What follows is a teaching I have prepared for my church, but it is bursting out of me, I just want to share this with someone. I feel as if there is something here God wants someone to hear. So I have my notes here. I have not changed the wording or linked all the Bible passages as I normally would before posting it on my Salt & Light page. I hope you get something from it.

Let’s begin by reading 1 Peter 1:3-9
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
 
Various trials… I would say we have seen our share of various trials recently. Yet, at least for me this church, even in its own turmoil has held me together, has been the comfort of God for me. You have wept with me, held your arms around me, and rejoiced with me.
I have not had the happiest couple of months. Losing my mother was extraordinarily difficult. It did not help that when I should have been processing that loss and the pain that accompanied it therefore healing, that it felt like a barrage of calamities hit me one after the other. I know that I was not the only person in this church to experience difficult times. Separately and together, we have had various trials hit us, we have suffered separately and together. I know that the enemy is afraid of Jesus Christ in us, he is afraid of what we can do and who we can be in the Holy Spirit.
There are a number of ways people can deal with tribulations like that.  We could let them defeat us, lay down and say, “you win.” We let the bad circumstances overcome us and become ineffective Christians or wounded self-pitying people. We could, like the world, blame God for the atrocities the enemy is performing all over this broken world.
We could try and fight the enemy, looking for solutions to the problems that pop up. We could run around looking for loans, suing people to get “justice,” or wounding those who have wounded us. But, that is us forgetting the goal, running a race aimlessly or beating the air like a boxer with his eyes closed. That is us fighting the problems, not standing in the faith and promise of God, not remembering our hope, that imperishable inheritance.
Or we could keep our eyes on Jesus, we could remember the goal, seek God, glorify the Lord and bring as many people with us to eternal life as possible. We can hold on to the hope of Christ and rejoice, even in midst of the sorrow. We can believe, truly really believe and so rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory. We can listen to the voice of God and do what He tells us to do, even if what He says is, “Rest,” or “Forgive. Vengeance is mine.”
Suffering can result in us turning inward on ourselves and living in the pain the enemy wants us to live in, crippling us in the kingdom. But it can result in greater things, it can result in great glory to God. It can result in us becoming powerful and effective Christians.
In my own suffering, I felt a little like Job. I was not in a self-pity mode, but I reached a point where I was afraid to say, “At least it’s not worse,” because I felt like when I said it, the devil said, “It can be! Let me show you!” But, I stayed in communion with God, even when it wasn’t as passionate as it could have or should have been. He kept reminding me of Genesis 50:20 when Joseph explained to his brothers how and why he forgave them for what they had done to him as a teenager. “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.”
That is the hope we hold onto, that God will bring good out of all the stuff that happens to us. Paul reminds of it in Romans 8:28-29 as well. It is very good that we are made more like Jesus and other good comes out of it. God wants good for us, He wants salvation for everyone. That doesn’t make the tribulations any less tumultuous, but it does help us to trudge on through them, to obey God, and to eventually look back and even rejoice for what came out of it. The faith that God will work good out of evil and will work good for those who love Him can give us the reason to praise Him even when we are hurting and don’t know what else to say. I can say, “thank you Lord that some of my family and friends got to hear that my mother loved you.” I can praise the Lord because I know I will see my mother again in the resurrection and I know she is with Jesus completely at peace and joy, all her doubts vanished, all her pain gone. I can praise God because through the church being forced to find a new place to meet, we have come to know that we are the church, one body who loves each other very much, who loves Jesus very much and who will continue regardless of a home. That we will be a very strong core to a growing body who will glorify the Lord and impact His Kingdom in ways the devil never could have imagined. The evil he meant for us, God meant for good and to bring about that many people will be saved.
Then my sister encouraged me with some verses from Job. Job 5:8-11 reads,
“As for me, I would seek God,
    and to God would I commit my cause,
9 who does great things and unsearchable,
    marvelous things without number:
10 he gives rain on the earth
    and sends waters on the fields;
11 he sets on high those who are lowly,
    and those who mourn are lifted to safety.
 
Those verses and her prayers ignited me. I knew I needed to seek God even more during this time. I needed to cry out to Him and know He is omnipotent and that He loves perfectly and steadfastly.  I did. I read Psalm 42 because I completely understood what David meant when he described his soul as downcast. It’s so much more than sadness. David said his tears were his food day and night. He said that his soul was in turmoil. That is how I felt. I wanted to stop hurting. I, like David wanted to feel like I had felt in the past at a high point of faith and my walk with Jesus.
What was David’s answer? He said,
“As a deer pants for flowing streams,
    so pants my soul for you, O God.
 My soul thirsts for God,
    for the living God.
When shall I come and appear before God”
He said his need for God was a desperation, an absolute requirement for his life, the way a deer requires water.
He said, that he remembered the praise when he poured his soul out to God. And He said in verse 8,
“By day the Lord commands his steadfast love,
    and at night his song is with me,
    a prayer to the God of my life.”
He ends the Psalm in verse 11 with,
“Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
    my salvation and my God.”
 
David turned to God and God covered him in His love and reminded him of the hope and salvation He gave him. I did too. I finally turned fully to God.
We can’t expect to stand firm in Christ if we are not seeking God with the desperation of that panting thirsty deer. We can’t expect to resist the devil if we are inviting him to engage with us by trying to fight him and wrestle with him rather than crying out to God and letting the LORD do great things and unsearchable, marvelous things without number as the book of Job reminds us, He does.
My sadness did not magically disappear, but my hope grew and my joy grew. God showed me that a person can be in deep grief, but still have joy. The more I spoke to God, the more I cried out to Him instead of an empty room, the more I looked for the Lord, the more hope and joy I had, regardless of my circumstances.
And then I saw God moving to help me, I saw Him shining His favor on me, improving some of the circumstances that had piled on me.
How does my crying out to God, how does us putting our faith in God rather than ourselves glorify the Lord? People are watching. People are watching our responses and reactions. They see if we dig way down and flex our own muscles or we stand firm in faith and ask the Lord to be our strength, provider, comforter, counselor, and savior. It is not about changing circumstances. Our circumstances can improve but we can remain bereft or we can grow farther away from God as we become what the world sees as strong. Paul was harassed by Satan who had given him something he described as a thorn in his flesh. Paul turned to the LORD and begged Him to take it away. God chose not to change the circumstances, instead He changed His servant.
2 Corinthians 12:7-12 reads,
 So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
The Lord’s power, His omnipotent unimaginable strength is made perfect, that is it is shown and expressed in our weakness. God can do it all and it is shown best when displayed through our imperfection, our inability, our frailty. It is His strength, not ours that brings people to Jesus. It is God’s strength that allowed Him to lay His life down on the cross and raise up again to defeat death and sin. He empowers us and gives us strength to rise above our circumstances. Paul wrote to the Philippians and said in chapter 4 verses 12-13
12 I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. 13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
When we operate in His strength and not our own, the circumstances do not have to bring us down. But He can and does do great things for us. He does great things and unsearchable, marvelous things without number!
He will give us the church building He showed us. He will do it in a way, none of us imagined. He can do so much more than any of us can think up. He can and will and has provided for us again and again. He heals! He anoints! He brings people to Himself even through the evil campaigns of the enemy.
And what about the good that comes out of the evil that the enemy tries to work against us? Sometimes we don’t know about it. We don’t know how we were protected from some awful thing. Sometimes it takes time to come about. Scholars guess Joseph spent about thirteen years or so in prison for a crime he did not commit. It was two years from the time he interpreted the dreams of the cup bearer and baker to the time he was asked to serve Pharaoh. It was the gifts and wisdom God had given Joseph that saved Egypt and his family.
But there are many times when God let’s us see the good that came from the thwarted attack of the enemy, the weapons that tried to take us down and maybe even looked like they hit the target. I can tell you that I saw how many people I have that love and care about me, my good friends, my church, my family. God sends those people to be His arms hugging and holding you, His comfort as The Holy Spirit operates through His people as we obey the “one anothers” out of love for Jesus and each other. God sent Job’s friends to comfort him during what had to be horrific and unimaginable sorrow. His friends weren’t perfect, they proved that when they spoke out of themselves rather than the Spirit of God. But Job’s faithful response, changed his friends lives and gave them an encounter with the LORD of Lords.
And often, the good that comes from it is the transformation of our character to the image of Christ. Romans 5:3-5 describes it this way,
3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
 When we’re suffering, not only does the Lord make us more like Jesus but if we choose to pay attention, we can be very aware of the awesome love He has for us. He pours His love into us through the Holy Spirit. He builds us up and He lets us feel that amazing love He is, fill us up with it and even helps us to love others with better with His agape love.
For me, the peace, the comfort, the love all came when I cried out to God, when I sought Him and asked for His help. The joy came when I praised Him for being awesome and good even when my circumstances were terrible.
We can feel so alone in suffering, in trials, and difficulties, but that is a lie from the enemy. Remember God’s promise, “I am with you. I will never leave you nor forsake you.” We might ignore God, but He will not leave us, and He will not ignore us. He will not remove His hand from our lives unless we want Him to do that.
One of my favorite names for God is, The God who Sees Me. This was what Hagar called him when she was so hurt by how she was treated by Sarai and Abram after she became pregnant. God pursued her into the wilderness, comforted her and gave her the promise of her son, Ishmael, which means God hears.
We can cry out to Him and know He hears us. We know He sees us, and We know He has compassion for us, and we know that God loves us perfectly because He is love.
And we have more than Hagar’s promise of God hears, we have Jesus, Emmanuel, God with us! We are definitely never alone. And if we are part of a Jesus following, Bible believing, Holy Spirit led church, we also know that the people around us can empathize, that the people around us love us because we are called and empowered to love one another as Jesus loved us. That has been proved in us again and again. We have rejoiced together, we have wept together, we have walked and grown together. That kind of love, the love of God and the love He gives us for one another is what gives us joy regardless of the circumstances.
John 15:7-12
If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. 9 As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. 10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. 11 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.
12 “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.
 
I praise the Lord. I praise Him, not because the world is honkey dory, but because He is God. Because He is God with me, Awesome Mighty God, Lord God of Hosts. The world doesn’t need the lie that life is a rose garden if you’re saved, the world needs the truth that God is always God. They need to know that He prayed for them in the garden of Gethsemane and that He died for them and resurrected for them. They need to know the hope of eternal life. I praise God because He is I Am.
The world sees the way we respond to problems. They can call us stupid or apathetic, tell us religion is a crutch, or offer advice about what they would do in our circumstances. Their response will not affect or change our lives,; But maybe they can take notice and see how good God is and start a journey to Christ and let their life be changed by Jesus, who gives us strength to do all things.
The first and most important thing we can do when we are being attacked, when we are facing various trials is cry out to God and let Him be God! If we abide in Jesus, whatever we ask will be given to us! We cry out to God. We can listen and obey. We can move as He orders and rest as He orders. We can and should put on the full armor of God letting salvation, righteousness, truth, and faith protect us and wielding the very powerful sword of the Sprit, the Word of God. Every piece of the armor is about Jesus. Jesus is our Salvation. He gives us our righteousness. He gives us our Faith. He is the Truth. He is the Word of God. Ephesians 6:11 tells us to “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.”
You have the Spirit of God in you! He adores you that much that He chose to live in you. Live in the Spirit rather than doing what the world says you ought to do in your circumstances. Cry out to God and obey Him, submit to His will. James 4:2-7 says it like this,
You do not have, because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. 4 You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 5 Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”? 6 But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” 7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
You don’t have to do more than merely resist, the word for resist is antistēte, it means to set against and withstand.
The same word is used in 1 Peter 5:9 let’s read 1 Peter 5:6-11
Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, 7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. 8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9 Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. 10 And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. 11 To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Once again we humble ourselves, we put ourselves under His mighty hand, we cast all our cares on Him and we resist.
What does it mean to resist, to withstand to stand firm or stand against? Exodus 14:13-14 describes a bit about resisting the enemy. When the Israelites reached the Red Sea and they looked and saw the Egyptian army closing in on them, they were afraid, but Moses spoke for the Lord and said, “And Moses said to the people, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. 14 The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”
So, today whatever your circumstances, trials, anxieties, or sorrows I encourage you to cry out to God and put on the whole armor of God. Let’s humble ourselves under God’s mighty hand asking Him to fight for us; let’s resist, stand against the devil firm in our faith that God is mighty and He has called us to His eternal glory. He will restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish us! He is I Am! Jehovah, Lord God Almighty!

​Yesterday we read that one reason David was disqualified from building the Temple of God was because he was a man of war. This would infer that God saw a problem with David as a man of war. But this was not the case. It was just not a trait the LORD wanted associated with His house which would foreshadow Heaven for us. New Jerusalem will be a place where no more death and war occur. Isaiah 2:4 reads,
He shall judge between the nations,
    and shall decide disputes for many peoples;
and they shall beat their swords into plowshares,
    and their spears into pruning hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
    neither shall they learn war anymore.
But before New Jerusalem is established there must be war. We are fighting it now. Joel 3:9-10 reads,
Proclaim this among the nations:
Consecrate for war;
    stir up the mighty men.
Let all the men of war draw near;
    let them come up.
10 Beat your plowshares into swords,
    and your pruning hooks into spears;
    let the weak say, “I am a warrior.”
David was a man after God’s own heart and he was a warrior king. It was necessary for him to lead the army and fight and defeat Israel’s enemies. 2 Samuel 8 records his military might. Verses 1-8 read,
After this David defeated the Philistines and subdued them, and David took Metheg-ammah out of the hand of the Philistines.
2 And he defeated Moab and he measured them with a line, making them lie down on the ground. Two lines he measured to be put to death, and one full line to be spared. And the Moabites became servants to David and brought tribute.
3 David also defeated Hadadezer the son of Rehob, king of Zobah, as he went to restore his power at the river Euphrates. 4 And David took from him 1,700 horsemen, and 20,000 foot soldiers. And David hamstrung all the chariot horses but left enough for 100 chariots. 5 And when the Syrians of Damascus came to help Hadadezer king of Zobah, David struck down 22,000 men of the Syrians.6 Then David put garrisons in Aram of Damascus, and the Syrians became servants to David and brought tribute. And the Lord gave victory to David wherever he went. 7 And David took the shields of gold that were carried by the servants of Hadadezer and brought them to Jerusalem. 8 And from Betah and from Berothai, cities of Hadadezer, King David took very much bronze.
God used David, his warrior king to conquer the surrounding nations, to build Israel’s wealth, to build David’s reputation and spread His glory to the nations. David was as Jesus is a warrior king. God’s name LORD of Hosts means He leads the angel armies.  The angel armies are not meek, weak, or gentle. They are fierce, they are the instruments of God’s wrath, and the bringers of God’s justice. Revelation 19:11-16 describes Jesus as the LORD God of Hosts, the Warrior King.
Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. 12 His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. 13 He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. 14 And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. 15 From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. 16 On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.
 
