It is very dark! Blackness surrounds you in your room for several hours as you get your well needed sleep. Early morning hours do not even bring the sun or any light for that matter. Your eyes have adjusted to the darkness even as you stare at the clock turning 3:00 am. Then suddenly someone comes into your room and "Boom" turns the lights on! Not nice dim lights, but 75 Watt light bulbs...4 of them in the light fixture hanging just above where you sleep! Can you imagine what happens next? The pain of the light...the anger you feel for someone suddenly turning your darkness into light and waking you from this state of slumber!
My last post was about spiritual warfare. I am convinced that I am living in a time when Satan is trembling. He is out to try and bring the church down like never before. I talked about being a "fearless warrior" for Christ and I do believe that we can be just that. I mentioned that our offensive weapon while fighting this battle is our sword, specifically the "sword of the spirit" or the Word of God. As I continue to study and continue to fellowship every day with my Commander and Father God, I am sharpening my sword and using it more than ever to fight the battle before me. I learn best by watching Him. If I truly stop to observe the Lord and follow his example this is what I see: God the Father loves this world so much that He gave his Son to save us. Jesus came as light into a dark world. This world hates the light...the enemy hates the light. They have adjusted to the darkness and they find comfort there...and it is painful when the light shows up! "This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God." John 3:19-20 This is the reason why Jesus was so hated. When doing battle friend remember that you may not be liked very much! Why, because if you are following the plan of your Commander you are casting off the works of darkness and putting on the armour of light. John 15:18-19 says, "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you."
Remember I said to sharpen your sword. I know that the enemy's primary strategies against the church is to plant division and strife. (He has been doing this since the beginning of time...nothing really changes!) It looks like this: race against race, rich against poor, friend against friend, brother against brother, sister against sister, leader against leader! Has He given us a battle plan?...YES! In that same chapter, in the 17th verse it says this: "This is my command: Love one another." Simple?...yes and no...effective...absolutley! I say we give it a try. I'm not saying we need to love Satan! NO! I'm saying no matter the conflict, no matter the world, the people being used by Satan to cause division...remember...our battle is not against flesh and blood, so we need to love one another. In John 13:35, Jesus says it again to his disciples (He says it so much really) "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." David Wilkerson wrote this: "Then the lost will see and know God's love, through his obedient, joyful, sacrificing people - the church." Seriously, I'm all about being obedient right now. That is why I can find joy in the midst of battle, because I'm trusting in the one who has called me to obedience! I know I am safe, I know I have done right by my Father and He is on my side. So how do you love? I think Mr. Wilkerson says it just perfectly, "The truth is, I truly love my brother when I can stand confidently before Christ's throne knowing I have nothing in my heart against him. I know I truly love my brother when I have the same love for him that Jesus has shown me. It happens when we forgive those who have hurt us, just as Christ has forgiven us. It happens when we reach out to the backslidden, doing all in our power to restore them." I love that! That is why I am confident today! I stay in a prostrate position of submission to my Father God and walk in love the love of the Lord for my fellow brothers and sisters! This is how we are going to win this war against Satan.
Well, these are my thoughts for today! I think it is time for a light little family update for my next post! HA!!
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