Stand Your Ground

Song of Solomon 1; Song of Solomon 2; Song of Solomon 3; Song of Solomon 4; Ephesians 6
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Scripture

Ephesians 6

10 A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. 12 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.

13 Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. 14 Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. 15 For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. 16 In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. 17 Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

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

19 And pray for me, too. Ask God to give me the right words so I can boldly explain God’s mysterious plan that the Good News is for Jews and Gentiles alike. 20 I am in chains now, still preaching this message as God’s ambassador. So pray that I will keep on speaking boldly for him, as I should.

Observation

War is terrible. When I hear about truck bombs going off in Iraq like happened yesterday or when I hear that one of our soldiers has been killed like I did on Monday it is a reminder that war is a terrible thing. When I read about what is happening in the Congo where entire churches are being totally destroyed, the elders of the churches murdered, the women of the churches raped, and the children of the churches taken to become slaves or to become soldiers of the Lord’s Resistance Army it makes me sick. It is all so wrong.

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. Wow…no wonder why this week has been so tough!

There is a satanic battle being waged against you and your family and against your church if you are a Christ follower! So what should we do? Paul says that we need to put on the full armor of God and get ready to fight!

“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. Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”

Satan wants to take you and me out of the fight. He will attack your family by helping mess up your closest relationships. He will use something to get you upset with your church and he will finally have you totally sidelined licking your wounds and totally defeated as a Christian if he has his way. Paul says to us today that we need to wake up! We need to put on all of God’s armor so that we will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil.

The devil has strategies. Have you fallen into one of his traps? Are you putting on the full armor of God? Are you using the sword, the word of God to fight off his attacks? Is the shield of faith up so those fiery darts or fiery arrows can’t penetrate into your heart? Maybe you have allowed some of those fiery darts to enter into your heart and you are hurting today.

If that is the case here is what you should do: PRAY!

Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.

And pray for me, too.

Application

I will put on every piece of God’s armor today because I know that Satan wants to destroy me.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, I pray for my friends that are hurting today. They have let Satan pierce them with his fiery darts and I pray that you open up their eyes so they can see that it is not the people around them that are the problem but it is a satanic attack that they have experienced.

It is not flesh-and-blood enemies but the prince of this world that is causing the problem. I pray for healing for them. Help them to see that they can call on You in this time of trouble. Help them stay alert.

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