God's Growing Garden: Be Strong In The Lord

Sunday, April 14, 2013

Be Strong In The Lord

"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." Ephesians 6:10-12

Today's Bible study starts a new series on "Becoming A Christian Soldier." - Now, I have to be very clear - I am NOT talking about becoming a physical soldier and I am NOT saying that you should go out and physically fight (although I appreciate and respect anybody who has served or is serving in our army, navy or air force) - what I'm talking about in this series is on a spiritual level. If you look above in verse 12: "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood..." that is the exact point - we are not talking about a physical fight and we are not talking about physical training. Becoming a Christian soldier is all about our relationship with God; about our spiritual training and about our spiritual self.

The first thing that we need to know and understand is: "Who are we fighting?" and

"Who is our enemy?"

The answer is Satan - the devil - and all of his demonic subjects are our enemies.

This enemy comes in many different forms........as we read on in verse 12: "...against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." The secular world is against Christians. Look at what's on TV and how Christians are portrayed on TV, ,in movies or on the Internet - we are always depicted as crazy hate-mongers who force our beliefs down people's throats - Nothing could be further from the truth!!! I'm not saying that Christians are perfect but we all strive to live like Christ lived and we strive to love everyone. What the world doesn't understand is that you can still love someone even if you don't agree with them. I believe that these "worldly powers" and "spiritual forces" have even infiltrated the mainstream of how we think. Take for instance the "Political Correctness Movement" - what one group has this Movement totally ignored?......That would be the Christians. Supposedly it is "Politically incorrect" for me to say "Merry Christmas", yet I have to hear my God's name used in vain many times a day by strangers, movie stars, neighbors, politicians and even teens!!!! This P.C. Movement is so offensive to me as a Christian. It makes no sense - the truth has been totally twisted! It is these kinds of sneaky evil forces that we are dealing with.

Do not fear - our God is more powerful than all of Satan's forces! After all - don't forget that Satan is a fallen angel and was cast out of Heaven. That is why, in these verses above it starts with: "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power." Since Jesus died for our sins we now have a direct line to God's strength through prayer. God is in total control of every part of our lives. By drawing on His power we can face anything that the enemy throws our way.

In the weeks to come we will learn how to "put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes."