Verse of the Day
“Our fight is not against people on earth. We are fighting against the rulers and authorities and the powers of this world’s darkness. We are fighting against the spiritual powers of evil in the heavenly places.” — Ephesians 6:12 ERV
Lesson of the Day
Yesterday, we spoke of wearing our full armor. Before I explain each piece of armor, let me explain who we are fighting against. This is where our spiritual eyes open. We are living in this world but there is also a spiritual world that we can’t see without our spiritual eyes. In this spiritual world there is a continuous war going on between the enemy, which is the rulers, authorities, and the powers of this world’s darkness, and the righteous. Now Jesus tells us not to worry because He already won the war. However, it has to play out until He returns for us. Now, we have protection from this war that we can only see with our spiritual eyes. However, we must put on our full armor every day. Unfortunately, most of us walk around blind and the enemy just uses us like puppets. Let me give you an example.
Say you wake up one morning feeling great. You’re singing God’s praises and you’re dancing as you start your day. You’re feeling joyful because you got saved and you now have a new outlook on life. You decided in your mind that you will set a godly example at work, but as soon as you walk in the door, you are approached by Karen. No one likes to see Karen coming their way. Nevertheless, here she comes and she starts complaining and yelling at you about your duties and what you didn’t do. Right then and there you forget that you are trying to set an example because you woke up happy but you haven’t learned about the armor of God yet so you lash right back at her. You even give her a few choice words that you would never say at church. Yes, it was Karen who made you mad, but it was the enemy using her to discredit you to God. He goes to God and says “look at your child’s behavior, and You chose to save her?” One of your friends at work witnessed it and looked at you with shame. This is a friend who you had been trying to tell the good news to. You told her how you’ve become righteous. Now how can you tell her to do something that you can’t even do? This is just a simple example of what the enemy tries. He’s tricky, and he takes joy in discrediting us. He knows that we are saved and he can’t change that, but he knows that he can do what he set out to do and that is to steal (your joy), kill (your relationships), and destroy (your faith). That’s why we must be prepared daily. The enemy stays on his job and we have to be watchful and prepared.
Encouragement
Although these things occur and some things that are far worse too, we can be assured that Jesus is right there watching too and He’s on our side. Just like the devil is going to God to make you look bad, Jesus is right there pleading our case. You know what He says? He says, “I died for them and gave them my righteousness, so they are Not Guilty!” That’s what God sees. He sees you as righteous because when He looks at you, He sees His son Jesus Christ. What a wonderful thing Jesus did for us.
Prayer
Dear Heavenly Father, You are a wonderful giving God and we owe You all of our praise. We praise You for Your kingdom to come and for Your will being done. We praise You for giving up Your son. Thank You for salvation. Thank You for righteousness. Thank You for making a way to put us back in Your good graces. Teach us how to please You Lord. Remind us daily to put on our full armor. Guide us through this life and help us to resist the enemy. You’ve defeated him Lord, so we win. We just have to deal with the enemies annoyances. However, the whole armor that You provided for us will help with that. We are ever so grateful. In Jesus Christ’s name we pray, amen.