We will have eternal peace one day, but now we are in a war and we are expected to do our part. Paul describes it in Ephesians 6:10-20
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 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 firm. 14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, 19 and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.
This war is not a normal war where earthly armor would do. Like earthly armor impeded David in order to fight Goliath (1 Samuel 17:38-40) we do not use earthly methods to fight the war. It is spiritual armor, truth, righteousness, the gospel of peace, faith, salvation, and the word of God. It is fought with prayer and it is fought with speaking and doing God’s word. We are doers of the word and not hearers only (James 1:22). We aren’t fighting people; we are fighting demonic forces under the lead of Satan. The lost are blindly ignorant prisoners of war to whom we can bring the freedom of Christ. Believer, we have nothing to fear in fighting him. He prowls around, seeks to devour, steal, kill, and destroy (1 Peter 5:8, John 10:10) but he is a coward, easily defeated now, and eternally defeated in the future. We don’t glorify the enemy. We don’t battle him with our words or our power. We battle him with the tools described in the armor of God. We don’t even have to battle, we pray, we have faith, we take thoughts captive (2 Corinthians 10:5), we remember the truth and throw out the lies of the accuser. We resist him, not fight him. He is a coward and he doesn’t stick around for losing battles. James 4:6-8 describes the best way to deal with that gutless enemy.
But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” 7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
 
Be humble, submit yourself to God, resist the devil, draw near to God and cleanse your hands of sin. Resist is defined as to “remain strong against the force or effect of: to not be affected or harmed by.” If we engage the enemy, he remains engaged. If we resist, he flees.
Jesus is the Warrior King. He already won the war when He resurrected after laying down His life for us (Revelation 1:18). Soon, Satan will face defeat and eternal torment (Revelation 20:10).
David the warrior king gained great glory for God and built the fame and reputation of Israel as a people to be feared. Some kings, rather than fight David and his army, chose to submit to him before he could combat them. They recognized his enemies were theirs as well and joined him. Verses 9-14 read,
When Toi king of Hamath heard that David had defeated the whole army of Hadadezer, 10 Toi sent his son Joram to King David, to ask about his health and to bless him because he had fought against Hadadezer and defeated him, for Hadadezer had often been at war with Toi. And Joram brought with him articles of silver, of gold, and of bronze. 11 These also King David dedicated to the Lord, together with the silver and gold that he dedicated from all the nations he subdued, 12 from Edom, Moab, the Ammonites, the Philistines, Amalek, and from the spoil of Hadadezer the son of Rehob, king of Zobah.
13 And David made a name for himself when he returned from striking down 18,000 Edomites in the Valley of Salt. 14 Then he put garrisons in Edom; throughout all Edom he put garrisons, and all the Edomites became David's servants. And the Lord gave victory to David wherever he went.
 
When we are wearing God’s armor and fighting as God has told us to do, we too will glorify the LORD and people will join His side. When we signed on, we were given a commission. Our commission does not say fight people, hate those who hate you, or argue with non-believers until they believe. Jesus told us,
All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age. (Matthew 28:18-20).
Jesus gave us a commandment and told us that by this commandment people would know we were His followers. John 13:34-35 reads,
 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.
 
We have our commission and we have our commandment. We cannot carry these out alone. Jesus didn’t. He had had his disciples. David didn’t. He was surrounded by support. Verses 15-18 read,
So David reigned over all Israel. And David administered justice and equity to all his people. 16 Joab the son of Zeruiah was over the army, and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder, 17 and Zadok the son of Ahitub and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar were priests, and Seraiah was secretary, 18 and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and the Pelethites, and David's sons were priests.[1]
 
Jesus was not alone. David was not alone. How can we think we can fight the good fight alone? Being together, gathering together in our King’s name is powerful. I can show you verse after verse in God’s Word which shows He expects us to live and walk as a community. In Matthew 18:18-20 Jesus described just how powerful even a few of us together can be.
 Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.  For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.
 
Believer, do you want to be a person after God’s own heart? Then you must take part in the resistance! You are a warrior. You were made to overcome the bondage of evil. You are victorious. Perhaps you should live that way. Put on the whole armor of God.


[1] David’s son were priests more properly translates to David’s sons were chief officials. They carried out not Godly priestly duties, but ministry and duties to David and officiated as princes and officials in David’s name. See 1 Chronicles 18:17 “… and David's sons were the chief officials in the service of the king.”

​Esther 10
We were saved for a reason. We’ve have been placed where we are, given our position and gifts for a purpose. Esther was elevated to the position of queen in order to save the Jewish people from Haman’s evil schemes. Her position gave Mordecai the unique opportunity to affect the king’s life and save the lives of countless individuals. The Lord gave Mordecai important messages that had to be told. He told him about the plot to kill King Ahasuerus and the Haman’s scheme to kill the Jews. He showed Mordecai what to do and who to tell and all Mordecai had to do was courageously obey. When Mordecai told Esther about those plots, he trusted God that she would act in obedience as well. He trusted the Lord that The Lord would tell Esther how to move and what to do. When God saved us, He put us in places and made us able to speak to the people He placed in our lives and affect their lives too. He gave us the chance to be heros.
When Mordecai spoke to save Ahasuerus’ life, he didn’t do so to get a reward. He did it because it was the right thing to do and because The Lord put him in a place where he could. In fact, at first he didn’t get a reward. His act was recorded in the king’s chronicle. But Mordecai did receive his reward eventually. That first heroic act eventually led to Mordecai’s elevation in Ahasuerus’ kingdom to a place where he would have even greater influence over the lives of many people. Let’s finish reading the book of Esther today. Verses 1-3 (The entire 10th chapter) reads,
King Ahasuerus imposed tax on the land and on the coastlands of the sea. 2 And all the acts of his power and might, and the full account of the high honor of Mordecai, to which the king advanced him, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the kings of Media and Persia? 3 For Mordecai the Jew was second in rank to King Ahasuerus, and he was great among the Jews and popular with the multitude of his brothers, for he sought the welfare of his people and spoke peace to all his people.
Mordecai was second in the kingdom, his power and influence was immense. Like Joseph before him, Mordecai used his status for good. He is remembered as a great hero. You and I, Believer were also give a place in a kingdom, the greatest kingdom that ever existed, the kingdom of Heaven. We were elevated, made royalty, and given authority to take advantage of that position for the welfare of the multitudes. We were placed here for such a time as this and it is our choice to make use of the opportunities we’re given to save lives or to sit back and let someone else have the honor of being God’s hero. In Esther 4:14 Mordecai told Esther,
“For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”
We can keep silent, we can watch as people die in slavery to Satan or we can rise up and be the instrument of their salvation and lead them to Jesus Christ. You are not ignorant of the devil’s plots (2 Corinthians 2:11). You have the message they so desperately need to hear. You have the Word inside you. Colossians 3:14-17 says,
And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
You are equipped with ability to be the hero God has made you to be. Romans 10:13-17 reads,
For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” 16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” 17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
We can be heroes! We are meant to be heroes. We have gifts from God to be used for both the common good and the building up of the church (1 Corinthians 12:7, Ephesians 4:12). We have been given the armor to carry out God’s commission for us as well. Ephesians 6:10-20 reads,
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 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 firm. 14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, 19 and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak
We are extraordinary; we are unlike the world around us! We are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s very own (1 Peter 2:9) and because of that we have the responsibility to carry out heroic commission and bring people to the salvation of Jesus Christ, our King, our High Priest, our Savior. We can do so, not through harshness, judgement, and disputes but in love, with love, and through love, the love of God. 2 Corinthians 5:14-21 reads,
 For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; 15 and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.
16 From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Beloved Believer, you are meant to be a hero! God gave you a new identity, a commission, a position, gifts, and a message. Be the hero He has called you to be. If you don’t do it, someone else will. Someone else will receive the crown you might have received. Someone else will live in closeness with The Lord, the way you could have. Someone else will enjoy the abundant life you should have.

Deuteronomy 3
When Moses retold the adventure of Israel wandering in the desert to them before they were finally going to take possession of The Promise Land, He didn’t retell them their faithlessness, whining and sin. He reminded them of the battles they fought and of how God had defeated their enemies for them and given them land that belonged to giants. He began the summation of the forty years by showing them what He had done for Esau and Lot. Then He had the ragtag group of ex-slaves battle King Sihon of Kedemoth and take his land. In today’s continuation of the recapitulation of the forty years, The Lord, speaking through Moses reminded Israel about another battle. When we consider our suffering, we don’t rehash sin and guilt, we remember God’s greatness, the battles, and the victory. Verses 1-10 read,
“Then we turned and went up the way to Bashan. And Og the king of Bashan came out against us, he and all his people, to battle at Edrei.2 But the Lord said to me, ‘Do not fear him, for I have given him and all his people and his land into your hand. And you shall do to him as you did to Sihon the king of the Amorites, who lived at Heshbon.’ 3 So theLord our God gave into our hand Og also, the king of Bashan, and all his people, and we struck him down until he had no survivor left. 4 And we took all his cities at that time—there was not a city that we did not take from them—sixty cities, the whole region of Argob, the kingdom of Og in Bashan. 5 All these were cities fortified with high walls, gates, and bars, besides very many unwalled villages. 6 And we devoted them to destruction, as we did to Sihon the king of Heshbon, devoting to destruction every city, men, women, and children. 7 But all the livestock and the spoil of the cities we took as our plunder. 8 So we took the land at that time out of the hand of the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, from the Valley of the Arnon to Mount Hermon 9 (the Sidonians call Hermon Sirion, while the Amorites call it Senir), 10 all the cities of the tableland and all Gilead and all Bashan, as far as Salecah and Edrei, cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan.”
King Og was not just your average king. He was fearsome. His kingdom was large and people trembled before him. He was literally a giant among men. Verse 11 describes him.
 (For only Og the king of Bashan was left of the remnant of the Rephaim. Behold, his bed was a bed of iron. Is it not in Rabbah of the Ammonites? Nine cubits was its length, and four cubits its breadth, according to the common cubit.)
The Rephaim were giants. They were the people who lived in Canaan and made Israel afraid to take possession of the Land. They were the people who lived in Ar, the land given to Lot’s descendants by the Lord. By the time Israel took Bashan, Og was the only giant left. His bed was made of iron, 4 ½ yards long and 2 yards wide. That implies that Og was about 12 feet tall. Goliath was 6’9” (1 Samuel 17:4). In the Israelites time in the wilderness, The Lord had led them first to show them He could defeat giants for them, then handed kings to them and then finally handed the last giant left to them. He taught them in a manner which first gave them head knowledge, then gave them a reason to believe, then took that knowledge and put in their hearts as faith.
They were not yet to The Promised Land, they were on the outskirts of it and God let them take the Bashan. Verses 12-17 reads,
“When we took possession of this land at that time, I gave to the Reubenites and the Gadites the territory beginning at Aroer, which is on the edge of the Valley of the Arnon, and half the hill country of Gilead with its cities. 13 The rest of Gilead, and all Bashan, the kingdom of Og, that is, all the region of Argob, I gave to the half-tribe of Manasseh. (All that portion of Bashan is called the land of Rephaim. 14 Jair the Manassite took all the region of Argob, that is, Bashan, as far as the border of the Geshurites and the Maacathites, and called the villagesafter his own name, Havvoth-jair, as it is to this day.) 15 To Machir I gave Gilead, 16 and to the Reubenites and the Gadites I gave the territory from Gilead as far as the Valley of the Arnon, with the middle of the valley as a border, as far over as the river Jabbok, the border of the Ammonites; 17 the Arabah also, with the Jordan as the border, from Chinnereth as far as the Sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, under the slopes of Pisgah on the east.”
They were not done with their trek yet, the land God gave them was only a small portion of what they would possess. He let them leave their women, children, and livestock there while the fighting men were to continue on. Verses 18-22 reads,
“And I commanded you at that time, saying, ‘The Lord your God has given you this land to possess. All your men of valor shall cross over armed before your brothers, the people of Israel. 19 Only your wives, your little ones, and your livestock (I know that you have much livestock) shall remain in the cities that I have given you, 20 until the Lord gives rest to your brothers, as to you, and they also occupy the land that the Lord your God gives them beyond the Jordan. Then each of you may return to his possession which I have given you.’ 21 And I commanded Joshua at that time, ‘Your eyes have seen all that the Lord your God has done to these two kings. So will the Lord do to all the kingdoms into which you are crossing. 22 You shall not fear them, for it is the Lord your God who fights for you.’”
These ex-slaves were now wealthy men of valor with so much livestock that it was prudent to leave for safe keeping with their families. The Lord had made them rich while they wandered in the wilderness. He had taught them to fight, have faith, and be strong and courageous. He had brought them from up from indigent slaves to wealthy noblemen. That is what time in the wilderness does, if we allow it. The Lord shows us His strength, He shows us we do not have to fear the enemy because He fights for us. He matures us so that we are no longer slaves to the enemy but princes in the Kingdom of God.
He has given us eternal life and we enjoy it now, but there is more fighting for us, the Lord’s courageous warriors to do. We continue on until the final battle is fought and all of us have rest together. Ephesians 6:10-13 reads,
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 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 firm.
The Lord does not expect or want us to fight without Him. He was with Israel as they fought Sihon and Og and He is with us as we fight rulers, authorities and cosmic powers. He is the armor He asks us to put on. He is the Truth. He is our Righteousness. He is the Gospel of Peace and our Peace. He is our Shield and our Faith. He is our Salvation. He is the Sword of the Spirit and the Word of God. We can stand firm because we do not stand alone; The Lord is with us and He fights for us.
Moses had led the people out of Egypt. He had led the people through forty years in the wilderness. But The Lord had told him he would not enter it. Moses had an extraordinarily intimate relationship with God and He was not afraid to ask Him for more. So Moses asked God for more, he wanted to see The Promised Land. Verses 23-29 read,
“And I pleaded with the Lord at that time, saying, 24 ‘O Lord God, you have only begun to show your servant your greatness and your mighty hand. For what god is there in heaven or on earth who can do such works and mighty acts as yours? 25 Please let me go over and see the good land beyond the Jordan, that good hill country and Lebanon.’ 26 But the Lord was angry with me because of you and would not listen to me. And the Lord said to me, ‘Enough from you; do not speak to me of this matter again. 27 Go up to the top of Pisgah and lift up your eyes westward and northward and southward and eastward, and look at it with your eyes, for you shall not go over this Jordan. 28 But charge Joshua, and encourage and strengthen him, for he shall go over at the head of this people, and he shall put them in possession of the land that you shall see.’ 29 So we remained in the valley opposite Beth-peor.
The Lord would not change His mind and let Moses enter The Promised Land. He wanted us to understand the onus of responsibility the leaders hold for their charges. But He did let Moses see it. He showed Him the land and then said, ‘That’s enough! Let’s get on with business.’
Moses had seen God. Moses had been there as God himself wrote the Law onto stones, and did countless miracles. The Lord had done so many great works that they had become commonplace to Israel, yet Moses said, “you have only begun to show your servant your greatness and your mighty hand.” God has done great miracles in your life too. He resurrected you with Jesus and made you new. He has healed, provided, freed you from bondage, and more. His miracles can be so plentiful that we should just expect them, have a need and just know the Lord will meet it. We should always be aware that what we have seen god do is the smallest fraction of His greatness. When the people were dying of thirst, Moses just hit a rock with a staff and gave them water because a miracle is not too much to expect. (Exodus 17:1-7).
The Lord showed Moses His greatness in a way that Israel could not begin to grasp. But Believer, you and I are His friends too and He loves to show us who He is! He loves to do great things for us. It pleases God when we depend on Him and let Him fight for us, provide for us, and give us gifts. You may be in the wilderness, but God is showing you His might so that you can have faith enough to understand that He will always fight for you, hand giants over to you, and give you the impossible.

