The Flame Within

I have been attending a Wednesday night Bible study this semester at my church.  The name of the study is “The Armor of God”, by Priscilla Shirer.  This Bible study has changed my understanding of the spiritual forces in the unseen world.  Everyday since the study began, I have been spiritually challenged, encouraged, and convicted!  I have a fresh internal desire to deepen my personal relationship with Christ.  A new desire to study His word, develop a daily prayer strategy, and strengthen my daily attire ~ the armor of God.

Ephesians 6: 10-17 says ~ “¹⁰ Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. ¹¹ Put on the full armor of God,so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. ¹² For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powersof this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.¹³ 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. ¹⁴ Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, ¹⁵ and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. ¹⁶ In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷ Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”  

     In the study Priscilla has us literally dissect this verse; this passage is full unlimited depth and meaning.  In the first week’s homework, she asked us to write in a circle the names of people with whom we have significant relationship difficulties.  In the next paragraph we were asked to read the scripture above. ~  She reminds us that our struggle is not agains the individual’s we wrote in the circle, 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.  Wow!!!  What a powerful message!  We continue to fight against people -Rather than the evil force pushing the contentions and tensions in our relationships.  No wonder our relationships continue to struggle!  

God has used this study to challenge my heart…  Now let He’s challenging you!

Let’s face it… there are spiritual forces brooding all around us.  The battle is real:  It surrounds our husbands/wives. children, families, friends, work-environment, and the community.  Too long the Christian community has ignored the battle … Ignoring the battle IS NOT WORKING!  Our families, churches, spouses, children, co-workers, government leaders, friends, and family members are facing a daily battle for their soul.  A daily battle is raging all around each one of us… the only way to come out victoriously is to fight the battle the right way ~ God’s way!

2 Corinthian’s 10:4 “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.”

The only way to win the battle is to utilize the weapons God provides – divine power to break-down strongholds.  It all starts with fervent prayer, daily studying of God’s word, praying together, surrounding ourselves with God’s people, and surrendering our worldly desires.  The first step is acknowledging the seriousness of the unseen battle… And determining to set our heart on the things above!!!

I don’t know about you ~  But I am tired of seeing Satan steal marriages, churches, friendships, children, media, government officials, schools, families, and businesses. What about you?  Are you tired?  Together we can make a difference… We can fight the right way… God’s way!  Let’s get into prayer and into God’s word ~  Let’s begin sharpening our spiritual weapons and begin to fight back the demonic forces trying to overtake our world.  Let’s Go!!!!

Proverbs 27:17 “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.”

Ecclesiastes 10:10 “If the axe is dull and he does not sharpen its edge, then he must exert more strength. Wisdom has the advantage of giving success.”  

Finally…

Ephesians 1:3-10  “³ Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. ⁴ For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love ⁵ he^[b] predestined us for adoption to sonship^[c] through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— ⁶ to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. ⁷ In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace ⁸ that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, ⁹ he^[d]made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, ¹⁰ to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.”

Blessings, Crystal