Poem: With Our God

With our God are all provisions

And the courage to make decisions;

To fulfill our purposes in life

And understanding to handle strife.

May we never cling to a victim’s view,

But being over-comers just as You.

Seeing the flower and not the thorn.

Having Christ’s glory us adorn.

We lay our inadequacies at Your feet.

Putting on Your armor we can defeat

Ghosts of the past, demons of the future

With love and compassion our world to nurture.

by Christina Morley

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Spiritual Warfare – Part 4 of 4

Another tactic the enemy uses is silence. Anything that is not brought into the light has a certain hold on us, so the devil tries to keep us locked up with secrets. I think we all go through times in our lives that we don’t want to tell the truth about things in our past or present. Usually, we’re too ashamed to talk about them. However, not talking about these things can hold us back in our spiritual growth. We need to step out of secrecy, which holds us captive, and walk into His light and into His freedom.

Sometimes it’s up to us to defend the cause of others and to speak out against injustices. Keeping silent doesn’t help our cause, but it does help the devil’s. Speaking out the truth disarms the devil, and for this we need wisdom and boldness. For example, what do we do if we hear our friends gossiping? Do we join in by agreeing with them? Do we hold our tongues because we don’t want to come across as being too Christian? Or, do we take the opportunity to speak words of life and love?

Another weapon at our disposal is praise. In the time of King Jehoshaphat, a great multitude had come out against the nation of Judah (2Chron. 20:1-30). The king was afraid, so he set his face to seek the Lord, also calling all of Judah to fast and pray. God responded by telling them to go and meet the enemy, but said that they wouldn’t need to fight. They were to stand their ground, and see the salvation of the Lord.

King Jehoshaphat trusted the word of the Lord and put his faith to work. He appointed singers to go out in front of the army to praise the Lord. As they began to praise, the Lord sent an ambush against the enemy. Where there is praise, there is God. Where there is God, the demons tremble. Prayer, praise, and faith in God’s word tie the enemy’s hands and render him powerless. This is supernatural protection.

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Spiritual Warfare – Part 3 of 4

Another strategy Satan uses is fear. Satan relies on fear tactics to paralyze and overpower his victims. Sometimes he does this through criminals who prey on unsuspecting citizens. At other times, he uses fear to keep us from doing great things for God. Jesus has given us His authority to defeat the attacks of the enemy. First of all, God says He has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind (2Tim. 1:7). He also says that perfect love casts out fear (1John 4:18). Once we no longer allow fear to paralyze us, we no longer need to fall prey to fear tactics.

In order to do this we must allow God’s love to rule our lives by filling our hearts and minds with His Word. His Word builds our faith and is an effective weapon against spiritual and physical attacks. We can also pray scriptures that God has given to us for our families. Two excellent passages concerning divine protection are found in Psalm 91 and Isaiah 43:1-21.

We also find safety and refuge when we call on the name of the Lord in our time of need. He has myriads of angels at His disposal and He’ll dispatch them when we cry for help. God and His angels really are just a simple prayer away.

Besides praying to God for help, we can also rebuke whoever or whatever is threatening us. Occasionally, I ask my children to practice saying something like “Stop in Jesus’ name!” and encourage them to use a commanding voice. Demons operating through people tremble at the name of Jesus and are unable to withstand Him.

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Spiritual Warfare – Part 1 of 4

As we are drawing closer and closer to Christ’s return, the evil around us is also increasing. In God’s eyes Satan is already a defeated foe for those who are walking under the lordship of Jesus Christ, but for the rest of mankind, he is still their ruler. He is fighting for his kingdom, a kingdom that leads to destruction. He is always looking for an opportunity to derail Christians, too.

Many people think that he is weak and stupid. Others believe there is a God, but laugh if you mention that Satan and demons exist. The reality is that he is extremely clever, completely bent on evil, and very much on the prowl.

The more we understand God’s Word, the better we can safeguard against Satan’s strategies. The more we understand about our God and the authority He has given us, the better equipped we are to resist Satan and send him packing. We need to be prepared to utilize the divine protection that is ours. It’s always better not to wait until the horse is stolen before locking the barn!

Satan has a large army helping him because he can’t be everywhere at once. He is not like God who is all-pervading, all-powerful, and all-knowing. He can’t even bother us unless God allows him to test us or we give him permission by disobeying God. The devil has had more impact on our lives than necessary, because we haven’t always wielded our authority in Christ.

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