2 Thessalonians 3:1-5

Why do we pray for each other? Do our prayers really affect anything? Yes, our prayers affect The Kingdom of Heaven, the church, the world, and each of us. Verse 1 reads,

“Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored, as happened among you,”

Our prayers influence the church as we work toward making disciples. The workers are made bolder and The Spirit within us strengthens us and works through us because of our prayers for one another. The hearts of the people who we meet are softened, opened, or broken in preparation for the Word of The Lord. It was someone’s prayers which affected each of us and brought us to a place where we could meet, accept, and come to know Jesus.

We are told numerous times to pray for one another. We are one body, whether near or far from each other. Our prayers united us further. James 5:13-16 reads,

“Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.”

Whether sick, sad, happy, or wavering the prayers of our brothers and sisters in Christ help us. Prayer in Jesus’ name is powerful. (John 14:12-14). Adding “in Jesus’ name” to the end of a prayer is not authoritative. Those words have no effect on the prayer. It is faith with Jesus’ authority for His will that makes the person righteous and the prayer formidable.

Prayer grows our faith and protects us from attacks of the enemy. Verses 2-3 read,

“and that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men. For not all have faith. 3 But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one.’

The devil is out to destroy our witness. He doesn’t want us glorifying Jesus and so he attacks those who are strong in The Lord. Once we’re weak he is thrilled. There is nothing for him to fear from a weak Christian. because Satan is afraid of us. That is one of his primary reasons for attacking us.. 1 Peter 5:6-11 reads,

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, 7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. 8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9 Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. 10 And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. 11 To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.”

But our prayers for one another make us more aware of the spiritual warfare going on around us, and strengthen us, making the enemies attacks futile. Ephesians 6:14-20 says,

“Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, 19 and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.”

Asking for prayer is not a weakness, it takes courage. Asking for prayer gives an opportunity to hear the Word of The Lord spoken through His servants, our brothers and sisters in Christ. Praying in The Spirit and in Truth is a weapon against the devil. That kind of prayer changes us individually and corporately. 1 Corinthians 14:14-19 says,

“For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays but my mind is unfruitful. 15 What am I to do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will pray with my mind also; I will sing praise with my spirit, but I will sing with my mind also. 16 Otherwise, if you give thanks with your spirit, how can anyone in the position of an outsider say “Amen” to your thanksgiving when he does not know what you are saying?17 For you may be giving thanks well enough, but the other person is not being built up. 18 I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you.19 Nevertheless, in church I would rather speak five words with my mind in order to instruct others, than ten thousand words in a tongue.”

We should be praying privately, but we should also be praying together, out loud in The Spirit with plain language. Verses 4-5 read,

“And we have confidence in the Lord about you, that you are doing and will do the things that we command. 5 May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ.”

Prayer as we commune with The Holy Spirit, who is so much more abundantly present when we are together and even when we are praying for each other although we are apart fortifies our walk, allows us to hear the Word of God, obey the Word of God, and follow His guidance. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-22 says,

“Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 19 Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not despise prophecies, 21 but test everything; hold fast what is good. 22 Abstain from every form of evil.”

Believer, do not think that prayer is a last resort when our efforts have come to no avail. Prayer is the first step, and present throughout every step of the Follower of Christ. It is a powerful tool, an authoritative weapon, and a light to us and the world. It keeps The Spirit’s fire hot in us and allows us to Glorify Jesus Christ.

