2002-01-01
Good Morning Faithful Ones,
Yesterday, we looked at a list of Satan's arrows, while first reminded that God's chose us before we were born to come to faith and that He equips us to face the spiritual battle which we must face. He promises us that if we will endure in our faith, He will see us to victory over the adversary in Christ Jesus. We can believe that promise, because God doesn't lie. It is understood that the path through the process of God's perfecting us, sanctification, is both a work in progress and not always easy. Today we are going to examine what the Bible says about standing firm in the Lord.
EPH 6: 10-11, "Finally, build up your strength in union with the Lord and by means of His mighty power. Put on all the armor that God's gives you, so that you will be able to stand up against the devil's evil tricks." Satan is a deceiver first and foremost. We need only look at his words to Eve before the original sin to see this. GN 3: 1-6, "Now the serpent was the most cunning animal that the Lord God had made. The serpent asked the woman, 'Did God really tell you not to eat fruit from any tree in the garden?' 'We may eat the fruit of any tree in the garden,' the woman answered, 'except the tree in the middle of it. God told us not to eat the fruit of that tree or even touch it; if we do, we will die.' The serpent replied, 'that is not true; you will not die. God said that because he knows that when you eat it, you will be like God and know what is good and what is bad.' The woman saw how beautiful the tree was and how good its fruit would be to eat, and she thought how wonderful it would be to become wise. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, and he also ate it." Adam and Eve surely didn't use the good sense God had given them in making this decision! The consequences of it have been pretty damaging to all of mankind. Only the second Adam (Jesus Christ) gave us a way out of the sin that Adam and Eve brought upon mankind [RO 5: 18].
The question arises: How do we know a lie from the truth? JN 8: 31-32 helps answer that. "If you obey My commandments, then you are My disciples," Jesus said. "You will know the truth, and the truth shall set you free." We have been given the Holy Spirit to dwell within us. We have been commanded to remain in God's word. These when coupled with prayer [two-way conversation with God where we let Him speak first], allow us to have the discernment to tell what is true and what is mistruth. JN 15: 5 & 8, "I am the Vine, and you are the branches. Whoever remains in Me, and I in him, will bear much fruit; for you can do nothing without Me...My Father's glory is shown by you bearing much fruit; and in this way you become my disciples." What does this mean to bear fruit? It means that by truly obeying God's commandments, You are able to experience Him and join Him in His work effectively. It also means that your sanctification will make forward progress. In addition, it means that you endure in your faith no matter what suffering or temptation that the adversary sends. You will know the truth from a lie.
We must expect persecution and spiritual warfare to be a part of our lives as a believer in Jesus Christ. After all, that is the same message that Christ gave to His disciples when He called them [MT 10: 22]. I find it very comforting in this same section of MT 10 when Christ told His disciples in MT 10: 19-20 words to remind them they were being equipped. "When they bring you to trial, do not worry about what you are going to say or how you will say it; when the time comes, you will be given what you will say. For the words you will speak will not be yours; they will come from the Spirit of your Father speaking through you." Now that's nothing short of amazing, as is all that God can do for us. We mustn't mistake that the devil has a scheme, one that will separate us from God if we are foolish enough to fall for it. The Greek word for "schemes" or "wiles" is "methodia" from which our word "method" comes. However, God has a plan that, if we follow it, will keep us from heading for the sure spiritual death that Satan wants. His plan is obedience to His commands, salvation through the death of Christ on the cross, confession of our sin, repentance, and Spirit-guided study of God's word on a daily basis. God want us to remain in continuous contact with Him through prayer ["knee-mail"]. Now, Dear Ones, there's a plan!
PRAYER: O Lord, Your mighty power is made available to us in our weakness when we are buffeted by Satan's arrows. You command us to call upon Your strength and are willing to give it to us to use against him. We are told to "put on all the armor that You give us," and we will. You have told us in the Scriptures what that armor is and how to put it on. We dedicate ourselves today and always to spending time in the Bible every day, so that we don't miss a single instruction you give us. This is not simply a cerebral exercise, because You have also called us to faith and given us a way to communicate with you through prayer. It is clear that Your will for us is to learn by these things from our circumstances and to put Your teaching to practice in our congregations and our communities. With all these commandments has come Your love and encouragement, Your reminders that if we endure in our faith, You will see us to victory in Christ's name. When we trust and obey You, You allow us through the Holy Spirit to see the truth from a lie. That kind of discernment not only helps us to fight effectively against the adversary, but it also lets us see through his ugly deceptions. We can not only know Your will, but we can also recognize the things against we must fight. Some of them can be pretty subtle, Dearest Abba, which is why You manifested Your love for us by sending us the Holy Spirit to help us see them. None of this armor can be used without having faith in You. So that is what we pledge today in humility. We also offer you our adoration, worship, trust, honor, glory, loyalty, diligence, praise, and utmost thanksgiving. In Christ's holy name, we pray. Amen.
Tomorrow, we will take a closer look at EPH 6: 12-20, so that God through the Holy Spirit can give us a better understanding of what the "full armor of God" is. Would God give us all of this if He didn't love us? I don't think so. He has gone through having to have more patience that anyone of us could endure to wait for as many of us as possible to come to faith, repent of his sins, use the gift of the Holy Spirit to be effective in producing fruit, and be perfected in preparation for eternal life with Him. Yet, "His steadfast love endures forever." That old familiar phrase from the Psalms has so much more meaning as mankind's history moves on. Peter and I link our love for each of you with God's and send it with this message.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn