Spiritual Warfare, Part 1)

Chuckle: A police officer pulled over a pickup truck from out of state. He said to the driver, 'Got any ID?' The driver said, "Bout what?"

Quote: "All the strength and force of a man comes from his faith in things unseen." --J. F. Clarke

"For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with . . . have divine power to demolish (Satan's) strongholds" (2 Corinthians 10:3-4 NIV).

War is a harsh and unpleasant term and most of us would prefer "peace" over war. But the Scriptures are clear that God and Satan are at war for the hearts and minds of people. It is a spiritual conflict of eternal importance. The wonderful side to all this is that the outcome of the war has already been decided. It was determined when Christ died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins and rose again, victorious over sin, death, and the grave. God will be the ultimate victor and Satan will be banished to eternal punishment along with his angels and those who choose to follow him rather than Jesus Christ (See Revelation 20:10, 15).

To win a war we must first identify and get to know our enemy. There is a daily battle going on between good and evil within each of us -- between the new nature God has given us by his Spirit and the old sinful nature. And, here on earth, we are the warriors God uses to wage his daily battle for the hearts of people. Even though Satan has powerful weapons, God does not send us into battle poorly equipped. We are provided with weapons as powerful as God himself and are assured of victory if only we are willing and committed warriors. Satan blinds the unsaved to the truth of Jesus Christ, and he also blinds uncommitted Christians and leads them astray -- away from fellowship with our Lord. He wants to destroy your witness, your influence, and your joy.

"For we are not fighting against people made of flesh and blood, but against the evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against those mighty powers of darkness who rule this world and against wicked spirits in the heavenly realms" (Ephesians 6:12 NLT).

We face Satan's powerful and determined evil army whose goal is to defeat you and your Christian influence -- and, ultimately, the influence of Christ's church. Satan is our enemy, and he will try every deception, enticement, and untruth to lure us away from Christ and back to a life of sin and indifference toward God. Although we are assured of ultimate victory if we know Christ as Savior, we must engage in the never ending struggle until Christ returns. We need supernatural power to defeat Satan daily, and God has provided this by giving us his Holy Spirit within us and his armor surrounding us. If you find yourself feeling discouraged, just reflect on Jesus' words to Peter: "Upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it" (Matthew 16:18 NLT).

Love, Jerry & Dotse