Psalm 76

This psalm of Asaph is entitled “Who Can Stand Before You.” As Christians we know the answer to that question. Only Jesus, the Son of God, who is with God and is God can stand before The LORD. The people of earth will not stand before Him. We will fall to our knees, either in adoration or terror. God is awesome. He is not awesome in its vernacular meaning like that cake is awesome, Dude. He is awesome as in, He fills us with awe, amazement, wonderment, veneration, and reverence. Verses 1-3 reads,

“In Judah God is known;
    his name is great in Israel.
2 His abode has been established in Salem,
    his dwelling place in Zion.
3 There he broke the flashing arrows,
    the shield, the sword, and the weapons of war. Selah”

We, the followers of Christ know God, and we make Him known to all those around us. We are distinctive in our actions, words, and faith. (John 13:31-35). He has established His tabernacle in us now, and His home in New Jerusalem with us after The Day of Fire. (2 Peter 3:10-13, Revelation 21:1-4). Here and now He fights for us, He is our armor and our sword. (Ephesians 6:10-20). And when we live in eternity with Him there will be no more need of weapons. Isaiah 2:4-5 describes it this way,

“He shall judge between the nations,
    and shall decide disputes for many peoples;
and they shall beat their swords into plowshares,
    and their spears into pruning hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
    neither shall they learn war anymore.

5 O house of Jacob,
    come, let us walk
    in the light of the Lord.”

God is awesome! He is bigger than any problem we face. He is stronger than any chain, more powerful than the fiercest opponent, and more desirous of us than the hungriest predator. The enemy cannot stand up to The Lord. Not one of God’s enemies will prevail, not one will live. None will even be able to face Him. God’s presence brings them to their faces in shame and dread. Verses 4-6 say,

“Glorious are you, more majestic
    than the mountains full of prey.
5 The stouthearted were stripped of their spoil;
    they sank into sleep;
all the men of war
    were unable to use their hands.
6 At your rebuke, O God of Jacob,
    both rider and horse lay stunned.”

Our Lord is so powerful He only needs to rebuke and His Word is enough to disable the enemy. All those fighting against God with their pride will find out that this temporary earth is just that and they will perish without any of the gains they made in this life. They will find out that 120 years is an extremely short amount of time. The money they made as they stepped on the backs of the poor will mean nothing in eternity. Their pride was misdirected. Their faith was misplaced. Their souls were lost.

There are so many who need to know who The Lord is. They need to be brought to peace with Him through Jesus Christ so their condemnation will become reward, their terror at God’s wrath will become joy at His love, and their subjugation under the enemy will become victory and freedom in Christ. On Judgement Day we will all face God, with or without Christ. The sentence will be either eternal death or eternal life, eternal Hell or eternal Paradise, eternal prison or eternal freedom. Verses 7-9 read,

“But you, you are to be feared!
    Who can stand before you
    when once your anger is roused?
8 From the heavens you uttered judgment;
    the earth feared and was still,
9 when God arose to establish judgment,
    to save all the humble of the earth. Selah”

Submitting to Jesus as Lord seems to the lost, to be foolish. Humility seems ridiculous to people who take pride in themselves and their works. But in the end, the humble will be exalted and the proud will be bought down. 1 Peter 5:4-11 tells us,

“And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. 5 Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, 7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. 8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9 Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. 10 And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. 11 To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.”

We are on this earth for just a little while, 120 years at most. That is nothing, not even a drop in the bucket of eternity. While we are here we do our best to honor the Lord, to glorify Him and make Him known to the world. We know one day every knee will bow and every tongue confess Jesus is Lord. (Philippians 2:9-11, Romans 14:11-12). We want all of those knees to be compelled by veneration of The Lord, not by terror and dread. Verses 10-12 read,

“Surely the wrath of man shall praise you;
    the remnant of wrath you will put on like a belt.
11 Make your vows to the Lord your God and perform them;
    let all around him bring gifts
    to him who is to be feared,
12 who cuts off the spirit of princes,
    who is to be feared by the kings of the earth.”

Our covenant with The Lord is simple, He has made many promises to us and He fulfills them all. We make one vow to Him and that is He is our Lord, our Master, He has charge over our lives. When we live in obedience to Jesus, He is glorified. People want to know what it so extraordinary about us, they want to know what we have. As we use the gifts He gave us for Him, others want to know too and then they can bring Him their gifts. Like the old shampoo commercial, you will tell two friends, and they will tell two friends and so on until Jesus’ name is acclaimed all over the world.

To us God is Love and Peace, to the world He will be wrath.

Psalm 64

Does it seem sometimes, as Jeremiah complained that evil men prosper? Jeremiah 12:1-2 says what so many of us think from time to time.

“Righteous are you, O Lord,
    when I complain to you;
    yet I would plead my case before you.
Why does the way of the wicked prosper?
    Why do all who are treacherous thrive?
2 You plant them, and they take root;
    they grow and produce fruit;
you are near in their mouth
    and far from their heart.”

We look up from walking our difficult road in choosing right to see people who don’t care about God or beneficence or goodness, running past us toward money, power, and an easy life. It can be discouraging. But we are not alone in this grievance. And we are not seeing the whole picture either. When we take our eyes of The Lord and compare ourselves to the people around us, we can become blinded by faithlessness. David’s enemies sometimes seemed to be winning in their quest to destroy him. He like Jeremiah complained about it in Verses 1-6 of the Psalm.

“Hear my voice, O God, in my complaint;
    preserve my life from dread of the enemy.
2 Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked,
    from the throng of evildoers,
3 who whet their tongues like swords,
    who aim bitter words like arrows,
4 shooting from ambush at the blameless,
    shooting at him suddenly and without fear.
5 They hold fast to their evil purpose;
    they talk of laying snares secretly,
thinking, “Who can see them?”
6     They search out injustice,
saying, “We have accomplished a diligent search.”
    For the inward mind and heart of a man are deep.”

Our enemy the Liar and his followers bitterly hate us. Their hate comes out in vicious words accusing us of many wrongdoings. The enemy lies in wait for us and even though we are forgiven and righteous in Christ, he attacks us. He is determined to destroy our walk with Jesus, our testimony, and our effectiveness. Our enemy thinks we are stupid and won’t recognize his attacks. Sadly many Christians do fall for his lies, accusations, and schemes. They do not know who they are in Christ. They forget who The Lord really is. And they succumb to Satan’s attacks. They are not wearing the full armor of Christ because they don’t understand their identity in Him well enough to wear that noble armor. Paul encouraged us in Ephesians 6:10-13,

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 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 firm.”

Armor is protective. But it must be worn deliberately and properly to be effective. We have to put it on. We have to choose to know who we are and trust who God is to avail ourselves of God’s perfect protection. Paul described the armor in Ephesians 6:14-18,

“Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints,”

When we know that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, (John 14:6) we can understand who we are in Him and combat every lie with the Truth. When we know who we are in Christ and what He has done for us we know we nothing can take the eternal life Jesus’ righteousness gave to us. When we understand who God our Redeemer is we are able to boldly be a testimony to Him, always ready with the Gospel which makes peace between God and man. When we know who Almighty God is we can have faith in Him, and then the lies and attacks of the enemy bounce off of our Shield unable to hurt us. When we know who we are in Christ, Salvation which can’t be taken from us protects our minds and souls and gives us the ability to fight back. We don’t fight with just any weapon, we don’t sling useless retorts at the enemy, we cut him down with the Word of God, the Scriptures and Jesus Christ whose very name holds immense and holy power. When we know who God is and who we are, we don’t worry, we pray in The Spirit for all the saints battling the enemy.

