Saturday, July 22, 2017, 5:53 a.m. – The Lord Jesus put in mind the song “Do Your Best.” Speak, Lord, your words
to my heart. I read Ephesians 6:10-20
(ESV).
The Evil Day
(vv. 10-13)
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of
his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against
the schemes of the devil. 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. 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.
Before the creation of the
world, as we know it, there was an angel in heaven named Lucifer (Is. 14:12)
(3). He decided that he wanted to be God, and so he rebelled against God, along
with about a third of the angels in heaven, so he was cast to the earth (1). Lucifer,
now called Satan (the devil, the dragon), is now considered to be the “god of
this world” (or “god of this age”) (2 Co. 4:4). He is also called "prince
of the power of the air" (Eph. 2:2) (2). When we are outside of faith in
Jesus Christ, we are under the power and control of Satan (and sin). When we
believe in Jesus Christ as our Savior, we are delivered from Satan’s dominion
over our lives. Amen!
Yet, Satan is not God
Almighty. The God who created this world and all living creatures is still
completely sovereign over all that he has made (See: Eph. 1:15-23; Col.
1:15-20; Rev. 3:14; Col. 2:9-10; & 1 Pet. 3:21-22). Satan can only do what
he does because God allows it, within limits set by God, and only for a
predetermined amount of time, after which God will judge Satan and all his
hordes (Rev. 19:17-21; 20:1-15). Satan has no real power over those of us who
have placed our faith and trust in Jesus Christ. Yet, he can tempt, oppress and
afflict us, and attempt to influence, persuade, and manipulate us, if God
allows it, and for God’s purposes in our lives. So, that is why we are given
this spiritual armor with which to fight off the devil’s evil schemes against
us.
So, why does God allow Satan
to rule (within limits) over this world? My thinking on that subject is that
God wanted a people who would choose to serve and love him, not because we have
to, but because we want to. So, he did not make us puppets (marionettes) on strings,
which he controlled. He gave us free will to choose evil or good, lies or
truth, wickedness or righteousness, self (and Satan) or God. When we are
tempted to do evil, but we choose, instead, to obey God, God is pleased with
that. And, this wrestle against these spiritual forces of evil helps to
strengthen and mature us in our faith and commitments to Christ, to follow him
in obedience and surrender to his will. It pushes us towards God, as we learn
to call on our Lord for help.
Stand Strong
(vv. 14-17)
Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth,
and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your
feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all
circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all
the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the
sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, …
So, since we have these
spiritual evil forces working against us, we must stand strong in the Lord and
in his mighty strength, and we must daily put on this armor of God. So, how do
we do this? Well, for one, we do this by daily resisting Satan, fleeing evil
desires, pursuing righteousness, and by drawing near to God in full assurance
of faith, being cleansed of our sins (Jas. 4:7-8; 2 Tim. 2:22).
Yet, so many Christians fail
to take up their spiritual armor daily because they are not resisting Satan,
fleeing evil, or pursuing righteousness. Instead, they are playing with evil
and are allowing themselves to be entertained by it on a daily basis, while
they are neglecting the Word of God in the putting on of what they have learned
into practice in their daily lives.
Another thing we need to realize
here is that God/Jesus already won this battle for us. It is not as though
Satan has power over us. He doesn’t! Jesus delivered us from the dominion of
Satan. So, in the power and might of God living within us we CAN STAND STRONG
in our faith and against these forces of evil, and we CAN RESIST SATAN and flee
evil desires, and we CAN pursue righteousness. We are not defeated. Satan is!
We just have to believe this, and we need to act on it by doing the things we
have talked about here, and by putting on this armor daily.
When Satan lies to us, we
combat his lies with the truth. When he twists the truth and mingles it with
lies, we use the Word of God against him, like Jesus did when Satan tempted him
in the wilderness. When the devil casts doubts into our minds, we put on faith
(and truth), which will extinguish Satan’s flaming darts. When he tempts us
with immorality, we reject it, and we put on Christ’s righteousness and holiness.
When he tries to get us to be afraid, we put on faith, truth, and the Word of
God, etc. If we want to live victorious Christian lives, we have to put off
(reject) evil, and we have to put on (live out) Christ’s righteousness and
holiness.
Keep Praying
(vv. 18-20)
…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, and also for me, that words may be given to me
in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I
am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.
Prayer is not merely “saying
your prayers.” Prayer is not something we do simply for a predetermined period
of time each day, during which we list off our prayer requests and then we are
done. Prayer is continuous conversation with God and listening to him speak to
our hearts throughout the day (1 Thess. 5:17). It is having the attitude in
mind that Christ is with us 24/7, living within us, and speaking to us his
words of guidance, counsel, encouragement or correction. He may put a name of
someone in our minds at any moment, and so we should pray for that person. Or,
he may have something he wants us to do for or with that person, and so we need
to inquire of him as to why that person’s name is in our minds, and what he
wants us to do.
Often he speaks to me through
songs throughout the day, and sometimes in response to what I am thinking about
even before I voice it to him in prayer. He can do this with any of us if we
are in this continuous attitude of prayer, i.e. in unceasing communion with our
Lord to where, at any moment, he may speak, we may hear, and we would be able
to respond. This is how he guides us and directs us throughout the day in any
and every situation, and how he shows us what we need to do in response to
temptation or in regard to Satan’s evil attacks against us. Yet, for this to
happen, we must have open channels between us and our Lord to where he can
speak to us at any moment, and to where we will respond to what he is saying to
our hearts.
And, we need to be in prayer
for one another. This does not always have to be done through making lists,
though, for we can pray that the Lord would put names into our minds as he
wants us to pray for them, and even that he would give us the words he wants us
to pray, so that we are praying in the Spirit and not in our human flesh.
Sometimes he does this through circumstances, where he burdens our hearts with
a need, so that we will pray for that need. We do, most certainly, need to be
praying for one another that we would be strong in our faith and that we would
be bold in our witness for our Lord and for his gospel, for the times are
short, and there is much opposition to the gospel of our salvation and to those
who are spreading the gospel message throughout the world.
Do Your Best / An
Original Work / November 7, 2011
Based off of 2 Timothy 2
Love You, Father, love You, Lord.
Be strong in the grace of Christ.
Endure hardship for your Lord.
Your commander, live to please.
You’ll receive the victor’s crown.
By the rules, run in the race.
Your Lord, you’ll see face to face.
Jesus Christ, raised from the dead;
Of your life, He is the head.
Endure all for the elect.
Love You, Father, love You, Lord.
If we died, we live with Him.
If we last, with Him we’ll reign.
If we disown Him today,
He will have to look away.
Even if we faithless be,
Faithful He’ll remain always.
He cannot disown Himself.
He’s our Lord and Savior, King.
He will reign o’er ev’rything.
Love You, Father, love You, Lord.
Do your best; present yourself
As one who’s approved by God.
Work as one who’s not ashamed;
Rightly share the Word of Truth.
Wander not from what you know.
Destroy not the faith of some.
God’s foundation; it stands firm.
The Lord knows those who are His:
Those who turn from wickedness.
Love You, Father, love You, Lord.
In a house are wood and clay,
Gold and silver, all array.
Some are noble, some are bad –
Cleanse your life, and you’ll be glad;
Useful to the Master’s work.
A pure heart – in righteousness,
Pursue faith and love and peace.
Bad desires you want to flee.
Gentle servant you must be.
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