Opposing The Darkness

War is horrible! Any war! There is another idiom which people often use to describe war, but I will not avail myself of it at this time! Whether it's a war for independence or a war for a nations freedom, or even a war against domestic violence, every war is waged with the notion of winning it! Neither side is out to lose and for Christians, the 'spiritual' war is no different!  As followers of Christ, we are engaged in this spiritual warfare every moment of every day, without exception! Satan does not take 'breaks' or call for a cease-fire! Instead, he wages his side of the war with a relentless ferocity which has no retreat!  The enemy is consistent and so must we be as well! As it has been previously stated, no one wants to lose the war! Christians must learn to be as virulent and consistent as the devil and his demonic-force, or we are headed for destruction! Tragically, many of our brothers and sisters in the faith have fallen or have been severely injured in this battle by temptation or trials, both of which can and do inflict mortal wounds upon believers that must be dealt with quickly or defeat waits on the horizon! This war, like every other one, is serious and a Christian has to be dressed in full -battle-armour without which he or she will fall! The battlefield in spiritual warfare begins in the mind! The enemy is very adept at planting the wrong type of thought into the mind of a Christian, whether it is one of violence or lust or jealousy, and we usually take it from there and run with it! Satan knows full well our weaknesses and more often than not we let him know all about our areas-of-weakness by telling it out loud so all can hear! The first shots of the war are often 'self inflicted', unfortunately! Because of this horrible mistake, Christians are very quickly put into a disadvantage! But there is encouragement, however, because of the great which every, true, believer-in-Christ has through the person of the Holy Spirit, who resides within us, to be able to get the victory! Once again this is a war which must be fought at every moment and our enemy never sleeps! In God's word we are given the weapons used in our battles, shown in Ephesians 6, that reveals the armour we must be outfitted with and a reminder that the war wages on and on! We are further told in the bible that the "battle is not against flesh and blood but against principalities and powers and rulers of darkness in high places"! It's a spiritual war, as we have already stated! We shouldn't be surprised, really, because Jesus dealt with the enemy on several 'fronts' during his earthly ministry! While the LORD healed the sick and made the lame to walk and the blind to see, he also had to confront demonic forces who had possessed many and he cast them out by his words! These demons had no choice but to surrender to Jesus and obey what he said! Because of the gift of the Holy Spirit and the authority which the LORD Jesus gave each believer we, too, can command the demonic forces of Satan to surrender and leave! However, we should not boast of this fact but we should rest in the power of Jesus' name which brings the victory! The war is ongoing and will continue to be until we are, either, taken away from this temporary life or the rapture (harpazo-Greek) occurs and the LORD returns for his church! In either case, war is horrible and very dangerous, and we are engaged in it whether we want to be or not!

My Anger Struggle: The Questions!

I am perplexed by this life-long struggle with a 'spirit of anger'! It has been a very constant thorn in my side for decades now! I have succumbed to this side of my personality far too many times in my life, from my teens until the present time! It is quite draining on me, taking the strength out of me physically, mentally and emotionally! This ongoing problem has caused a great deal of stress on relationships, especially with my wife and my daughter's over the years! It has even effected co-workers at times! Giving in to a 'quick temper' is labeled as foolish in God's word, and I am certainly aware that I have been very foolish because of this albatross around my neck! I will not offer any excuses for giving in to a raging spirit of anger, but I do acknowledge that there is a very real problem here! I have been under months of counselling for it but there has been little breakthrough! I am overcome with questions as to why the anger wells in me so readily! The bible is the best recourse for any of life's challenges and mine are no different! I realize, as well, that many people, more often men than women, have this same challenging situation as me and they, too, are asking the same, pointed question....why?  Through much prayer, fasting and thanksgiving to God seems to be the 'way to victory' and I am more-than-ready to avail myself of this solution!

At The End Of The Day

  When you wake up each morning, what is your goal or your purpose? Why do you get up and go to that job, that office, that arena or ball-park, why do you do it? Each of us must realize what our motives are and the reason we are involved in a 'routine'! Motives can be deceptive and they can look like something their not! For example, if we have a desire to do something 'meaningful' but you go into it with mixed-emotions, your only halfway committed, so you 'fake it's! What was your true motive in that moment? Desire or necessity?  We can fool ourselves into thinking our reason for doing something is noble and deserving of respect, but we could be very wrong! It's vital for us to know, beforehand, what our motives are to accomplish the task at hand!

Whether it's your marriage, your children or for yourself, at the end of the day, it truly matters to you and to everyone around you why you did what you did and what keeps you going until you reach that desired mark! The only requirement is to be absolutely honest with yourself, first, and to everyone else second!  You decide!