Skip to main content

Our Struggle


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. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. (Ephesian 6:12-13)
          I once read that if someone broke into your house while you were sleeping, put a gun to your head and demanded to know your mission in life, you should be able to express it in under thirty seconds. I don’t know that I could do that. It’s not that my mission is difficult to remember, it’s just that I tend to freeze under pressure. Today’s passage is another of those I think we should be able to repeat under pressure. In fact, being under pressure is the reason we should repeat it. 
          Our struggle. Make no mistake, we are at war. In fact, the past twenty years have been a great illustration of the type of war we’re in. We are at war with terrorists. 
         Is not against flesh and blood… The war we’re in isn’t battles with cannons, guns, and knives. It’s not a war against bodies, but against unhealthy principles, toxic powers, faulty logic, and insidious ideas. Therefore, ad hominems (attacking the person who disagrees with you or attacking the idea because of the person.) 
        Against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers…. I suppose some people read this and think, “Yes, _______ of the world unite against the powers that are! Let’s bring down the government and put a system in place that will do what the current government does not.” The problem is that the new system will become the ruler, the authority, and the power against whom we are to stand precisely because the system is the problem. Any system of rule with a human at its head (or even worse, multiple humans) is corrupt, period. Replacing government one with government two just changes the nature of the corruption, not the fact of it. 
          Therefore put on the full armor of God. You are to don it. I am, too. No elected official is meant to be our champion and do our fighting for us. This is was of terrorism. The attacks are against civilians who want nothing more than to go about their daily lives. 
          So that when the day of evil comes… Some folks want to think that the day of evil is in the future. I think it’s in the past, the present, and the future. Here’s the key. If you don’t learn to use the armor now, when the day of evil comes you won’t have time.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Higher Thoughts

  “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the  Lord . “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9)           The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments,   for, “Who has known the mind of the Lord      so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ. (I Corinthians 2:15-16) If you read about the ancient gods of the various peoples, you’ll find that they think just like people. In fact, they think just like the sort of people we really wouldn’t want to be around. They think like the most corrupt Hollywood producer or, like hormone overloaded teens with no upbringing.   It’s embarrassing to read. I have a friend who argues that because God is not just like us, He is so vastly dif...
2 comments
Read more

Think About These Things

                 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. (Philippians 4:8) This passage is a major challenge for me. Like everyone else, I struggle to keep my thoughts from wandering off into the weeds, then wondering what possible benefits those weeds might have… Sigh. But as a writer, I have to delve at least a little into the ignoble, wrong, impure, unlovely, and debased. After all, there’s no story if everything’s just as it should be and everyone’s happy. As Christians, there are times when we need to deal with all the negatives, but that makes it even more important that we practice turning our minds by force of attention to what is noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy. It’s just too easy to get stuck in a swamp. With my...
1 comment
Read more

A Virgin?

           Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14)           This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 1:18)           But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.”            “How will this be,” Mary asked the...
Post a Comment
Read more