Today's meditation is on Eph. 6:10-18 (NAS) and begins with an admonishment to us to be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. We are to rely on God's strength in the midst of trials. The Word is the source of our faith in God's strength, for it is the revelation of Who He is, His will, His power, and His faithfulness to fulfill His Word.
Our battle is not against flesh and blood, but it is against the spiritual realm that influences the soul of man. God's Word is Spirit and It is Truth; satan and his demons are spirit and lies. Only spirit can battle spirit, and Truth conquers lies as Light conquers darkness.
People play a part in the devil's schemes. He uses people against other people, and he uses people against themselves, especially where there are places in man's wounded heart that harbor pride, jealousy, hatred, etc...all of which lead to the deadly sin of unforgiveness.
Unforgiveness is an affront to the cross of Jesus, Who forgave all mankind for all sin (no matter how horrible the sin), and He did so in the midst of all the pain he was suffering. (Luke 23:34) In order to honor Christ's sacrifice on the cross, a man must apply that atonement to his life through repentance and by receiving forgiveness for his own sins, as well as forgiving others for sinning against him. Jesus tells us that if we won't forgive others, He won't forgive us. (Matt.6:12-15) He also tells us that if we don't forgive from the heart, we will be turned over to the tormentors. (Matt.18:23-35) In other words, when we reject the provision of forgiveness...one of the works of the cross...we can't receive the other works of the cross; ie: peace and healing.
In order to stand in the face of battle, we must put on the full Armor of God...the Word of God, Jesus Christ and all that He is. We were crucified, buried, and resurrected in Him. He is Truth, He is our Righteousness, the Prince of Peace, our Salvation, He's the Author and Finisher of our faith. We've received His Holy Spirit of Promise. We stand complete in Him and He is in us by His Holy Spirit.
Deliverance is the result of a mind that's being renewed by the Word of God. The helmet of salvation protects the mind that agrees with the Truth. Faith in the Truth...the "water" of the Word...extinguishes the flames of deception, while the Truth destroys the lies themselves. With these divinely powerful weapons we can destroy fortresses (strongholds that have been set up in our heart), speculations (wrong thoughts), and every lofty thing (false concepts about God and His Word) raised up against the knowledge of God. We are to take every thought captive (before it comes out of our mouth) to the obedience of Christ. We are to use the Word of God against such things...Truth against the lies of the devil. (2 Cor.10:3-5)
We are to bring all petitions for ourselves and for others before our Father, praying always in the spirit. When we pray the Word of God we are praying in the spirit, because the Word is spirit; and we are praying in Truth, because the Word is Truth. When we pray the Word (in the spirit) we are praying God's Will, so we can firmly stand by faith, persevering in earnest anticipation that whatever we've asked of God He will do. (1John 5:14-15)
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