Satan doesn’t care about justice. He lies to people and blinds them to the consequences of sin and the cost of rejecting Christ. But our Lord God Elohim is our Justice and our Righteous Judge. He is The Truth and the Way. He is our Righteousness, our Shield, our Salvation, and our Sword. He is The LORD. Verses 7-9 describe The Justice of The Lord for us.

“But God shoots his arrow at them;
    they are wounded suddenly.
8 They are brought to ruin, with their own tongues turned against them;
    all who see them will wag their heads.
9 Then all mankind fears;
    they tell what God has brought about
    and ponder what he has done.”

God avenges us. He wounds the followers of the prince of this world. He gives them a chance to turn to Him. But whatever their choice, God’s mighty power and perfect love are demonstrated for the whole world to see. He is glorified. And more people can come to Him as we, wearing the readiness of the Gospel tell of the awesomeness of our Lord.

Why do evil men seem to prosper? So that when they fall the impact will be felt, seen, and heard by the multitudes. God will be glorified. And we will rejoice and glorify Him further. Verse 10 tells us to stop complaining and whining and rejoice instead because we know who The Lord is and we know who we are in Him.

“Let the righteous one rejoice in the Lord
    and take refuge in him!
Let all the upright in heart exult!”

Psalm 27
Paul asked this question, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31). And David had similar sentiments in this Psalm. Verse 1 reads,

“The Lord is my light and my salvation;
    whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life;
    of whom shall I be afraid?”

David referred to The Lord as his light. He didn’t mean a lamp or a candle, or even a candelabra. He meant light like the dawning of the sun. Daylight so bright that no darkness can exist while it shines. The Lord is our light and our salvation. He delivers us from evil. He rescues from the enemy. And He gives us freedom. The Lord is our stronghold, our place of defense, our refuge. He not only defends us, he keeps our life safe from the enemy.

The enemy may be able to hurt and maim, but he can’t take Jesus away from us, He can’t take away our salvation. Whom shall we fear? If God is for us, who can be against us? The enemy will always try to hurt those with faith in the Lord. But with faith in God, we have nothing to fear from anything. Verses 2-3 read,

“When evildoers assail me
    to eat up my flesh,
my adversaries and foes,
    it is they who stumble and fall.

3 Though an army encamp against me,
    my heart shall not fear;
though war arise against me,
    yet I will be confident.”

The enemy can and will make war on us. He will try to shake our faith by hurling lies at us, by causing chaos, trouble, and suffering. He may cause us grief, but He cannot take us out of God’s hands. The more we know our God, the more faith we have in Him. We can let Him be our light, salvation, and stronghold of our life. Remember Jesus died on the cross and He rose again. At that moment the devil was defeated. But he keeps trying. He wants us to be paralyzed from the injuries he inflicts. He wants us to be ineffective and not stand with the army of the Kingdom of God.

Whatever wounds he perpetrates, cannot cripple us if we have faith. We are to wear the armor of God not to look good but to be defended and to fight the enemy. God Himself is every piece of that armor. He is our Refuge, our Shield, our sword, and our Defense. If you are unfamiliar with the armor of God I recommend you go to Ephesians chapter 6 and read it. Paul describes the armor in verses 10-18.

Why is it we can be confident even in the face of the enemy’s war against us? Because the war has already been won. We are victors with Jesus. Revelation 12:10-12 describes our victory this way,

“And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. 11 And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death. 12 Therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!”

We still fight the battles, but not for ourselves, we’re already free. We fight to free the prisoners of war who are bound in Satan’s chains and who are ignorant of their situation. We still fight the enemy, but we do so with great confidence because we know the outcome.

And that outcome makes us sing for joy, sing out the testimony of the greatness of The Lord. David loved to spend time worshipping and praising the Lord in His temple. It brought him peace and joy to spend time with The Lord. He delighted in the Word and He relished getting to know God more and more. It was that time with God, whether in good times or bad that built his faith. Verses 4-6 read,

“One thing have I asked of the Lord,
    that will I seek after:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
    all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord
    and to inquire in his temple.

5 For he will hide me in his shelter
    in the day of trouble;
he will conceal me under the cover of his tent;
    he will lift me high upon a rock.

6 And now my head shall be lifted up
    above my enemies all around me,
and I will offer in his tent
    sacrifices with shouts of joy;
I will sing and make melody to the Lord.”

The Lord does this for us too, we are hidden in Him and He abides in us. The concept is far beyond my capacity to understand but I trust in it. We are in God and God is in us. I get a picture of paints of different colors swirled around one another so that the yellow is in the purple swirls and the purple is in the yellow swirls.

 God never abandons us. He is so united with us that we cannot be separated from Him. When troubles come, when good times come, when we forget our faith and let fear overwhelm us, we call on The Lord and He answers, always. He knows us. Verses 7-12 read,

“Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud;
    be gracious to me and answer me!
8 You have said, “Seek my face.”
My heart says to you,
    “Your face, Lord, do I seek.”
9     Hide not your face from me.
Turn not your servant away in anger,
    O you who have been my help.
Cast me not off; forsake me not,
    O God of my salvation!
10 For my father and my mother have forsaken me,
    but the Lord will take me in.

11 Teach me your way, O Lord,
    and lead me on a level path
    because of my enemies.
12 Give me not up to the will of my adversaries;
    for false witnesses have risen against me,
    and they breathe out violence.”

Remember when the enemy tries to wound you, you are in the refuge of God. And He is in you. He surrounds you with His armor and the enemy cannot touch you. God’s path is level and straight. The enemy can and will make threats against you, but you don’t have to believe his lies, you know who God is, you know who you are in Christ, and you know the enemy is defeated. You know the hope of eternal life. Verses 13-14 read,

“I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord
    in the land of the living!
14 Wait for the Lord;
    be strong, and let your heart take courage;
    wait for the Lord!”

Let your hope give you courage and strength. One day we will be in eternity with God and see Him in person, right now by faith we know Him a little, but then we will know Him wholly as we look directly at Him. Paul describes it this way in 1 Corinthians 13:12,

“For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.”

Believer, let that give you courage and strength to face the world, battle the enemy, and glorify The Lord God Almighty.

You have an enemy. Whether you are a follow of Christ or not you have an enemy, but if you are a follower you are in the war against him and his minions. Paul wraps up his letter with some powerful and meaty teaching about it. Verses 10-12 read,

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”

Paul tells us to be strong, not in our own strength, talent, or wisdom, but in the Lord. We re exhorted to be strong in the Lord. But what does that mean? Remember this, who you are in Christ is different than who you were outside of Him. He gave you gifts. He has trained you, grown you, and moved you through trials. Exercise the faith, wisdom and discernment He gave you and use the gifts He endowed to you. Walk with God, remembering He is alongside you, within you, and you are in Him.

