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(5b) Protecting Ourselves From the Devil (Satan)

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We give praise to the Lord for His faithfulness in strengthening and protecting us from Satan.  Fulfilling these promises requires us to be obedient to God's word.  In this second subsection of Ephesians 6:10-18, we review verses13-15: 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.   Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,   and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. We have already been told that we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against “spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places,” and that is, against Satan and His demons.   And now, that being the case, Ephesians 6:13-15 begins with the word, “Therefore.”   Here is a clear reason that we need to “put on the full armor of God.”   The armor we are called to put on is nothing we c
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(5a) Protecting Ourselves From the Devil (Satan)

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  We give praise to the Lord for His faithfulness in strengthening and protecting us from Satan.  Fulfilling these promises requires us to be obedient to God's word.  In this first subsection of Ephesians 6:10-18, we review verses10-12: "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual  hosts  of wickedness in the heavenly places." We are admonished to be "strong in the Lord and in the power of His might."  In this passage, as well as in the passage captioned in the above image, we recognize that we have an All Powerful Shepherd , the Lord Jesus, through whom we are able to be strong.  In no circumstance should we ever dream of defending or protecting ourselves from Satan in our own strength
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(5) Protecting Ourselves From the Devil (Satan)

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  Is it possible for a Christian to become proud?  Yes!  The moment we take our eyes (thoughts, praises, etc.) off of Christ and focus on any successes or accomplishments that we have achieved without giving praise and thanks to the Lord, we are on a fast track to becoming proud.  In contrast, a Christian who demonstrates humility (does not focus on self or try to lift up self), has no time to look at any of his/her accomplishments or successes apart from giving God praise and thanks for such enablement.  Without You, I can do nothing.   To the humble Christian, God gives grace. In the book of Ephesians 2:8-9, we read: “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves,  it is  the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. ”  God's grace is enough for us in every circumstance.  The grace God gives to the humble person occurs as a result of a life that is in submission to God.  And submission to God is our guaranteed defense against Sa
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(4) Who Is This Thief

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In John 10:10, Christ our Savior states that He has come that we may have life , and have it more abundantly.  Our focus and attention must be constantly fixed upon Him.   From an earlier blog, we learned that once we have confessed our sins to Jesus and have received Him as our Personal Savior, we are sealed unto the day of redemption by His Holy Spirit; and nothing will be able to snatch us away.  Yet, we still battle with the old sinful nature that wars against our new nature in Christ. And so, Jesus desires us not only to experience the new life in Him, but for us to "have life, and that they may have it more abundantly."  We must be on guard to have Jesus protect us from the thief.  And in this verse and associated Bible verses in the broader passage, John 10:7-9, Jesus spoke of Himself as the Shepherd who guards His sheep.   In contrast, the thief is a false shepherd.  He "cares only about feeding himself, not building up the flock.  He steels sheep in order to kil
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(3) The Ministry of the Holy Spirit in Our Lives

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  The Holy Spirit may best be described as a part of the triune God (the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit) with equal power but a distinct function.   1 Corinthians 6:19-20 states: Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.   The moment we received Christ as our Personal Savior, we were indwelt by the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit is present in the life of every believer. God, in His wisdom, created the Holy Spirit to function in our lives so that according to Romans 15:13 , "we may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."  This hope is in reference to what God's word refers to as eternal hope .  The believer, the one who has confessed his/her sins and received the Lord, Jesus Christ as his/her Personal Savior, "will not perish, but will have eternal life." (John 3:16)   Overflowing with h
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(2) The Word Became Flesh

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  This verse is the epitome of who Jesus is, from eternity past to eternity future.    In this one verse, we are able to establish that Jesus didn't only exist from the time He was born as a baby.   In John 1:1, we read:   "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."   It was this Word, the full essence of God, that became flesh in the form of a baby, Jesus.  Jesus spent thirty years on earth just like any other human being, while being fully God, born of a virgin, before beginning His ministry for three years on earth. In Luke 1:30-35, we read:  “ The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.” Mary said t
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(1) Have you ever read this Bible verse and wondered about it?

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  Have you ever read this Bible verse and wondered about it? Let's break it down:  Fear not.   I am with you.  Be not dismayed. I am your God. I will strengthen you.   I will help you. I will uphold you with My righteous right hand. Is there really a God out there who does this?  Isn't there something I need to do to actually experience these claims?  The answer is, yes. Another Bible verse states in John 3:16:   For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son [Jesus] that whosoever believeth in Him will not perish but have everlasting life. Jesus was sent by His Father to earth to die for our sins so that we could have eternal life.  No one else could fill that role but Jesus.  And the word "perish" in John 3:16 does not mean going into non-existence.  Here, it refers to separation from God in an eternal state of torment.   The first step you need to take in order to experience the claims of Isaiah 41:10 will be to receive Jesus Christ as your Personal
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