Knowing Our Enemy

The Bible constantly describes a war that we are in. Paul tells Timothy to "fight the good fight of faith", and later claims that he has fought that fight. Jesus tells us to be on guard from the wiles of the enemy and in Ephesians Paul tells of the armor of God which will allow us to withstand the enemies attacks. Though this war has ultimately already been won through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ we have been commended to keep fighting it in our own lives.

Like every war there are enemies and it is important for us to recognize and understand who our enemies are. The Bible mentions three enemies:

1) Satan and demons - Ephesians 6:12; James 4:7
Satan is called many things in the Bible and is the most obvious enemy of the three. Even so there are many Christians who like to deny his existence. On the other hand there are people who attribute too much to Satan, they say things like "the devil made me do it". We need to understand that on one hand Satan is very real and very crafty but on the other hand he can not make us do anything. Satan only has as much power in our lives as we allow him to have. However he will be sure to take advantage of every opening we give him. This is why Paul told us to not "give place to the devil" (Ephesians 4:27). We need to be sure to close all opportunities for the enemy to enter our lives through oppression and "take captive every thought" (2 Corinthians 10:5) that he attempts to throw at our mind.

2) The World - 1 John 4:3,4; 1 John 2:15-17
The Bible also talks about the spirit of the world, which is also referred to as the spirit of Antichrist. This spirit is influenced and directed by Satan but it is a separate enemy. We can see this spirit in the media that we watch and the music we listen to. It is evident in the materialism of our culture and the entertainment driven selfishness that we see around us. The spirit of the world will work with Satan to provide a stronghold in your mind that he can take hold of. This is why Paul told the Romans to not be conformed to the world. It to be transformed busy renewing our minds (Romans 12:2). The spirit of the world will attempt to convince us to think alike which will in turn direct our actions and our beliefs. It will then give a place for Satan to come in and oppress us even further. We must be on guard for this spirit in everything that we do.

3) Our flesh - Romans 8:5-8; 1 Peter 2:11
Our third enemy is the most prevalent in our lives and yet sometimes the most ignored. This is the enemy we must fight against the most because in many ways it has attempted to become a part of us. Our flesh, or our carnal nature, is not the same as our body but works in our body and uses the desires of the body. It manifests itself in selfishness, pride, envy, lust, and gluttony. Paul lists the works of the flesh in Galatians 5:19-21 but he then lists the fruits of the Spirit which is how we are to combat the flesh. We are to make daily decisions to walk in the fruits of the Spirit rather than the works of the flesh. The more we make these decisions the easier the decision will become.

It is important that we recognize each of these enemies because if we are ignorant of one we could easily open the door to all three. However we must also recognize that we have the power to overcome all three. The Bible tells us that Jesus has already overcome Satan and the world and gave us power to overcome our flesh.

As born again believers our spirit has already been renewed, we are new creations (2 Corinthians 5:17) but our souls and our bodies have not been renewed. That is our job. As we renew our mind and put to death the desires of the flesh we see our lives transformed (Romans 12:1-2) and give control back to our true selves, our spirit. We also protect ourselves from the attack of the world and of evil spirits as they will have no foothold in our lives.

For unto us a Child is born...

For unto us a Child is born,

Unto us a Son is given;

And the government will be upon His shoulder.

And His name will be called

Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting father, Prince of Peace.

Of the increase of His government and peace

There will be no end,

Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom,

To order it and establish it with judgment and justice

From that time forward, even forever.

The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

Isaiah 9:6-7

We just celebrated Christmas! I hope yours was an amazing day and I hope you had the opportunity to get together with family and with people you love, but I hope even more that you had time to reflect on the true meaning of Christmas. When I say reflect I mean more than just said a prayer before Christmas dinner or read the story of Jesus' birth before opening presents. I mean I hope that you truly took time to remind yourself what it all meant more than 2000 years ago in that manger in Bethlehem. Isaiah 9:6 is one of the most popular verses to quote in the Christmas season and it is a good one. But how often do we really listen and understand to this verse?

This verse lists several names that Jesus is to be called: "Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace". Do you know Him by these names? Is He truly wonderful to you? Have you experienced His counsel? Do you know Him as mighty, Father, the bringer of peace? I could write a blog post on each of these names but I won't, at least not yet. However think about it. Have you truly experienced Him as all these things to you? 

The other thing that this verse mentions twice is "the government". Sometimes I think we forget that Jesus came on this earth not only to die and raise from the dead, but also to establish a kingdom. Everything that He did was reestablishing His kingdom in which He has called us to be kings and priests. Here we have a promise that the increase of his government and peace will never end! Sometimes we talk as if the church is in decline in these days however that is not true. There may be places where it is in decline, but worldwide the church is growing faster than ever. Isaiah promised that once this Child was born the increase of His government would never end. Be encouraged that His kingdom will continue to grow and you have a choice: jump in and be a part or watch from the outside. As for me and my house... We will be a part in the increase of His kingdom!

We Walk by Faith

^{"So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. For we walk by faith, not by sight. We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and present with the Lord."
2 Corinthians 5:6-8}

History and Context:

Corinth was a city on the main trade route between Asia and western Europe, and Paul had spent two years there establishing the church. Paul wrote the first letter to the Corinthians in order to address division and immorality in the church. After that letter he had an opportunity to visit the church. Apparently the visit was a difficult one for both Paul and the members of the church and afterwards Paul talks about writing a letter in "much anguish" (ch 2). Though this letter is only the second letter to the Corinthians which we have, it seems that Paul wrote at least four separate letters and that this is the fourth. This is his follow up after the difficult visit and the letter of 'tears'.

The Text:
I was raised in a "faith church" so verse seven was a verse often quoted while I was growing up. "We walk by faith, not by sight." Usually this was quoted in reference to a situation where money seemed too short or where we were feeling sick but were standing in faith for our healing. We walk by faith that we are healed despite the fact that we can see the signs and symptoms of sickness. Although these are legitimate times where faith is needed and where we have to ignore what are senses are telling us, it is interesting to see what this verse is actually talking about. When we read this chapter we see that Paul is reminding the Corinthians of their 'heavenly' home. He is reminding them that if our earthly bodies, or "tents", are destroyed then we have a home with Christ in heaven already prepared. Then, as we see in the above passage, he says that as long as we are at home in our bodies we are absent from the Lord, but we walk by faith knowing that when we become absent from our body we will be home with Christ. In other words this scripture is not referring to having faith for our temporary earthly state of being but is referring to having an eternal mindset, recognizing that this earth is a temporary stopping place.

The Challenge:
Walk in faith with your eternal mindset. Recognize that what happens to your earthly body is insignificant compared to the home that Christ has prepared for you in heaven. Learn to make your daily decisions and choices based on this heavenly mindset.

The Prayer:
Lord, we pray remind us daily of our home in heaven with you. Help us to keep an eternal mindset and make choices which will affect eternity. In Jesus' name, Amen!