10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.
I also had a time when I was throwing scriptures around and imagining the devils wincing and retorting. What Paul is saying is that it is our own minds that needs to know scripture and the truths about truth, righteousness, the gospel, faith and salvation. In turn these will act as a protection from the evil one.
"You're a dirty sinner. Look at that you did!" Is something the devil does. Its true! We are dirty and rotten but... that's not the whole story. Sin has been dealt with by our glorious Lord and King Jesus. So being well grounded in scripture around these subjects provides protection from such accusations designed to steal your joy, kill your peace and destroy any possibility that you will walk out God's love today.
What we learn when we are about those scriptures is that God, in his abounding love, has provided forgiveness of sins and eternal life for all who are believing on Jesus and his completed work. It doesn't depend on us and we cannot lose a genuine salvation. God works with us as sons to bring us to wholeness and does it as he delights in us. Walking in the knowledge that we are loved by God leads to abundant joy even on the hard days (still working on that). All this is freely given from God and our task is to believe it. This is where the struggle occurs.
It would be foolish, no, impossible to try to assist you in your faith. Only you can do that. It starts with a simple decision to choose God's angle on things over your own or the worlds distorted opinions. Then its up to you. Allow yourself time to construct a God-view of you from the scriptures and walk in that every day. I've made it sound simplistic and easy but it isn't. Don't beat yourself up because you don't get it immediately. This is the struggle of our age, to have our minds renewed and walk it out in this fallen world.
Take courage. He has overcome this world.
Gary Ward
Do share.
Grandiosity with expectations of superior treatment from others
ReplyDeleteFixated on fantasies of power, success, intelligence, attractiveness, etc.
Self-perception of being unique, superior and associated with high-status people and institutions
Needing constant admiration from others
Sense of entitlement to special treatment and to obedience from others
Exploitative of others to achieve personal gain
Unwilling to empathize with others' feelings, wishes, or needs
Intensely jealous of others and the belief that others are equally jealous of them
Pompous and arrogant demeanor
It's especially entertaining when 'anonymous' leaves the above comment. I remember being alongside religious agencies who fit into some of the above descriptions. But... it's not everyone. Many are becoming free from the idea that beliefs place them in the category of 'better than you.' Thanks for the treminder.
ReplyDelete