Declaration of War



For the first three years of World War II, America tried its best to remain neutral and stay out of the world conflict. Only after the attack on their home soil at Pearl Harbor did America enter the war. That decision forever changed the course of our nation as we more than rose to the occasion. We took our place as a world superpower.

For far too long the enemy has been attacking you, your family, your church, those you love. Through lies and deception he has tried to convince you that there is no war, and if there is you’re too weak or too broken or too sinful to fight back. My hope and prayer is that these past thirty days have helped you realize your powerful potential in Jesus, and more than that, that you’ve learned and developed the spiritual weapons needed to fight back and protect those you love.

At the end of the day, remember the timeless truth from James 4:7, “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” When we choose to fight back, we’re not the ones that flee. Satan is. So fight back! Like a warrior in training, go back to the truths in Ephesians 6 again and again until they are burned into your subconscious. Utilize this book as a training manual, go through it with someone else and teach them what you’ve learned so far.

Above all fight! Learn to fight in the spiritual, learn to fight for those you love, learn to fight for the Kingdom. “We are more than conquerors through him who loved us” (Romans 8:37). Do you believe that? Then let’s start conquering! Since “God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31). Be blessed, be a warrior, fight the good fight of the faith, and may your victories bring glory and honor to whom it is due: Jesus Christ.


QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION

1. If you had to narrow down what you’ve learned over the past thirty days, what would it be? What’s the biggest thing God has taught you?

2. Who is someone (or a group of people) that you can share this with? Who are believers in your life that need to learn how to successfully engage in spiritual warfare alongside you? Who’s your squad?

NEXT STEP

The next step for today is to share what you’ve learned with someone else. You don’t have to have it all figured out to lead others, you simply need to be one step ahead. So, take what you’ve learned and pass it onto another believer that needs it. Don’t keep this life-changing information to yourself!


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Danger

Image
If you’re reading this right now then be warned. This devotional to spiritual warfare is a bit dangerous, not to you, but to your way of life. If ignorance is bliss, it aims to destroy that bliss forever. Imagine living in a house infested with termites. For years you never noticed them. Just beyond reach, just out of sight, they lived, they ate, they spawned, they festered. For all those years you blindly ate, played, and slept, unaware of the lurking presence right beneath your head at night. If you live in a house full of termites is it better to know or is it simpler to live in ignorance? If you prefer ignorance, then stop reading right now. If you don’t want to know about the spiritual forces that have been eating away at the foundation of your life and family like termites, then there’s no need to go any farther. Ignorance is in fact bliss, at least for the short term. This book’s aim is nothing short of ripping up the base boards, pulling out the sheetrock and exposing the d...
Read more

Worship

Image
Text: Psalm 104.24-35 Psalm 104 starts and ends with the words, “Praise the Lord, my soul”. The beginning and the end are a proclamation of praise to the Almighty God. In fact, the whole psalm is a review of the greatness of God in creation and, therefore, a meditation on God’s providence. To consider such things, helps us to draw closer to God and worship Him. If we are sincere with ourselves, our daily situations (children, work, news, stress, etc.) can take our attention away from God. It is not easy to just plug-in and worship the Lord. I find myself missing so much of God’s creation, because my mind wanders off to my daily concerns. My wife calls me to really see the beauty around us, otherwise I would miss it. How easy it is for us to be carried away and not once lift our eyes to the Lord, and worship Him that created the earth. Let us open our spiritual eyes, God has revealed through the authors of the Psalms that all of creation is called to worship. It is not just appreciation...
Read more

Fight Together

Image
Stand . . . Take . . . Pray. Ephesians 6:10, 14, 18 The final step in successful spiritual warfare is one that is as critical as the others but it is far too easily missed. The last step isn’t a specific verse or a piece of armor mentioned, but rather a verb tense. When most Americans read the armor of God passage in Ephesians 6, we read it through the lens of our individualistic, self-focused mindset. We worry about ourselves first and foremost. As harsh as it sounds, everyone else can fend for themselves. But that’s not the intention at all behind Paul’s instructions on spiritual warfare. When Paul tells us to stand firm, to take the pieces of armor, to pray, the verb is not in the singular form, it’s in the plural. To use Southern language, it’s as if he’s saying, “Y’all stand, y’all take, y’all pray.” Why is this important? Because too often our defeat in spiritual warfare comes from the fact that we try and engage in it on our own. And please understand this: if the enemy ha...
Read more