The next verse tells us further how to be strong in the Lord, we are to put on the whole armor of God. It is a choice to use all the gifts and tools we have been equipped with or to let them rust with inactivity. We are all in the battle, but we have a choice in regards to fighting or cowering, and to fight well or poorly.

This isn’t just any fight. We’re not fighting the lost people. They have the same enemy we do, they just don’t know he’s their enemy. It is important to remember that our enemies are not men and women. The lost the prisoners of war. Our enemy is Satan and his underlings the demons who infiltrate, do his bidding, and put the chains on those prisoners. They fight to keep you weak. They fight to keep you ineffective. They do whatever they can to stop you from breaking the POWs out of their prisons and to ensure the captives have no idea they are bound.

But know that you have nothing to fear from Satan much less his demons. You are not called to cower or recoil. You are called to be strong in the Lord and put on His protection. Paul says in verse 13,

“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 firm.”

If we put on all of God’s protection we will withstand and if we use His strength to be active in the war, we will stand firm. We will remain effective fighting warriors allowing Jesus to set the captives free. Let’s take a brief look at the armor we are to wear. And don’t worry it isn’t cumbersome, every piece helps us to stand and fight.

Verse 14,

“Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,”

The belt of truth is the first piece of armor. The belt held up the soldiers’ tunic allowing him to run and move freely. The truth does that for us. John 8:44 describes Satan as a liar and murderer,

“You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”

Satan can only lie. And he lies well. He can make lies sound truthful, good, and beautiful. His lies can trip us up, keep us from believing we can fight, leave us tangled in the web of deceit unable to join in the battle. When we know the truth, we don’t have to second guess and trip over the lies that scoundrel tells. We don’t even have to listen to them!

One lie he likes to tell you is that we are not worthy to fight with Jesus, that you are too sinful to dare fight in the Lord’s army. But he’s wrong. The next piece of armor is the breastplate of righteousness. The breastplate protected the soldier’s vital organs and kept him alive and able to use his weapons for fighting instead of trying to constantly protect his life. You do not have your own righteousness. But you do have Jesus’ righteousness. Romans 4:22-24 read,

“That is why his faith was “counted to him as righteousness.” 23 But the words “it was counted to him” were not written for his sake alone, 24 but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, 25 who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.”

We were credited with Jesus’ righteousness, not because of any work, not because we fight in the war, not because we pleased God but because we had faith, believed and live with Jesus as our Lord. Jesus’ righteousness gives us eternal life. Our heart is new, it is the temple of God and it is protected. The enemy can’t have our heart. It belongs to God.

Does it bring you joy and excitement to think about your salvation? It does me. Being saved, I want the POWs to be saved as well. And freeing the captives is one of our most important missions. So our next piece of armor is used for that assignment. Verse 15 reads,

“and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace.”

You need shoes to walk well and far. Walking barefoot eventually your feet become bruised and painful, causing you to limp. Your feet need shoes to allow you to keep walking with God rather than limping along. Knowing the truth of the gospel, what you believe and why you believe it keeps you walking rather than limping.

Your feet are fitted with the readiness. What does that mean? 1 Peter 3:15 says,

“but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,”

You have to know what you believe and why you believe it. You have to keep Christ honored as your Lord. Your life should show that you belong to Jesus and cause people to ask about the hope, the difference they see in you. You should be able to answer them. You should be able to point them to Jesus, to the Gospel.

The lost have no idea they can have peace with God. They don’t know that God wants to reconcile with them, heal their wounds, and give them freedom and rest. It is our mission as operatives to tell them. We can’t tell them by standing still, we have to go and on order to go, we have to move our feet and travel to them.  Romans 10:13-15 read,

“For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”

Verse 16 reads,

“In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one;”

The shield allowed the soldier to stop weapons from hitting him. He kept it on him always and used it to stop the blows that might have injured him, weakened him and stopped him from being useful in the battle. Our shield is our faith. Faith means you know who God is. We trust completely in His power and strength. We believe He is our Savior, Creator, and the whole world and everything in it is His.

The enemy shoots a fiery arrow your way, but faith in God keeps it from touching you. 1 John 5:4-5 reads,

“For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. 5 Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?”

We know how the war ends. God wins, we win! We are already victorious and we keep fighting to complete our mission to free the captives with the gospel of peace. So as hard as the enemy wants to try and hurt us, he can’t. Keep the faith in all circumstances. All the arrows the devil throws our way bounce off the shield of faith and don’t even singe us. Satan can’t even get close to us, he has to fling arrows and hope we are not holding up our faith in order to hurt us. He only has the power to hurt us, if we let him.

Verse 17 reads,

“and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,”

The helmet is the most important part of our protection. The breastplate covers the heart and lungs, but the helmet protects the brain. The brain is the control center for our entire body. It coordinates everything in order for us to live.

We can’t be in the Lord’s army unless we have Jesus’ Salvation. That salvation is what directs the faith, gospel, righteousness and truth to work together for our victory. Without salvation we can’t have faith. We can’t reconcile people to god, if we are not reconciled to Him. We have no righteousness without salvation. We do not know the truth.

The next part of our armor is the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God. The sword is the weapon of our armor. It takes training to use a sword well. It requires up close combat to use a sword. Unlike the enemy who fling mendacious arrows at us from a safe distance, we are fully involved with the sword of the Spirit, the word of God.

The Spirit is powerful and He is Truth. When we read the word, He reveals it to us and helps us to understand it. He brings it back to us when we need to hear it. He speaks to us and guides us through every circumstance. But to use the sword well, we must be trained in it. He can’t remind us what He has said, if we never read it or listened to Him. We won’t even recognize His voice if we don’t spend time with Him.

The Word of God is powerful if we use it properly. Remember our mission is to free the captives and reconcile them to God. We have to get in there and use the sword as it was meant to be used. Remember just how powerful the Spirit is. He raised Christ from the dead. He brings people to their knees. He can and does do more than we imagine. He speaks to God for us when we don’t know how.

The word of God is a weapon more powerful than we realize Hebrews 4:12 describes it like this,

“For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”

In Jeremiah 23:29 God describes His word.

“Is not my word like fire, declares the Lord, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?”

That is an amazing weapon. What good is it laying by your side? Pick it up, handle it, and use it. The truth of the Gospel is in the Word. The Love of God in the Word. Read it, hear it, speak it and do it.

One of the ways we use the sword of the Spirit is through prayer. Yes! Prayer is wielding the sword of the Spirit. Speaking to the Lord and hearing His Word and doing His Word through obedience makes a difference. Verses 18-20 read,

“praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, 19 and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.”

When we pray we are actively exercising the powerful weapon we’ve been given. Asking the Lord to help us and help others, strengthens us, encourages us, equips us, and unites us. Paul ends this letter with verses 23-24.

“Peace be to the brothers, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 24 Grace be with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with love incorruptible.”

Love incorruptible. Nothing can sully God’s love, nothing can damage or rust it. The armor of God, like God is incorruptible. Have faith in Everlasting Awesome God. Be strong.