The One True Enemy -- Ephesians 6:10-13

Ephesians 6:10-13


"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. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand." (NKJV)

"And Jesus, answering them, began to say: ‘Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He,’ and will deceive many. But when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be troubled; for such things must happen, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be earthquakes in various places, and there will be famines and troubles. These are the beginnings of sorrows.’" (Mark 13:5-9 NKJV).

We live in distressing times. Not only are there many instances of wars and fighting going on, particularly in the Middle East and Eastern Europe, but with the advent of technology, we can hear and see examples everyday. We can also share opinions and ideas and "facts" of all these conflicts.

It saddens me that I see Christians taking sides in such conflicts against other Christians, not only those Christians involved in the direct fighting, but even more so, Christians on the sidelines, demanding that their opinions are right and trying, in many ways, to coerce other Christians to agree with them against those they believe are in the wrong.

We are the ones who know the Truth, not only the written Truth (the Word of God), but the Truth embodied in our Lord Jesus Christ! We know that the battles being fought are first, and most importantly, spiritual battles. The people who are involved are simply pawns being used by our one adversary, the devil, and all his minions. "We do not wrestle against flesh and blood!" In any conflict, whether it is a nation-against-nation war or a person-to-person fight, as believers we have the obligation to remember this! "We do not wrestle against flesh and blood!" The Lord Jesus died for everyone, Russian and Ukrainian, Iraqi and Kurd, Jew and Palestinian. He loves us all! It is God’s will that "none will perish, but all will come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9).

As Christians, our weapons are spiritual, not carnal. Our primary weapon, first and foremost, is prayer . . . and then prayer with fasting. The Lord never said that our weapons were public opinion or voting or demonstrating. And while the Lord may ask you to peaceably do any one of those things, it will always be through the fruit of the Spirit which is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. If we begin to war against other Christians in order to promote our opinion about the rightness of something, we are warring against the Body of Christ.

I would plead with my brothers and sisters, in this desperate time, to begin to fall to their knees, to give up their recreations and other pleasures, and seek the face of God. Living as a Christian is never about being right, but always about being righteous, worshiping at the Throne of Him who loves us. We worship the God of the universe who is in control. We fight against one adversary, the devil. All those who are unsaved aren’t our enemies, but rather our harvest field. We are commanded to pray for even the most evil of them for it’s our Father’s will that none should perish. Pray that God will soften our hearts that we can love as our Lord Jesus loved. "God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8 NKJV). While they are still sinners, let us at least be willing to pray for them.

© 2014 Robin L. O’Hare. All Rights Reserved. 

For permission to copy, please contact servinggodalone@yahoo.com

Galatians 6:12b

Galatians 6:12b

“ . . . the cross of Christ alone can save.” (NLT)

David Wilkerson, in the World Challenge Pulpit Series of April 26, 2010, writes:

“No matter how I feel, Christ is my righteousness. No matter how many doubts may arise, Christ is my righteousness. No matter how many accusations I hear from the devil during the day, I stand on this: God sees me as righteous in Christ!”

There are, I think, many kinds of salvation. There is the eternal salvation that saves us from the damnation of hell and separation from God. And of all salvations, that is the most crucial, but there are other salvations. There is the salvation from danger or from illness. Hebrews 1:14 tells us that God sends His angels to care for the saints: “They are spirits sent from God to care for those who will receive salvation” (NLT). How often have we been saved from certain death or injury or even an illness because of God sends His angels to guard us and intervene on our behalf? Even in this life, in our day to day doings, God’s salvation is present.

We are also often saved from consequences. That doesn’t necessarily mean that we are removed from the consequences, but rather that God uses the consequences to continue to mold us into the image of His Son. Romans 8:28 tells us “that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose” (NKJV). Even when we do the things we shouldn’t, when we rush ahead of God’s plan or purpose, He continues to work everything—including the consequences of our choices—for our good.

In other words, He continues to save us. We cannot step in and confound God’s plan of salvation for our lives in any way unless we simply reject Him. But as long as we trust Him, He continues to save us, even from ourselves.

A couple of days ago, my husband and I were out driving in a nearby desert community. Now, if you haven’t been in a rural California desert, you may be unfamiliar with what they call roads in some areas. If you are lucky, there may be pavement, but frequently the roads are dirt and sometimes rather rustic. Saturday, we actually found ourselves in a less than one-lane road, surrounded by cactus and sage brush, stopped by a “No Trespassing” sign. Contrary to our map, we had locked ourselves into a dead-end with very little room to turn around. It took some fancy driving for my husband to get us headed in the opposite direction, back toward the pavement some distance away.

I think that life is like that. We find a map we think we should follow. Whether that “map” is a friend’s advice or simply our own desires, we head out toward what we hope is a good opportunity only to find it is a dead-end with seemingly no way out. If we fail to trust the Lord, we can end up responding with depression or anger. But if we understand God’s plan of salvation, we can trust Him to work even those “dead-ends” for our good.

There is no righteousness apart from Christ, but there is all righteousness when we trust Him and Him alone for our salvation. And whether we are focusing, at that moment, on our eternal salvation (which puts everything else in proper perspective) or on the salvation of the moment, Christ alone is what will save us . . . even from ourselves!

In Christ Alone
by Shawn Craig & Don Koch

In Christ alone, I place my trust
And find my glory in the power of the cross
In every victory, let it be said of me
My source of strength, my source of hope
Is Christ alone.

© 1990 Paragon Music Group. c/o Benson Music Group, Inc. 365 Great Circle Road, Nashville, TN 37228. All rights reserved. International copyright secured.

© 2010 Robin L. O’Hare. All rights reserved. Permission granted for nonprofit and church groups to use this article in its entirety (including this notice). For other uses, please contact servinggodalone@yahoo.com.