Chapter 15 – The battle in the Heavenly realm!
As we progress deeper into this election season, I am becoming increasingly aware of the battle that’s going on in the unseen Spiritual domain! This fact is not something to make light of or to treat it as a fairy tale from some child’s fantasy book! Folks… it is a battle where evil Is striving to overtake us, and render us ineffective and silent, even to the point of death! Do you remember the account of this very fact found in the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Ephesians?
Ephesians 6:12 (NLT)
12For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.
Here is that same passage from the easy to read and to understand Message version of the Bible:
Ephesians 6:10–18 (MSG)
10And that about wraps it up. God is strong, and he wants you strong. 11So take everything the Master has set out for you, well-made weapons of the best materials. And put them to use so you will be able to stand up to everything the Devil throws your way. 12This is no afternoon athletic contest that we’ll walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours. This is for keeps, a life-or-death fight to the finish against the Devil and all his angels. 13Be prepared. You’re up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it’s all over but the shouting, you’ll still be on your feet. 14Truth, righteousness, 15peace, 16faith, 17and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You’ll need them throughout your life. God’s Word is an indispensable weapon. 18In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other’s spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out.
That doesn’t sound like child’s play to me! Whether we chose to believe it or not, satan is trying to take us out! Our battle is not with Liberals or the Democratic party. The battle is not with our wife/husband, not with our boss, not with our grouchy neighbor or any other human being. Why then do we focus on other people as our enemy? It’s because we can see other people and the devil and his demons are not visible! Consequently… we tend to believe that the battles of life are being fought against other people, leaving the real enemy overlooked. We need to focus our warfare at the evil one who resides in the unseen realm, and pray for the people who fight against us!!! Not my idea, it’s God’s idea:
Matthew 5:43–48 (NLT)
43“You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. 44But I say, love your (human) enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! 45In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. 46If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. 47If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that. 48But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.
As we fight the battle with satan himself, are we praying to the Lord for discernment and direction? Only the Lord knows what is right or wrong, and what is true and false as we wage war against the enemy. The only words of direction and guidance we can trust are the words of Jesus:
John 14:6–7 (NLT)
6Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. 7If you had really known me, you would know who my Father is. From now on, you do know him and have seen him!”
Jesus will not let us down, but we have to make the choice to know Him so well that we recognize His voice. Be on guard… the enemy will try to impersonate Jesus as illustrated by the following parable:
John 10:1–21 (MSG)
1“Let me set this before you as plainly as I can. If a person climbs over or through the fence of a sheep pen instead of going through the gate, you know he’s up to no good—a sheep rustler! 2The shepherd walks right up to the gate.
3The gatekeeper opens the gate to him and the sheep recognize his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4When he gets them all out, he leads them and they follow because they are familiar with his voice. 5They won’t follow a stranger’s voice but will scatter because they aren’t used to the sound of it.” 6Jesus told this simple story, but they had no idea what he was talking about. 7So he tried again. “I’ll be explicit, then. I am the Gate for the sheep. 8All those others are up to no good—sheep stealers, every one of them. But the sheep didn’t listen to them. 9I am the Gate. Anyone who goes through me will be cared for—will freely go in and out, and find pasture. 10A thief is only there to steal and kill and destroy. I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of. 11“I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd puts the sheep before himself, sacrifices himself if necessary. 12A hired man is not a real shepherd. The sheep mean nothing to him. He sees a wolf come and runs for it, leaving the sheep to be ravaged and scattered by the wolf. 13He’s only in it for the money. The sheep don’t matter to him. 14“I am the Good Shepherd. I know my own sheep and my own sheep know me. 15In the same way, the Father knows me and I know the Father. I put the sheep before myself, sacrificing myself if necessary. 16You need to know that I have other sheep in addition to those in this pen. I need to gather and bring them, too. They’ll also recognize my voice. Then it will be one flock, one Shepherd. 17This is why the Father loves me: because I freely lay down my life. And so I am free to take it up again. 18No one takes it from me. I lay it down of my own free will. I have the right to lay it down; I also have the right to take it up again. I received this authority personally from my Father.” 19This kind of talk caused another split in the Jewish ranks. 20A lot of them were saying, “He’s crazy, a maniac—out of his head completely. Why bother listening to him?” 21But others weren’t so sure: “These aren’t the words of a crazy man. Can a ‘maniac’ open blind eyes?”
In this battle of good against evil, we are facing a vitally important election! I believe that the Trump/Vance platform most closely reflects the good! Check out last week’s post to see the comparison of how Trump and Harris stand on some very important issues.
To sum it all up… with election day rapidly approaching, we must treat other people with love and respect, focus the battle on the unseen enemy, trust in the faithfulness of Jesus, and pray, pray, pray!
Pray some more!
Vote early and vote your Christian values!!!
But please
VOTE
Already voted, but must now pray pray pray!❤️🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🇺🇸🙂