EXPLORING THE WORD

Ephesians 6:12

Battle not against Flesh and Blood

For our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world powers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens. Ephesians 6:12
Make no mistake about these days we live in, dear family in Jesus our Lord; This is war, and the enemy we face has had millennia to observe his target and craft his agenda. The fact that we will have fleshly struggles and ourselves to overcome is a given, and to apostle Paul a normal expectation in this life. The real battle lies within the unseen forces that act as a moving snare and prey to our walk in following The Way. It is spiritual in nature and laden with an evil intent that we dare to dwell upon, for the adversary is hungry as a lion and wise as a serpent in seeking to accuse us of failure in sin before our God. Stumbling blocks are going to be in our path and will come in forms too discreet to always be realized. We should then prepare for tribulation accordingly — for these are the fires that refine our walk, test our faith and in the end, build strength. We are in bondage and chains and influence every day in some way or another until Lucifer is taken out of the way. We are right at this moment being observed by the dark nature of this air we breathe — lest we forget, our adversary is the prince of the air and the ruler of this world. When taking Jesus high upon a hill in his effort to tempt Him, he showed our Lord the ALL the kingdoms of this world. They belonged to Satan then and now and are at His disposal always. The devil knows those who belong to God and could care less about the wicked and evil ones who have already chosen the way they shall go. How important it is to worship in Spirit and Truth, for as this battle rages on in the heavenly and invisible realms, we still have a mission that requires Holy Spirit to complete. James 1:27 says it so plainly — "The pure and undefiled religion before God our Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their tribulation and to keep yourself without spot from this world."

Distraction from our purpose is a direct attack on Jesus Christ's ministry through us, for as we may well feel we are barely getting through each day without battle scars, there is some fatherless boy out in the cold who was not helped today because we were too busy trying to keep our head above water. Is it really a joyful victory if all we are doing in this life is not being misled or overcome by Satan, while the poor and afflicted, the abandoned and abused, are overlooked because we are busy in our own personal battle? What hope is there for those in the darkness if it is taking every ounce of energy we have to keep our light held on high? If we are receiving God's Holy Spirit, then we should well be able to be giving of ourselves and our resources for His Kingdom advancement regardless of Satan's advances. For if Satan is able to just keep us silent, he is by and large winning the war of words. Our lips bear fruit, and they are powerful for He is powerful. The solution to this problem has already been spoken: "But seek first the kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you..." (Matthew 6:33) and "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" (Ephesians 6:10-11).

You see, in the armor of God, we are not only equipped to battle with the sword of truth, our feet are readied to proclaim the Gospel of truth to the captives. As we battle the invisible nature of this age, our aim and intent is to defend the truth, proclaim the truth and be a constant vessel for His will, come what may. I know that there are those who are doing their best just to live holy and blameless, but being upright by and large is an act of our willingness to be willed of God, and not a marker of how good we are at working hard to be good enough. We carry a sword and a light my dear family, and neither will be effective without God's Spirit within us and around us. We are carrying a message and a purpose for such a time that we have never seen. Try to find one Scripture where Jesus was worried about His mission, and then know He is within you for the same reason today. Be about our Father's business always, just as Jesus was.

Seek first His Kingdom — and leave the rest to The Best. God's perfect will is that all come to a knowledge of repentance and that He not lose one of His belongings. To be equipped for ministry is to be prepared for battle, because that is what our ministry is: an answer to the seducer and deceiver and accuser of our family in the Lord and these things are supernatural completely. If Satan is able to keep us busy with overcoming ourselves in this life, he is also then keeping others from receiving life and light through us. You can scan and read and look up verse after verse in the bible but know it can ALL be summed up in such a short and sweet word that has already been spoken:

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.
Proverbs 3:5-6

Image Credit: Unsplash; untitled; Creative Commons

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Published 2-14-17