matthew, chapter 7, talks to us about removing the beam in our own eye before we consider the "mote" (speck) in our brother's eye. It warns us not to judge others, that we might not be judged. And if that's not enough, Romans 2: 1-3 warns us that we condemn ourselves when we judge others!

However, while judgment is forbidden in Scripture, admonishment and reproof are actually encouraged in the Word of God. We are urged in Colossians 3: 16 to "teach and admonish each other in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs..." And the Bible goes beyond just advising and encouraging us to admonish each other. It implies that admonishment and reproof are our duties. II Timothy 4: 2 tells us to "...reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine." And Titus 2: 15 tells us to "speak and exhort and rebuke with all authority."

So, where do we draw the line? Judgment is forbidden, but admonishment, reproof and rebuke are encouraged, and even commanded. Perhaps a good way to begin looking at this issue is to remind ourselves just what the whole point of reproof is all about. What is its purpose? And what is reproof supposed to accomplish?

Judgment carries with it the element of finality. Reproof, and even rebuking someone, carry an element of learning, repentance from sin, and restoration to unity. Is our intention to teach another? Do we want to correct them so that they may be brought back into the way of righteousness? Even in our sharp rebuke, is the soundness of the person's faith our motive? Godly reproof will help someone recover themselves out of the snare of the devil. And this recovery always brings honor.

We need to be sure about our own motives before reproving another.

Those are my thoughts. What are yours?

Poverty Mentality

This morning a friend posed an interesting question concerning our human, natural instinct that circumvents "change" at all costs. Change is not easy for us, as she so eloquently put it.  Since this is a topic that I write about, I was interested in what she was saying, and I posted on her query. Also, since she is a nutritionist and very active in helping people overcome health issues, the subject naturally leaned in that direction as well.  I'm hoping that you benefit from the conversation below:

Angela: "Thinking about some lessons as of late about how we live in a spirit of poverty. Pondering this, this morning about how we let the spirit of poverty control us or make us believe wrong things about God's promise of His provisions. I'm not talking just finances either. Mulling over the spirit of poverty and how it can creep in and we can find ourselves impoverished: mentally, emotionally, spiritually, financially and physically. How does it affect us? Are we sick/sickly/tired/run down because we believe our "condition" can never improve? Are we distant in our relationships because we have been hurt? Are we spiritually awake in our lives? Financially is there hope that things will change for us? Can and will God truly meet all of our needs?  Will our circumstances ever change?  Things to ponder in light of "He will supply ALL our needs" What do WE need to change in our belief patterns, faith patterns, emotional patterns, and behaviors? Can we begin to ACT as we should believe....that He WILL supply for all our needs.

"Jane, too often, I feel, or rather, believe, that it is our BELIEFS that keep us stuck in the poverty. Now, I'm not talking when $$ is TRULY so tight. I'm not trying to harass anyone here about just "get up and get yourself out of poverty. It's real, it exists. But I know you work very strongly with faith and belief patterns. I'd love if you could share some thoughts here......how CAN we begin to move in faith and belief and move towards actions of changing our lives and coming out of the different types of poverty in our lives. Will you share?"

Jane: "Sure, Angela. But as you have said, it's not just a matter of "get up and get yourself out" ... of anything, poverty mentality included. Believe it or not, this is what "Duct Tape for the Christian Mouth" is all about ... changing old, unproductive and/or inappropriate thought patterns and belief systems, habits and traditions.

"The REAL issue is to get back to the root cause of the belief. Are we believing something that is true, or not? If it's not truth, do we still want to hang onto that belief? Often when I'm asked this question, I compare it to hoeing weeds. I just can't wrap my brain around the principle of hoeing weeds! I do understand that we need to get rid of those weeds, or they will overtake our yards, and then some! But hoeing them only takes off the top of the weed. There's still a root system underneath the ground, and that root will grow thicker, fuller and bigger now that we have taken off its head ... and we'll have an even greater problem than we had before!

"The same is true with our beliefs, ideas, attitudes and habits. We must get back to the root cause. And then we must choose. Our choices are: 1) to still hang onto that old way of thinking, OR 2) to toss it out like yesterday's trash, and replace it with TRUTH!

"While this is not an easy process, especially since we are strong willed, independent and most often comfortable with what is familiar to us, it is possible. It depends on how bad we want it. How badly do we want change, even change for the better? What is priority in our lives, we will find time for. We will find a way.

"This is true not just with the poverty mentality that you're talking about, but it's true even with our health. I was literally forced into taking a step back and doing something on the offensive about my health. I've always wanted to "grow old gracefully." But there came an issue in my life (migraines) that caused me to re-work my thinking. At the same time I was developing migraines, I was also developing an allergy to drugs. While sitting in the allergist's office one day, I read a poster on his wall about the immune system. It fit right into my belief that God created our bodies to be healthy, and to ward off illnesses when they attack. And He gave us the "equipment" to do it. One of those things is our immune system. When the immune system has a glitch in it, that's when it loses it's ability to ward off that which would make us sick.

"Long story made short, I realized that I needed to take the pain medicines the doctor was prescribing, when the migraine hit. But I also realized that while those drugs were getting rid of the symptoms, they were doing nothing about getting rid of the root cause of those migraines. And just like those root systems that I talked about above, the root cause of the migraines needed to be dealt with. That's when I started going on the offensive with my health.

"And a change in my thinking processes and belief system was necessary to carry it out. Are nutritional supplements and foods expensive? Yes! But I'd much rather spend my money on supplements that KEEP me healthy, than on drugs to GET me healthy. It's taken a while to get to this place, but most times now I don't even have to medicate it when I get a headache!

"This principle of change is crucial to our lives! Freedom without responsibility equals chaos ... and chaos is what has happened in our minds and in our bodies of late. For more information on this subject, please see "Duct Tape for the Christian Mouth." 

Those are my thoughts, what are yours?

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